the grind is a problem, which actually causes the tier rushing.
the grind also causes mostly players to stay, who are challenged by it; while people who would specialize or just play for fun, leave often too fast.
it makes people focus on progression. they try to reach up as fast as they can, because staying in a tier and going for equipment is incredibly slow, and there is not enough time invested into skilling up.
nevertheless, even if i agree, that this game needs 10x-100x the speed in progression or rewards, even as a f2p title, and something else, than “have all ships” as endgame (instead, once you have all ships, the game should actually really BEGIN, and there should be other incentives, than GS or yet another tech, or yet another ship to look forward to), I can’t agree to the OP QQ, and just say the same thing as all others here: don’t tier rush. go tier 2 or tier 3. play the ships until you get the gamemodes. slowly work up to tier 4, while you finish up all holes in t1-3. then start building your t5 deck, and hopefully also in that timeframe, join a corp and fly as squads.
it does not matter, what you think about yourself, and what you enjoy at this moment, since it will change, beliv meh. you should play guards, if you enjoy guards, and play fed if you enjoy fed. but keep in the tier of your skill and playstyle. it is cheaper to experiment in earlier tiers. read forums. set goals. you will see, that other factions can be played aswell.
you only need to unlock the other factions; you do not need to play those ships. just play what you like, put free synergy into ships you dont want to.
don’t take yourself the fun out of the game by focusing on progression. love each ship and care for each ship, and you will have fun.
with such statements, those who demand faster progression will only have a weaker cause, because, even if say, “faster progression”, i do not mean “reach t5 in a week” or “only play one type of ship / faction until the end of my days”. because understanding another ship also makes you play your favourite ships better against it. because the ultimate goal of this game is to play in teams, and understand that each ship has strengths and weaknesses, and that endgames are played by actually people who have progressed through all roles at least a bit.
and because, many who believe that you should be forced to play a bit with a ship, so you do not overestimate yourself, also think, that grind will do that job (which it doesnt, but well, it seems the naive approach)