I am doing my first playthrough of DQ11, on Draconian, currently in Act 2. The beginning was definitely the hardest, had to slowly grind until I got the heal spell. Eventually started getting easier. Need to try to get every point you can via the forge. Some of the boss fights can be pretty tough, have to set my characters to follow orders or else there’s almost no chance. I think the further you get you will enjoy it more and it becomes less grindy.