Holy shit! I happened to log in this morning and found Verina Tomb UP! I managed to enlist the help of some fine folks in TSS to help take her down. I was ready to engage if another group showed up, but I was more interested in securing the drop with minimal death on my part if possible.
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Shortly after I posted this thread and setup P99 again, the first thing I did was log onto my Enchanter (who was already parked near VD from the last time I gave up on P99), and I actually found a group there about to engage him. That was kinda mindblowing in itself to even see him up on blue for my 2nd time ever. I have his timer from that day, but I haven't been watching logs or keeping a mule there.
Now once I get VD, I just need to spelunk the Hole and then I got my epic! I think it's safe to say that, yes, the two bottlenecks are indeed less contested than what I remember of the last ~8 years, lol.