How would you feel about end-game gear only being useful for 3 months?

[Rhomagus]

As i said, having luck to get a drop is a major turn off, because you'll have a day where you feel like you are not progressing on anything just because of not getting any drops on that day, this will lead to "Meh, f*ck it", overall giving more annoying experience than fun. Also, you'll have people goes "that guy didnt deserve it, he just got lucky"

I'm more in line with Chardrizard. They should develop it so that the fight/obtainment is really difficult, (R50 group crafting +3's from incredibly difficult unique/untradeable monster drops would be my preferred hypothetical scenario) not just drop rate. Drop rate takes no skill only patience. The downside to that is strategies are shared and eventually, everyone has it in three months, hence Naoki Yoshida's take on it.

The elitists still get the feeling they want by having it before everyone else. I don't think it's necessary to incorporate arbitrary time restrictions on gear or content. Add filters via worthwhile obstacles and game content, but drop rate is pretty lame in my opinion.

When it comes to it lasting three months that entirely depends on what you think "lasting three months" is in reference too.

1.) New/Better gear is implemented so fast that it makes previous gear obsolete.
2.) Everyone figures it out after the elitists post their strats but that gear remains "cream of the crop."

I'm okay with option two. I think FFXI relics were kind of ridiculous, though I'm glad they let you Trials of the Magians them to make them better. I think that's how the materia system will put individuality and long term value into gear, which I'm really excited about.

So Azurymber, to answer your OP, it really depends on what "lasting three months" means, in this case, for me to give a more definitive answer.

When you implement and impossibly low drop rate combined with content that requires 18+ people to complete per run that just creates a pyramid scheme type situation where the people who "get theirs" "get out" never to be seen from again.

I'm more inclined to the "impossibly difficult" content. I'm not a huge fan of timers but I'd even take that over the alternative of needing a massive amount of people and waiting in line for drops.

Gear self life is a tricky thing. If its to quick then it just becomes the flavor of the month, to slow and every body is sitting around looking the same. There is also some merit to "keeping older gear relivent" but that leads to an attitude of well is that reward better then what i have? No then why bother with it? (then said player starts to complain about how there's nothing "worth while" to do)

I think the materia system will address this.