Well I am for having required rank, or at least for the penalties of optimum rank being prohibitive of using it in combat when you are a less than optimal rank. It is not a question of not wanting to see lower rank people in high rank gear. For me it is a matter of having a goal to strive for in the low and mid levels. While I have not ranked any classes to 50 yet, doing the ranking I have it is a very weird feeling going into the market ward to see armor that I could get that is 10-20 levels above my current rank. With the surplus of gil, I can go and buy a bunch of high rank gear and wear it around. For me that takes away from the experience of ranking up. I don't want to rank up just to have better stats or spells, but I want to be able to earn the ability and the right to wear better gear as well. I think having rank required gear is a big part of the feel of game progression.