That's kinda the problem. Yes, the random element sucked, but at least you had a chance of getting the max gear on your non-primary toon. Now, i've kinda given up on having it on anyone but my primary. The DIL cost, the time, EC cost, so much grinding. Yes, you definitely get it, but it's brutal and expensive to get there, so just can't sustain doing things that many times in a row.
So I've just got the maxed out toon that sits there bored, and i pick at a couple alts at a slower pace towards Rep.
Biggest problem all along has been that once you get the gear, there's nothing to DO with it. Only thing it's useful for is the thing you were grinding for months to EARN it, so by the time you get the reward, you can't stand to play the place it's useful.