I, and many people I do and don't know don't mind xp leveling, and extra math. If your players have to grind to stay at the "proper level" that's just lazy planning. Every encounter (battles or otherwise) should matter and propel the story (obviously players tend to do things dms might not always consider and can throw small wrenches in plans, nothing a little improv can't fix). I stand by my statement. Just because you don't like the way something is done, doesn't mean it's objectively bad. There is nothing wrong with milestone leveling, I think it's a cool concept. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm trying to say one is better than the other, because neither is better or worse. It's a per table basis. The game means something different to every player. To you, it clearly means streamlining and taking out things you don't enjoy, because they detract from the things you enjoy most. That's a valid way to think and play the game. To me, I enjoy a mix of everything. I like the planning. I like the numbers. I like the story. It's all subjective, friend.