They made the balancing actions of the game non effective (random towns means that the numbers of non actives wasnt computable)
They also took spots that could be filled with active people if the event was more Popular ( i really hope it does in the future)
Therefore in the next events this people should be considered only if the available spots dont fill.
If someone cant spend at least some time in the event. There was no reason to participate in the first place. The battle and event schedule was there from the very beginning.
The whole penalty thing is been suggested on speed servers on the future which to me sounds fair.
The onus on more on us to make an event that people will stick around for, even if they lose the first battle. Better leader selection process and class reskilling should be built-in.
Not having enough players left in the game to push for quality over any applicant is a major issue everywhere that there's battles tbh, and any move to discourage future signups is a massive mistake. Some of the noobs of today are going to be the key people of the future.
Also I believe that as more of this style of event is held, the better people will understand what is expected of them (whether as a team player or a team leader), improving the quality of events/battles over time.
I had no idea how much time I'd spend on the event before it started, but I was lucky with my team and enjoyed being there. If we were to put ourselves in the opponent's shoes, I'm not sure how I'd have faired in The North, where the top players were playing for themselves and people started dropping off really early - leading to a snow-ball effect.
And I seem to remember certain players in the south complaining when the GM's declared Small Battles, as they were the only balanced option left, instead being in favour of further punishing the side that was bleeding out and having low-quality battles that it was not worth logging in for.
End of the day, more signups will make for a better event, as having more teams becomes viable - absolutely.