OK so I’ll try to be as concise as possible.
Before CRZ or layers rares had respawn timers you could patiently wait out.
Now with layers, shards, CRZ and whatnot… it’s all stupid.
If you can switch shards you will find rarest of rares in minutes. If you don’t… you won’t find it because people with many chars/accounts will grab them before you can react.
So… if you want Huolon - you won’t have any chance on your own because shard hoppers will snipe it from you.
The “meta” of killing rare rares is to have many characters on different, preferably dead, shards and switching.
Mount boosters abuse it by having many accounts worth of characters on different shards, including chromie time phases - and they can get any rare you want in no time.
My point is - a single casual Andy stands no chance unless super lucky.
When was the last time you really have seen warbringers in Pandaria? Think about it.
My solution is not to stop shard hopping but… either reduce old rares respawn timers or increase drop rates or both. The meta shouldn’t be server/shard switching. Give casuals more chance to camp normally without being degenerate in their approach. And frankly rare respawns don’t serve much of a purpose or don’t engage people in gameplay.
Hey, if you read any wowhead comment you will see people will tell you to level demon characters for chromie time phases in order to farm whatever rare you’re looking for. It’s absolutely degenerate gameplay.
Additionally, some zones reset when no players are present, which makes normal rare hunting either harder (timer resets) or easier (they spawn on zone respawn)… It’s stupid and needs to be fixed in my opinion.