Discussing with my LS tonight about what we loved so much about boss battles in XI it made me think about the time limit in Toto-Rak and Darkhold. I like the idea of the time limit, it gives the team a sense of urgency and the need to push forward. However, if something goes wrong like an inopportune group death, or RL event, it can set back your group the past 30 minutes you spent getting somewhere.

It made me wonder why we don't have pre-boss clock stopper areas, or the idea that maybe in the future we can bring along craftable items to shove into key slots to give our team an extra 15 minutes at certain check points. Something to help out the average player without just getting rid of the time limit themselves.

I do not mind the difficulty of the Ogre battle, in fact once you get the hang of it, it's quite simple. However, with a batch of players who have more real life limitations (and most nights or weeks even, a one run limit) it's disheartening that once we get there and lose either due to mistakes, incompetence, R0ing , the only way to get back up there and try again is to run back through the corridors waiting for weakness to wear, while watching as it takes us 5-10+ minutes to make it back to the Ogre. At that point, most call it and head to bed for work in the morning.

Darkhold currently is unforgiving to the point where the more casual players who might only have 1 run in them a night, don't have a lot of time to practice. Most PUGs I've joined in my off time have no idea what it is they're supposed to do because they haven't been given a fighting chance to try-try again in a short amount of time, or don't have the proper Linkshell to back them up.

If it meant an automatic time penalty to get up at weakness outside the Ogre battle to try once more (and only once more before having to leave) I would take it. But I'm having a hard time getting my linkshell enough chances at this within one night since it takes so long to climb up back up.

So this isn't about boss difficulty, or melee set up, rather about time management for casual players who might more than one shot at the Ogre or future boss battle content.

Perhaps not on Darkhold, but for future dungeon content to have safe areas we can recuperate like in XI would be great. To be honest, the timer can be a bit of a pest, to have an area we could stand in with the timer off (No progression, just rest area) like the safe zones outside of Promy, we'd be a whole lot better off to explain what we're going to do next.
So, for discussion's sake, please be kind and don't tout such things like "They don't deserve to beat the content" or "Tough luck", it's possible to make the content in the present and future difficult without restricting it with Timers.

Further more to the argument about chests, I'll say this. If anything give Dungeons a "Time bonus" to chests, which we currently have. Fighting such and such so fast gives extra chest or better chance at gear drops. Getting to an area in a time limit without setting off traps spawns such and such chest, limiting how many chests one can get to in one run.
Much like that, while still making it accessible and giving users the feeling they've accomplished something.