Nidhogg!?

[Abhayaa]

That would just encourage shells to bring absurd amounts of people to increase their chances at claim, and the shell with the best odds of getting claim would be the shell with the most peeps. Frankly I don't really want to bring a bunch of folks into the linkshell or to an event just to be able to have a chance to claim and just <easy mode> the NM with all those people hanging around, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having the new HNMs to begin with.

Frankly the only way to get around claiming without encouraging bot use or some other exploitable mechanic is having low repop timers, be instanced, or popped. I'm not saying they can't try and be creative with it like they did with Dodore or the day/night spawns like the other HNMs, but we players are a notorious bunch that like to exploit loopholes and broken game mechanics to make our jobs easier and faster especially when heavy competition is involved.

I see what you are saying, but this is an issue inherent of any system in which botting is not possible and an NM is in limited supply. A shell bringing more people naturally has a better shot at claim. In a way it's self regulating though. In a large group you have a better shot at claim but a lesser shot at drops. Reverse is true of smaller groups. Thus the inclination toward moderately sized groups. The game needs more open world content, and I agree that more creative spawn conditions are favorable, but open world is naturally competitive and this system (random based claim) seems like a reasonable answer to the botting alarm people keep raising.