I do not understand where people got the idea from
That looter lvl and efficiency got to do with playerbase.
You can have the whole Server on looter lvl 100 , this will not change the return of a lvl 90 or lvl 110 looter, based on the amount of players with high lvl looter.
Ok, I will try to explain it as I see it.
The rake by MA is constant, most likely 5% given the official numbers. It cant be more than 5.29% since that was the average lost by the playerbase in those average of 94.71%. So, to me it makes sense that the rake is a constant 5% and the remaining is the unclaimed loot pool. In my experience, crafting with a maxed SIB blueprint gives 95% tt returns long term, so I see no reason why hunting would be different. If it were not a constant, could you describe the effects of that on the rake split that goes to planet partners? Well, I cant.
Ok, so we have probably sufficiently established that the rake is constant (you can disagree with me, its ok). Then players, on average, put in 100 ped and receive back 95 ped. So far so good.
Now, on the way back, the peds go through additional filters, those 95 peds are fully returned but not necessarily to the player that spent them.
HA (i.e. maxed) is up to 10%
Looter is up to 7%
Efficiency is up to 7%.
Ok, so lets take for example smoothee, since he was kind enough to share his setup.
HA - 10%
Looter 4,55% (0.65*7%)
Efficiency 4,9% (0.7*7%)
Add those up and you get 19.45 out of possible 24.
24-19.45 = 4,55 are peds that are not claimed by smoothee out of every 100 peds spent. Ok, so where do they go? we have already established that MA rake is constant, so these unclaimed peds must go somewhere, and they do. They go to the bonus shrapnel pool, you know, that second shrapnel loot that can sometimes be seen.
Some players pay more and some players pay less towards the bonus shrapnel pool, based on their skills, efficiency and maxed/not. Players then claim a portion of the bonus shrapnel pool based on their hunting, whether it is number of kills or turnover doesn't really matter. It gets distributed and it varies depending on what the entire playerbase is hunting and the setup used. This causes some players to go over 95% returns and some players to not even reach 95%.
So, that is how looter and efficiency has got to do with playerbase. Players with less looter and less efficiency are losing their money to higher looter and higher efficiency directly through the bonus shrapnel mechanic. MA still claims their 5% no matter what.
Example:
Player A: 100 looter, 85 efficiency, maxed, loses 1,05% to the bonus shrapnel pool
Player B: 65 looter, 70 efficiency, maxed, loses 4,55% to the bonus shrapnel pool
Both players hunt similarly for this example and there are only these two players in this example.
Bonus pool splits evenly between both players and both receive 2.8% from the bonus pool.
Player A tt return = 95-1.05+2.8 = 96,75%
Player B tt return = 95-4.55+2.8 = 93,25%
Note: this is just example to show the mathematics. In actuality the bonus shrapnel pool is dynamic and I have observed it between 4-7% with the overall trend of it shrinking over the past couple years. So if we assume 5% bonus shrapnel loot then Player B would have 95-4.55+5=95,45%, but realistically most of the time there is a small portion of the peds in the lootpool waiting to come out in a multiplier so I gave smoothee a realistic expectation of 95% rather than the upper bound.
Am I wrong? Possibly. I am not infallible and I don't have access to the source code to see the actual numbers. But this has worked for me quite well to explain my long term tt returns during the past few years. This is not observed on a pec to pec basis. You must hunt a lot and have a reliable long term log to see these trends.