25,600 by the always finish #1 group
21,100 by the usually finish #2 group
16,500 by the usually "top 5" finishing group.
We finish 5th almost every FA because we have a great team and reduce the stress of the thing by the following:
1) Constant communication, including daily and sometimes twice daily updates. Everybody knows what to make and what to avoid making.
2) Planning ahead. We know from the start how many we need of each item. And we track 5 of them by having people post in a thread that they have started one of those 5. Everything else is either easily made or can be if needed. Arcane Residue, like everyone knows, can slow us down but we encourage all participants to have 200+ CC ready and about 100 5 hr time instants. Most don't get close but some do and that makes it much easier to do the crafting necessary. I, too, think the AR too much and can easily see it could be a real drain if you weren't well prepared before the FA started.
3) Realistic goals revealed before hand. I usually set the goals based upon the workstation count and our past performances per workstation (25 points per workstation means that if we have 1500 workstations we can do about 35,000 points. We know this from tracking the last few FA's. There are other things I do to predict how it will go, but the point is I set the bar lower than what might happen. Last FA I set it at 10th place and about 32000 points. We got 5th and I forget how many points. The excitement of going past our goals is always a winner BUT if we don't reach our goals, a bummer. So I lower expectations to what I think the minimum we will do at the beginning and watch as they always surpass them.
4) Easy reporting. It takes opening the proper thread and typing 3-5 characters to report. And the players only report on carpenters, farmers, blacksmiths, necklaces and statues. They put them in the thread and our FAO (Fellowship Adventure Officers) put them in the giant spreadsheet we use to track everything. It even tells us when things will be ready to be collected!
5) No requirements to participate. Everyone usually does, but sometimes not. We never mention it. And, because we track who put what on each waypoint we also know who might not have had the chance to put something on the current stage -- so we reach out and privately ask if they wish to do so.
Overall, it all works well and nobody is under a lot of pressure. The only pressure we really feel is what others have mentioned, too many FA's in a year. I'd like to see it go to 4 myself. 6 is too many. As a result we'll probably take a break in a couple more, as we did a few back.
AJ