There's been a lot of general talk about limited-time stuff lately. Here's what I think, in general:
The Greed
There is greed both ways (I'm generalizing here, everyone's different)
The player who owns the item has greed to keep those items as exclusive as possible.
The player who doesn't own the item is greedy to get those items, and they can justify their entitlement to getting those items in all sorts of ways.
It's just greed vs. greed, and the difference is that the player who owns the item has actually done the work/was there at the right time.
It's funny that the people that want to keep their exclusive items exclusive get painted in a negative light, when the desire to get access to those items comes from the same place of greed.
So, arguments like "it's just pixels, why not give it up" or "You shouldn't be worried about what other players have, you got it your way and that's all that matters" are just hollow. Because the greed works both ways, those arguments work both ways. "It's just pixels, why do you need it so much?" or "You shouldn't be worried about what other players have, just have your experiences and get what you can, that's all that matters."
In my mind, it's pointless to talk about how shallow others are for wanting to keep something exclusive. And just as pointless to call out someone's greed in wanting a long-gone item. I mean, it's a good thing to say in some scenarios, but that kind of thing was never the point of time-limited items.
The Memories
Rare has made it clear that time-limited cosmetics are made to represent a memory, and so when you put all your cosmetics together, it represents your personal experience on the Sea of Thieves. When I see my Hungering Deep Tattoo, I think of the Hungering Deep update. It's not just about keeping promises (which is a big factor in it, yes), it's also about making sure that only those who have a memory attached to those cosmetics are allowed to have it.
To those who say "I have the cosmetic, and I don't care if others get it." Well, I applaud you, you fantastical non-greedy person. Most likely, you don't attach your sense of accomplishment/memories to your items as much as others. And that's fine. But try to understand those that do tie their items to accomplishments and memories. Just because you don't care doesn't mean that others shouldn't.
One of the best moments when meeting someone new is seeing what you have in common at a glance. The silhouette of the Bone Crusher hat is quite iconic! And, when you see that hat, you think of the good times that you had trying to perfectly cannon up to that darned spot on Plunder Outpost. It's been almost 4 years since those skeleton thrones, and yet you can still connect with someone else through a shared player experience.
If that hat and the jacket/dress were to be given out to anyone that wanted it, not only would it disrespect the time you put in to earn them back in the day, but it also means that you can no longer identify those that participated in skeleton thrones. What is happening is the connection between the memory and the item is severed for some and devalued for others. Now you can't connect through a shared experience. And, as much as I disagree, I can see how even recolors can devalue a set for some people.
Players who want access to time-limited items are just greedy to get them. Whether or not they notice, they are also trying to erase the significance of playing Sea of Thieves in the past and making memories.
Why it's good right now
I like how time-limited stuff is working now, we get an Adventure every month and a Memento to go along with it. The wording they use in this description of Adventure rewards tells me that they are trying to get ahead of people complaining about their time-limited nature.
I like the idea of giving us things to remember events by rather than full sets of items (though full sets of time limited items is really cool, it's not the best for new players, I'll admit). Then we can have things to remember the lore happenings by without putting it in the face of others as much.
Time-limited is necessary
Sea of Thieves is an online game. It needs constant player engagement to stay running. So, just like any other continuous online game, it needs constant incentives to push players into the game. This usually results in time-limited items. And this is sort of a reward for Y1 players, they played the game when it was objectively the worst (I loved it though, Hungering Deep, Cursed Sails, and Forsaken Shores were the best and I have always wished for PvP like the original forts).
To summarize that, time limited items incentivize play into a game and then reward that player with something for keeping the game running in that time. This is why items like the Launch Crew Eye of Reach and the 1000 Days Golden Eyepatch feel so good to own... they are a reward for supporting the game when no reward was expected.
Of course, most of the time-limited speak recently is about the Arena. My thoughts can be applied directly to the Arena, and I'll let you do the thinking on that matter. For instance, my last paragraph about "a reward for supporting the game when no reward was expected" should be applied directly to the 6 ships of Arena: An extra reward for playing Arena when no extra reward was expected.
I hope that Rare continues to give us reasonable time-limited items in the future that do not alienate our new players. Whether we like it or not, they are key to giving us reasons to keep playing through new events. I can't wait to see what's in store for the future and I hope everyone does well!
I don't feel like making a TL;DR this time... good luck.
Oh, and if you're replying to this post, if it's not too much trouble, please @ me so I can see it as soon as possible. I often forget to check these things.