Will 5.0 ShadowBringers make crafting hard again?

[Espritduo]

They said the system is going to have "seasons" akin to the Feast where the top players get special rewards, though they also considered locking previous winners out of taking a top spot again for the sake of preventing a monopoly.

That's EVEN WORSE than PVP feast, since even if everything is actually fair and properly managed, and I manage a top ranking spot and get one reward, it just means I will never be able to get the reward for next time, no matter what. What if I get the reward for one season and it's, say, a glamour that's alright, but next season they decide to make it a bad-ass mount that I really want? This is really REALLY turning me off the whole thing, big time.

I mean, does ANYONE think this is a good idea? What crafter would want something like this implemented? I'd rather have no rewards and just have fun than super limited rewards that no matter how skilled, dedicated or lucky you are, you STILL can't get.

[Nezerius]

That's EVEN WORSE than PVP feast, since even if everything is actually fair and properly managed, and I manage a top ranking spot and get one reward, it just means I will never be able to get the reward for next time, no matter what. What if I get the reward for one season and it's, say, a glamour that's alright, but next season they decide to make it a bad-ass mount that I really want? This is really REALLY turning me off the whole thing, big time.

I mean, does ANYONE think this is a good idea? What crafter would want something like this implemented? I'd rather have no rewards and just have fun than super limited rewards that no matter how skilled, dedicated or lucky you are, you STILL can't get.

You're way too focused on the Feast part of the example. Yoshi simply used Feast as an example because it has 1. A ranking system, 2. A seasonal system.
That doesn't mean the reward system will be exactly the same (rewards for the #1, top 10, top 100).

It's possible that the top rank reward is something that won't change over the seasons, so people won't have any reason to go for that top rank with every season.
Could also be that the season unique rewards simply require reaching a specific rating, not a specific rank.

Here's the translation of the interview that goes over the Restoration of Ishgard:

Ishgard restoration

• There will be a ranking system for the Ishgard restoration. He used the feast as an example and said there will be seasons for it. To avoid the same top tier players from dominating it every season, they designed it so you can graduate and be done with it after you are rewarded for being top** a single time. (note: Alts............)
• Those who want rare titles and flashy primary tools will need to level their jobs first and then have the perfect gear and materia and then challange extremely difficult recipes.
• For those who only do battle content and don't gather or craft as much, the Ishgard restoration area does have ways in which those people can participate with lower level classes.
• There's a system where players can purchase a "restoration ticket" which they can use to contribute to the restoration and also gain rewards from the lottery if they are lucky.
• After the restoration reaches a certain point, something like a "seasonal event" will be held irregularly and you can participate in those to gain rewards.
• Each world (server) will have its own progression, so players can compete/race with other servers to restore Isghard faster.
• You can also use the world visit system fo take a look at other servers and see their progress.
• There are plans on renewing Diadem and sticking it to the Ishgard restoration.