I also wondered if this was a mechanic. It would be great if the mechanics of the event weren’t secret. Keeping them hidden significantly reduces enjoyment.
I understood your point already @Qoob, but thanks for further clarification. My point is, to profit from the easier path, you need to know that exact mechanic and need to follow it. I doubt, that a lot of players with lower levels understood this after a few fights and followed the easy path throughout the week.
I personally always hated it, when I got stuck in events. When I was on lower levels, I always hated Tower of Doom. At a certain point, usually somewhere around floors 12-18, depending on the specific color and the enemies, it was just not possible for me to continue. Only strategy was use Mang and hope for favorable skull drops. When I read the first description of the journey and found the section about the “easy path”, I thought, that this is a nice idea to keep the event doable an the end of the week also for newer players. I just think, there would be potential for improvement.