To get a better feel of what we're talking about, temporarily join a smaller guild who WoE's to take castles. Even a guild like RIP, who is capable fo breaking, cannot defend against the two largest guilds, or even a smaller party if they have a devo and a good breaker. That's how it is here. Skill really matters, that's why Trans went so far, but numbers matter too, they matter a lot, and so does gear.
We can open a castle without drops, but no one would be interested. We're opposed to this because we want a stable economy, and we know from past experiences that this sort of thing will plunge it into hell. These powerful items aren't to be dished out lightly.