Maybe combine the loot fest with some hades difficult combat? I have similar feelings as yours, the genre is really cool but in the end, it’s all just this hidden grindfest? At least with (real) brutal combat, you still need to “make it happen”, big numbers is just the req.
The types of missiles, counter missiles and their costs are explained pretty well for someone who knows almos tnothing about them. Even Ukraine’s 4.5% counter-rate against ballistic missiles seems crazy, some of those can fly at 16,100kmph! (10,000mph!)