I read all of this and my head is spinning. The reason Ifrit drops need to stay U/U is simple: It shows that you've downed Ifrit enough times to acquire it. It is both a status symbol and (for most classes) an excellent weapon.

As for the current Ifrit loot system: It sucks. Too many RNGs in play, so it pleases most of the people most of the time, while leaving others screwed and bitter. A simple solution is giving the party leader the option of setting a loot system. He can choose Master Looter or Need or Greed. The game would need to display the current loot system upon joining the party, and only allow changing it when not engaged in a battle or instance. This is the best of both worlds.

Also, Need or Greed itself could have 2 settings: NoG: Current Class and NoG: All Classes, which should be self-explanatory.

Please let me know if the loot system I just described would not solve the problems people are experiencing while preventing new ones.