Conquest takes way too much time and makes me want to quit

If you go for Gold Crate instead of Red it's WAY easier and less time consuming and you still get the new conquest toon within 5 months, IIRC, or 6 months if you spend all your conquest credits on Signal Data and Relic mats instead of on the hot new shards. 

Remember that it's just a game. The idea is to have fun. If your current strategy is efficient at achieving some goal or other, but sacrifices fun along the way, then it's the wrong strategy. 

Do the fun thing, whatever that is for you.