Outlived Usefulness

Ves put the issue of masterworks aside for the moment. He was too far away from making a deliberate masterwork. Though he already possessed a considerable advantage due to his prior successes, the base chance of creating a masterwork was still low for him. The only instances where he came close was if the stars aligned.

In this circumstance, he should stop dreaming and focus on more attainable goals.

"The first expert mechs of our expert pilots don't have to be masterworks."

While it certainly helped with accelerating their progress, they weren't essential until the expert pilots had reached the limits of their progression. If they were on the cusp of becoming an ace pilot, then there were other factors that also determined whether they could break through. They were not completely hopeless.