Perhaps one of the more frustrating parts of this game has to be timers.
Sorry, but exactly WHY do we need timers on anything we do? Every leve, dungeon and craft?
If I may, so far as I can tell seems the presence of timers is used purely as a way of inflating difficulty, the unfortunate consequence being the sidelining of the Armory's big feature: freedom of choice.
The ability to do a character how you like as long as it works is kind of nullified when we get back into FFXI's rut of "do it this way or lose out". To often players are missing out on opportunities because doing something in a set time is not as feasible as the community perceived "best way". Be it because of some unforseeable infeasibility of a group setup or just a result of the RNG, I don't see any reason for the presence of timers all over the place putting arbitrary limits where they don't belong.
Never mind the current ridiculous tendency to lock gear drops behind timers. Is there some reason a fist weapon should be easier to obtain than a spear? Why? I can see locking BETTER gear to rewarding doing something faster but seriously, WHY. There is so little rhyme or reason to this it's ridiculous!
Where would timers be interesting?
If dungeons drop the timers, the Devs could offer the option of 'challenge' dungeons WITH timers. Make them tougher or require specific timed goals which reward better gear than the less challenging dungeon. Players who are just hitting their 50's could still enjoy tackling dungeons while those who have dedicated time and effort to get all the smash hits from various jobs can tackle the tougher dungeons how they please. No one gets cut out of at least experiencing some facet of dungeons as long as they can handle the fights.
If a leve doesn't specifically require you do it in a set time, don't limit it. Timers could be appropriate for the previously mentioned 'challenge' mode, or in cases where the goals justify it. Leves where you just need to investigate or visit objectives don't need timers. Trees aren't going to run away and I doubt the random forest critters we need to slaughter are plotting some grand escape from their homes. Timers could continue to be appropriate for quests where say... you need to chase down bandits or unveil imps, go have a timer indicating how long until they 'escape' then.
tl;dr Drop the timers already. There is little justification for everything needing to be done within a time limit. Some content justifies such deadflines, but you're using it as a hammer to beat down nails that don't exist.