I totally feel you about this.

After pulling the wolf for an exp party about 30 times... I got annoyed. After his awful drop of his actual key, I had to go to the awful drop of the chest. Opened that chest about 15 times total before the mask actaully dropped. After I got it, I let two other people get keys. They both got the mask on their first try. Really? All the work I did for this exp group, and THEY get the mask faster than me. /endrant

I do feel your pain. Time sink is kind of stupid. If you can beat the mob, I say go for it. I mean they could even make you rqquire to do certain stuff to make it drop. Like while fighting the wolf, you have to break his "head" (his dog collar) twice and it will make the key drop. Not just by killing them. That same thing could also apply for all other NM's... It would also help with getting more than just one type of job in a party.