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It seems like, unless you have a full party waiting where the FATE spawns, Darkscale wins the fight almost every time. I shouted in the zone around the 13 minute mark and managed to get a good amount of people to the fate by the 11 min mark. By then verdrfolnir was nearly dead. SE, can you adjust this one a little?
pro tip: healers can actually heal verdrfolnir. maybe suggest to them to heal and stoneskin (stoneskin is particularly powerful) the dragon (maybe throw a benediction to full-heal it if there are any white mages around and he's that low on health?)
I haven't had any issues with the dragon dying on that FATE, but I've also only run it about 12 times.
As a summoner I could keep up Vedrfolnir's HP until a healer arrived. This FATE chain requires at least a party of 4 (the second FATE requires at least a full party, and the last FATE requires many full parties). If there aren't any available healers at the time, a paladin with stoneskin or summoners/black mages with physick can handle it until a healer arrives.
It is very easy to end the FATE chain with Verdrfolnir at full HP if you have a single Paladin or Healer maintaining Stoneskin on him.
From what you say and what i experienced...I think the enemy was buffed. I was camping in the Churning mists waiting for Darkscale to spawn while I did other Fates. I abandoned the fate i was on and arrived at "Darkscale Descendeth" no more than 20 seconds after the fate started and Verdolfnir died before our healer even had a chance to level sync
If you've got a WHM, you can use Benediction on him. An AST's ED may also work, though I haven't tested it.
When I was getting crystals in the CM I was on WHM and I was healing Verdrfolnir. We did have a couple groups at that time, though.