a lack of rares

[Steppenwolf]

Not entirely true, Omar, Time can make a difference on the chance of dicovering rares in that your level can make a difference. There's a much higher chance of finding rares on Ultimate Ruins than Normal Forrest.
But to the extent that if your were to play Ult. for 15 or 1500 hours the drop rate per section would be the same, you could expect to clear the section much quicker if you had 1500 hours behind you though .

Last commemt on hacks vs. rare findings (since we about at a standstill :S ) I can't give you authoritive info per se. I did take the time to visit another PSO message board (hate that one) that is supposed to be the hub of pso info, )also the hub of jerks in my opinion). If you wanted to brave the elements and take the time to search through the board you'd have to agree the preponderance of the evidence does establish that rare drops rate are lowered if you using a 1300+ mag or stacking items. If i understood it correctly this was done through a patch introduced into psox and pso+. Maybe only apply to a number that have recieved that patch (just guessing here).