So disheartened by the new quest boss mechanics

After finally grinding out the level requirements for the Elite Lumbridge Diary, the release of the new quest has left me feeling a bit stuck, and I wanted to open up a discussion about the direction of quest boss mechanics and account progression.

To be absolutely clear, I am fully supportive of the new content Jagex has been releasing. The storyline of this quest is fantastic, the lore is deeply engaging, and the mechanics of the second Drakan fight are objectively well-designed for players who love high-intensity PvM. Jagex did an amazing job creating a rhythmic, engaging fight for that community, and I don't want that taken away from them. However, as a casual player who uses OSRS as a low stress escape to focus on skilling, leveling, and account progression, this fight introduces a baseline mechanical floor that feels fundamentally different from previous Grandmaster content.

In quests like DS2 or DT2, players who struggle with high level PvM mechanics can eventually compensate by over leveling their stats or upgrading to high tier defensive gear to brute force a completion. The second Drakan fight actively removes those safety nets (let alone the final one which I never got to because I'm literally stuck at the second encounter after dying more then twenty times). Because of the strict rhythmic dodging and unprayable scaling damage, mechanical failure guarantees a wipe regardless of your combat level or gear.

My main concern isn't the existence of difficult bosses, but rather locking a foundational milestone like the Elite Lumbridge Diary behind this specific level of mechanical execution. Historically, Achievement Diaries have been a metric of time, dedication, and well-rounded account progression. Gating an elite skilling and utility diary behind a hyper mechanical PvM barrier fundamentally changes what the diary system represents. It creates a disconnect where a player can master every skilling requirement in the game, yet be entirely locked out of a skilling diary due to a strict reaction speed check.

I don't think the answer is to simply nerf the fight and rob PvMers of a great encounter. Instead, I hope Jagex might consider alternative approaches to balancing this progression. One option would be a "Story Mode" variable which allows a scaled-down, more forgiving version of the fight for the quest completion so players can experience the narrative. The full difficulty version could then be reserved for post quest unique rewards, combat achievements, or pets. Alternatively, they could keep the quest as a requirement but offer an alternative choice for the Elite Diary slot, such as achieving an equally prestigious skilling milestone?

I understand that a large portion of the community loves this direction, and I’m glad the game is catering to high level PvM. I just want to discuss whether these hyper punishing mechanics belong in foundational quests that gate long standing skilling goals. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can balance rewarding mechanical skill without completely alienating casual, skilling focused progression.