ToFS Raid 1 Difficulty / Mechanics concerns

Part of the immunity depends on the rank that you have. If not in center and you have Rank 3 or lower you get the message
[Thu May 21 21:29:36 2020] Your Pyre of Klraggek Rk. III spell freezes in the air before it reaches a restless ice shade! You might have more success with your magic if you were colder.
If you have rank 4 or higher then spells land from anywhere

They were intended to be a safety against exploits. If an event is structured & balanced correctly, then no reasonably constituted raid force (i.e. with "some" representatives each in the categories of tank/healer/dps/support) should encounter the timer as long as they're progressing in the event. Spinning-of-wheels indefinitely doesn't count. Holding encounters open with invulnerable priests definitely doesn't count, or kiting for 7 minutes while a raid force rebuffs & meds. These are things that totally happened in past expansions.

Since then, in some particular encounters, they've become an de facto event mechanic "artificially" imposing a dps check. That… technique has plusses & minuses, design wise…