Honestly, it's only a pain if you're a year-2 joiner. Just putzing around in year 1, it was easy enough to get to rank 2 with Petra without even trying. So getting that last rank wasn't too bad. And the only other issue is people just never read the flippin' wiki and instead watch the first videos ever posted about getting the Boolean which didn't know all of the steps. People constantly whining that the quest is "broken" because they didn't have the gun yet (and didn't have Wolves of Mars complete). So honestly... the only people that have a tough time are those that joined up after TTK dropped and started at rank 0 with Petra. In which case it's quite a chore to get from zero-to-3 with her. Though I hear earning Etheric Lights helps.