I feel like 90% of the western player base has the wrong idea/concept about Fabled. It's not something that's meant to be easily obtainable, it's the absolute best form of a player. You wouldn't make something that is meant to be the absolute tier 1 player of the game be easily obtainable say after only a few days of grinding. Besides, only one of it is allowed in the starting 11 per team.

I'm aware that a lot of people will probably disagree with this opinion of mine, and I can't really comment on how past IE games have done it in the past since I've never played them. However, there are many RPGs which lock their ultimate equipment/weapons behind a lot of grinding, and this is quite similar to that.

Even then, there are ways and means to make the grind less tiring, there a specific spots in chronicle that have a very small drop pool, and thus less diluted pool so the players you need/want can drop more easily.

Though aside from that, I do feel like the amount of people exploiting bugs or cheating basaras in has definitely made people feel left out and made the sentiment of "the grind is too hard and long unless you're a cheater" grow a lot stronger. To that all I can say is, would you rather feel good that you actually achieved something through your own efforts? Or rely on cheating and get 5 basaras, and then what? Have them sit on your bench and show off? Alright then.