Can we close the gap between Ranged/Melee and Casters before criterion dungeons?

[Ransu]

For those who missed the last live letter, there will be two difficulties of the Criterion dungeon, normal and Savage.

This is the info they gave for Savage:


Note in particular there are time limits to kill things, meaning DPS will matter a great deal for smooth clears

This is from Balance, it's live translations of Yoshida's comments:


I reckon his comment that normal mode will be Savage difficulty might be hyperbole, but the Savage mode is certainly not going to be easy. Also, he mentions that gear from the raids will be important to clear, so it doesn't have its own progression system like PotD / HoH. So the balance we see in Savage will absolutely matter here.

If AoE opportunities are good then casters may get a look in, otherwise Melee/Melee or Melee/DNC are likely to be meta comps.

I'm still curious what kind of rewards will be in them. Its gotta be something unique if there's no progression otherwise people wont run them.

[CKNovel]

I'm still curious what kind of rewards will be in them. Its gotta be something unique if there's no progression otherwise people wont run them.

A bit off topic but we know a mount will be tied to this content.
I think it would be cool if we coul get ilvl630 gear.
At least accessories, they're a pain to get and the ring is sometimes so trash you'd rather have a crafted pentameld ring.