Would you raid if there was no ilvl?

[KageTokage]

Probably less frequently, because it can be hard enough to do content with randoms even if they're adequately geared for it.

I do think they need to have more unique rewards scattered throughout content. IE, I don't think would hurt to have minions drop from certain S rank hunts and such.

[tdb]

Probably less frequently, because it can be hard enough to do content with randoms even if they're adequately geared for it.

This. I'm already not doing savages with randoms because the levels of skill I've observed in alphascape normal don't exactly fill me with confidence. Meeting the ilvl requirements is a complete non-issue for myself, and with them in place it's usually possible to salvage the duty even in the presence of some really bad players.

If the rewards were mounts, titles, minions, gear with different status or tokens you could exchange for other gear of same ilvl would you still try to push such content?

I like collecting things so yes, cosmetic rewards are a valid incentive for me. Ultimately it depends on the droprates and whether I need to roll against other players for the reward. Lack of tangible progress may create a feeling that I'm never going to get it and might as well not try.

[Limonia]

No, the ilvl requirement doesn't keep me from raiding.
It's more than I often don't feel like it because it's (physically) exhausting or I want to do something else, don't feel so well, don't have time.

Okay, a stupid example. Let's say I would want to do a raid or an extreme trial farm/learning/whatever party today. I would have to cook something in time or it would be too late because it takes time and I have to eat it too. I won't begin doing exhausting things in the game at like 21:00 because it could take like 2 hours or longer and I will be too tired by then. I also can only cook something in time if I don't have to go somewhere in the afternoon or have something else to do.
So, if I would have unlimited time, didn't have to eat, wouldn't get tired easily, wouldn't get migraine that often and so on, THEN I would raid more. No matter the ilvl or the rewards. ^^

[MuseTraveller]

I think I should have worded my question better, when I said no ilvl restrictions, I meant as if gear progression wasn't a thing so raiding was always on skill alone. But I think the answer would have been the same.

[azura84]

I think I should have worded my question better, when I said no ilvl restrictions, I meant as if gear progression wasn't a thing so raiding was always on skill alone. But I think the answer would have been the same.

Item level has never been a stat to base the "this pointy stick is better than that pointy stick" by, stats on each weapon vary and BiS is not so simple as just getting the weapon with the highest ilvl, although it's a good basis if you're not interested in trying to learn the stats. Really all Ilvl does is, as you said "the answer is the same", it applies a way for the game to restrict/filter matchmaking as we discussed.

[HyoMinPark]

I think I should have worded my question better, when I said no ilvl restrictions, I meant as if gear progression wasn't a thing so raiding was always on skill alone. But I think the answer would have been the same.

For me personally, my answer would be the same—I would not raid with randoms if it was just based on skill alone, simply because I find the overall skill level of the playerbase to be fairly low. So I would do as I stated earlier: find friends or a static to run the content with. Which is what I tend to do now for Savage because I have less time to play now, so I can’t spend hours wiping in 10S or 11S because people are dying too much or failing to meet enrage; Extremes I try to bring at least 1 or 2 of my friends so I can have 1 or 2 other good players in the group with me.

[LineageRazor]

iLvl can already be bypassed if you're in a full party. What's your point? Would I use DF to do Savage and Extreme? HELL NO! DF is the place where my Warrior is 2nd DPS in Suzaku normal. Don't want to see it in Savage.

OP addressed this:

I think I should have worded my question better, when I said no ilvl restrictions, I meant as if gear progression wasn't a thing so raiding was always on skill alone. But I think the answer would have been the same.

So, basically, like Palace of the Dead or PvP. You can go in wearing whatever you want or nothing at all; your stats are determined entirely by the content you're participating in. If your party's wiping to enrage, better gear won't solve the problem, because gear has no effect.

I doubt this would have an effect, positive or negative on my participation in Savage or Extreme content. I'm more in it for the interesting fights, rather than for the equipment drops - but at the same time, it's nice that less-skilled individuals can "catch up" by improving their gear. Since I depend on a team to progress, armor-as-a-crutch makes it easier to find folks capable of clearing the content.

[Dualgunner]

I think I should have worded my question better, when I said no ilvl restrictions, I meant as if gear progression wasn't a thing so raiding was always on skill alone. But I think the answer would have been the same.

There's merit to the idea that raiding should be based on skill alone, and item level bloat does allow people to cheese some mechanics due to the nature of needing to balance the fight so the minimum item level can clear it. There is a mode that is tuned specifically for one set item level right now, and that's Ultimate: it level caps at (UCoB: 345, TWF: 375), and is tuned with average (UCoB: 340, TWF: 370) being the minimum; this mode is tuned with the idea that skill alone is all you can rely on. However, it is tuned very very high, and the only reward is a title and an extra materia slot. Having said that, yes, I would continue to raid under the circumstances presented in the hypothetical, and in fact I have already performed a raid where item level doesn't matter and progression isn't the goal, and intend to continue and do the other Ultimate as well soon.

If such were the case, however, I'd expect the fights to be tuned much tighter, because at this point the only reward possible is prestige. Perhaps not at Ultimate level of difficulty, however I would expect fights to be much closer to Gordias and Midas levels of difficulty, or perhaps pre-nerf Second Coil difficulty.