How does looting containers work?

Synfaer

Not sure how this works especially when multiple people are in the area looting the same containers. I have picked up epic items and blue furniture plans, right after someone else has looted the same container on quite a few occasions, surely they are not that blind!
So how does the loot table generate? Is it specific to when your character loots it? Does everyone see different loot in the same container?
I have also noticed I get more rare drops from containers when I first start looting in a zone, later the pickings seem diminished. Is there some farming code that diminished returns by area or zone?
A lot of questions above, I hope someone more knowledgeable of looting mechanics can answer some of them.

zaria

Most containers are instanced so everybody get an separate version of the container.
Exception is nodes for crafting materials like plants or ore, and locked chests in the wild.
Locked chests in dungeons have loot for all after lockpiced.

Chadak

I rather wish gathering nodes were functionally instanced as well. GW2 has made it very clear to me that I've very much outgrown any notion that competing for nodes was, in even the slightest of fashions, engaging gameplay.

Duiwel

OP Just like monster and boss loot is seperate so too is container loot, AFAIK the only thing that you really have to compete for are Resources nodes, Treasure troves, lockboxes and chests.