It's not a popular opinion, but I expected they'd make Ifrit (or at least the next primals) drop a horn/mat that can be crafted into a weapon, exactly like the gear that came from the first wave of NMs almost one year ago (Champion Lance, Dodore Doublet, etc ...).

It was the simpler way imo to keep these weapons rare while removing the frustration ("oh noes, another dildo"). And make the min/maxers replay the content to try and make a better HQ version, making a balance between craft and loot since both are needed.