I feel there are a few core issues:
- Having even one player not understand/want to work in a core mechanic destroys the entire event for everyone. This is incredibly frustrating for the others.
- The design of the event itself is good, however the event is clearly not geared towards having casuals participate. Locking a good amount of core content behind the event and even creting a special achievement in the storyline for it means you push casual players towards the event.
- The event should not be a dps check. It should stay challenging, but the challenge shouldn't be focused on 'how high can my numbers be', but rather on 'how well do I understand the mechanics'.
I've got a few casual friends with families, and as is right now I can't in good conscience invite them to play with me on the final map, which is ridiculous for the open world.
I understand Anet prefers to overpower the bosses at first and then nerf them instead of doing the opposite since it's easier to nerf than to boost and it might lead to slightly higher sales of boosters, but I believe for the majority of players the current status is just frustrating. I'm 90% sure that there will be some changes implemented to make the battle less dependent on literally everyone reacting as they should and having high end dps as otherwise Anet is going to see a decent exodus of active players. Personally, seeing the event failing over and over again, even with good commanders and solid dps has just frustrated me, so I'll be taking a break for some time.
I think you put your finger on the issue. As it stands, the current meta is not a challenge. It's just a matter of having luck with the other players. You can do everything perfectly with a decent amount of players and have one person ruin everything. If the event was just a skill challenge for the majority of the players involved, even 90% of the players having to excel, that would improve the meta a lot. Currently, that is not the case.
