If you're gonna move the goalposts every time we aren't on track to reach them, the quest is pointless.
If you want to give everybody a free item, just give out the free item.
If you want to make a grindy quest most people won't bother with, make it account based so that whoever actually does it can have the ultra-rare reward.
Neither the "community" nor the "quest" are present in how these are playing out. A fraction of players grind their eyes out to not hit the goal and then you auto-complete the quest anyways.
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Bet you're fun at parties..