I've heard that DDoS attacks can be costly for the attacker as well, so it's not really sustainable for a long period I think. I think also the longer the attack goes the more Intrusion Protection Systems (IPS) start to kick in...I found it very interesting but I plan to research it further because my brain isn't wrinkly enough for this.

So I wonder if it's more of a 'weather it out' kinda thing until the body guard kicks in.

My smooth brain translated DDoS to this following analogy

Imagine you're at a restaurant, making an order....suddenly an influx of hundreds of customers come in, they start to occupy the space and begin to engage with the staff be it by complaining or placing an absurd amount of orders. The staff is overwhelmed by this chaotic situation and you (the legit user) is not getting proper service. The manager (network admin) then calls the police (IPS) starts to restore order (mitigate the attack) by dealing with these troublemakers (malicious traffic)

I guess an upside of all this is a stress test for SE to hopefully prepare for DT. Here's to hoping for a smooth release...