Lungworth

Since such a heated discussion has started, I'll also add my own unemotional two cents as the main a**hole.
So, what actually happened? A Mage Guild error, or rather, several. An unsuccessful mechanic with critical failures was multiplied by a strange balance – no, I'm not even talking about those unfortunate sabers, but about the fact that without cheating and importing a character, such a weak character simply can't succeed, and, once again, about the fact that Revan saw everything completely differently than the players ultimately did. As a result of this error, the players first thought that there was no correct option in this "corcor" at all, and when they realized that there was, some began to think that the Mage Guild was deliberately messing with them. Let's break it down into numbered points.
First. Critical failures. There are two points here: the first is that they break the tactics and screw over the players – the mobs don't care how many of them fall, but losing a character (or injury in corcor conditions) is a small catastrophe. Several such catastrophes lead to players dropping out of the game. The second is that they are, pardon me, incredibly absurd. It looks very strange to have such low-quality clowning in a hardcore realistic setting. But everyone already understands this, so we're moving on to less obvious things.
Second. I will digress to the private messages and related issues. A bad balance in itself is not a problem. The problem starts when the Mage Guild insists on decisions that are clearly not good for the others. And a hundred and fifty posts in private messages are not an attempt to trigger a rage quit, but simply a reminder that something is going wrong. The problem has been around for a long time, and when a problem exists, everyone points the finger at the person responsible. This happens from kindergarten to Gazprom headquarters, and the expansion is no exception. But here's the thing: if the Mage Guild is stubbornly sticking to "I don't want to, I won't," then all that's left is to accept it. The Mage Guild is the Mage Guild, and the final word is his.
And third... This is a philosophical question. On the one hand, the Mage Guild should never adapt to the players. On the other hand, he should think things through so that all actions of the players within reasonable limits do not lead to a critical failure. This is ideal, and I think that even Mage Guilds with thousands of games of different systems, durations, and formats, those gray-haired elders who can reproduce an 8K-3D picture of the world in their heads based on a single short phrase from a player and a number on a die, are not capable of fully fulfilling both of these principles at the same time. Something has to be sacrificed. Nebok sacrifices the first and feels great. Revan sacrifices the second, and he is also quite confident in his rightness... but the critical failure is then dealt with by both the players who didn't have time to start and wiped out for no reason, and by him, when he has to urgently put patches on the expansion before everything collapses completely. Here, by the way, we see this very attempt to put a patch – an unkillable killer, a Mage Guild character from nowhere, off-screen battles, and a reworked mechanic. Honestly, I won't thank him for that. We calculate builds, Plesen sweats over the tactics, Ment tries to carry the game solo with his character, Nebok loses simply because he's a pushover, a wipe, burning butts, and then – yes, it's all bullshit and a joke. A red-haired piano has already emerged from the bushes, ready to play the final chord of the comedy.

What can we conclude from this? Everyone probably already understands this, but I will repeat it anyway.
We should never expect anything from the Mage Guild. You might as well expect the president to fulfill his promises before the election, honestly. Mage Guilds sometimes behave inappropriately. Awkward mechanics, stupid event logic, Laidas, unsolvable quests – we can always encounter this. But the game is still the Mage Guild's, not mine or yours. Such mistakes and personal weaknesses are quite forgivable for the Mage Guild. What is unforgivable is deliberately screwing over the players. But personally, I don't really believe in that. What I believe in is stubbornness, ill-considered decisions, and the desire to push a line without understanding the consequences. Well, those who believe... Well, you need to have big balls to play with the condition that the Mage Guild is not just creating a mess and a corcor, but intends to harm you and every other player personally.
And the requirement for the Mage Guild himself is simple – he needs to approach the work calmly and with enough time. The roots of this whole situation lie precisely here. The Mage Guild didn't have time – he didn't check how critical failures actually work and what Gulveig is against a goblin and a goblin against a regular enemy. I, while optimizing, calculated about twenty simple test battles – it was already clear how a failure could be resolved. The Mage Guild sits down at the computer, exhausted by real life – a decent suggestion for fixes may completely overwhelm him. The Mage Guild hastily writes a line and creates a quest fork – we have a party wipe. In short, you need to rest more, Revan, and take a break not when everything is falling apart, but when you don't have the inspiration and time to lead.