As then name suggested - "Crisis" so we expected to be pushed hard. Always complain about the build 2500 recruits - and what are we expected to do with them? By level 56 I never use recruits for anything, so spent the "do one adventure"/kill tower parts killing them off in waves.
I would echo comments made by others though - read the advanced blurb, find the notes on what each quest is going to be and plan accordingly. It was easier to produce "amounts" of stuff by building a few extra buildings and upgrading them to level 2/3 before they were needed, and having explorers out to arrive back just after the next quest started. Without forward planning I would not have been able to complete the event without using gems at some point ( but maybe thats what we are expected to do :-) )
Was it worth the rewards ... probably not. Bookbinder tribute - 1 manuscript every 7 days - not that good but as it only cost me time so I went for it anyway.