Tried after the patch to get the Key of Melancholy. I did not die during the quest, and each time was told that you feel you have done something correctly. At the end, I turned in the Brass Boots to the yearning armoured shadow. He did not aggro. I then hailed him, and got a new broom. I really would rather have gotten the key, as it is the last one I need. My understanding is that he should aggro, you kill him, and get the key. Please check if something is weird since the patch?
Zoning out/gating also resets your progress. It appears it would be zone data being like this. I didn't die but had to gate out in a few instances. This task all the task related NPCs are non aggro, no killing. There is also no "last mob" or "first mob" as long as all the NPC are handed the right item. Once you have handed to all NPCs (I don't remember from my run) you either immediately get the key on your cursor or you hail one last time to get it on your cursor.
Order doesn't matter as long as you do every single turn in before you die / leave the zone it works.
Ran the quest today successfully and got the key. The end mob did not aggro as was noted here. No gating, no dying, no evacing, no leaving zone. My only thought is last time he looked at the state of my house and decided the broom was really more important?
