I think for me, personally, I don't mind the dragon being so tough to beat. This was one of the hardest boss fights I've ever encountered and easily put to shame pretenders in Dark Souls. If I have to spend 60 mins or more and some failed attempts to kill a thing then I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I do best it!
That said the developers are back from vacation and I would like them to look into Astarte. If they are going to keep her stationary then at least give her some active spells to use in the fight like "curse," "oath of desecration" etc which she does use in the fight with the Trife that precedes the fight with the dragon.
I never encountered the Death Knights in this fight (thank god) and I think that's because I chose to release Leandra from her devotion to the dragon through the soul forge. If you choose that option then I think the knights are not in the final fight.
To the guy who has no healing abilities: Man I am sorry. That sucks to get all this way to find out how necessary those are going to be.
I think the developers need to tweak this fight a bit and more on the Astarte end. Leave the Dragon alone (he's tough enough as it is).
