People aren't asking for items on their first run. They just don't want to walk away, empty handed, on their 200th either.

And yes, FFXI had some rather low drop rates as well, but the itemization was also different than FFXIV. It wasn't often that a piece of gear that was formerly best-in-slot was outdone. Each new patch maybe outdid one or two slots for your job, but that was about it. I mean, how long were people using Byakko's Haidate, for example?

And even as that trend started changing a bit, there was at least a sense of progression towards the gear. Even Salvage, which had horrid drop rates, had three pieces of gear and a crafted component mixed in. While you were waiting for that 35 piece to drop, you were also off farming or crafting to get the mats required for the item. It was a pain, yeah, but each day i felt a bit CLOSER to my goal.

WoW kept roping people back in because the newest raid always had the best gear. From previous interviews and observations, it seems like this game will be a bit similar. So, why can't i actually gear myself before the new content?

As far as the "hardcore", there's still plenty to do once they have a complete set. Once, I'm done, I still have an entire LS i want to help get their sets. I have multiple jobs that I switch to that I also want to gear. Looking at our luck with drop rates, though, I'm not going to complete any of my sets before better gear comes along.

And I really hope that some of the people here supporting the current RNG are posting on alts...