It depends on magnitude. A 5% change in drop rates most likely would not even be noticed by the players. A 1% change definitely not.
If the change in drop rates were uniform across the board, their relative ratios are unchanged. Players wuld still farm the same areas. Players who care about efficiency would still play efficiently. Nothing would change in that regard.
The question of how ofen players would play is interesting. i could see it going either way. They would be players who get their gear and then stop playing. For these players, they would play less. Other players might find the increase in drop rate more rewarding and play more.
I question this statement. FFA loot does not promote cooperation. It promotes botting, pickit users, competitiveness, ninja looting, etc… I am told over and over again that D2 is about a dark and dreary world where each player is out for themselves.
We have mentioned this block on trading before. I have explained that personal loot players in an 8 player game only sees 1/8 of total drops and that total drops are the same as in FFA only games. There is no difference in the number of items that could enter the trade economy in these two systems.
Furthermore, functionally personal loot leads to less items entering into the trade economy and slow down how quickly players can gear up.
In an 8 player game, lets say there are A-tier and B-tier items that are worth picking up. Advanced players may not pickup B-tier items because they have better gear. However, the less advanced players will pick up the B-tier item. In a personal loot game, there is a certain probability that the B-tier item would drop for the advanced player. That player does not pick it up and therefore that item will not be collected by anyone. That less advanced player does not get that B-tier item, meaning there is less items to potentially trade and will have a harder time gearing up.