Do you not hear how ridiculous this sounds? Playing the game is the point of playing it. If the chores you have to do before you play the game are the only thing making it enjoyable for you, you should probably be looking for another game. But that’s not the case. You even said so yourself.
The important part here is in bold. You had fun AFTER you got the gear. In other words, when you were finally able to play the part of the game that really matters.