I hate it when core mechanics are disabled to increase difficulty or rather when the challenge is us being inconsistent since we are ArenaNet.

I'm sad that the mechanics of the last boss do not differ from the normal mode (except instant death). And because of the huge HP the mechanics repeat too often to be interesting. The bugs make it more difficult than it being a challenge mode. As for the "ranged classes only", this could be interesting if only 5 out of 10 people had to split and the remaining 5 need to find a save place to attack. In comparison with the old 100cm with 2 phases, the new one is underwhelming. I hope something changes. And yes, I too think it meant to be a strike. That they maybe reused it as a fractal and overlooked many fractal related things (mistlock, revive, ...) makes it look that not much effort went into it (assumably).

Having to redo a meaningless trash pull to reset your title eligibility feels bad.

Having to stand there doing nothing while waiting for mechanics to resolve feels bad.

Not being able to use my dodge to mitigate damage feels bad.

Seeing my friends gear and learn builds they don't actually want to play just to pull a reasonable numbers feels bad.

This encounter feels like it was designed for a different MMO. I think it would make a great mythic+ boss.

That cutting a boss from Gyala and reusing its Strike version untested as a Fractal is a sign of what else is to come for the game.

Rubi just announced some changes that will go live when SotO is released. Apparently ArenaNet doubles down on disabling core mechanics (dodge or block damage) in this fractal.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/134453-updates-coming-to-silent-surf-august-22/#comment-1951064

Hi all, I want to let you know that we've been reading your feedback about Silent Surf and have some updates incoming.

As you can imagine we are all heads down on the final stretch before Secrets of the Obscure launches on August 22--only four more weeks! Our next full build is scheduled to ship then, so we'll include these updates with that.

For now though, I have an early look at the update notes for Silent Surf so you can see what the team is working on:

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused Captain Thess to have an incorrect effect icon during the third encounter.
• Fixed an issue that prevented Aspects from applying Extreme Vulnerability on Challenge mode when striking with Dread Visage.
• Fixed an issue that allowed players to bypass World Cleaver.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the final boss to focus on attacking pets more than intended.
• Fixed an issue in which the Peace and Quiet achievement did not require Master tier, causing it to be inconsistent with the achievement description. -Fixed an inconsistency with other Challenge mode encounters in fractals so defeated players can now be revived during the final encounter.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Frightening Speed to be blocked.
• Fixed a timing issue in the Challenge mode version of Dread Visage's large-eye warning effect that prevented it from detonating at the same time as the smaller eyes.
• Fixed an issue that could cause an Aspect to return to the main platform during World Cleaver without selecting a new target for Phantasmagoria.
• Fixed multiple issues with phase transitions and the synchronization of Dread Visage attacks:
  • The final boss and the Aspects no longer gain alacrity, regeneration, or quickness from boon-stealing attacks.
  • Sugar Rush has been removed from the list of Mistlock Instabilities for Silent Surf.

Other Updates

• The final boss's health has been reduced on Challenge mode.
• All checkpoints now require only two players regardless of fractal tier.
• In addition to Sugar Rush, the following instabilities have been removed from Silent Surf: Mists Convergence and Toxic Sickness.

As always, thanks for your constructive feedback and keep it coming!

I did the regular mode so I cant speak to the CM BUT I didn't enjoy it. I have a feeling they were undecided on fractal vs strike vs a fractal designed to introduce you to strikes. I'm actively avoiding this map in fractals.

On a side note: the colour tint at the fight is very annoying. I'm playing specter and the shroud 5 skill usually creats a yellow aoe circle, while opponent effects create an orange circle. The tint makes it impossible to differentiate between those two colours. This makes it very hard to see if you are about to wipe your team.