I do think it's worth mentioning that, regardless of how the Year Beast itself turns out, this patch is fantastic. It's easy to get caught up in the vitriol but it's important to remember that, for some, it's directed at one tiny piece and the overall feeling is still positive, and, for others, it SHOULD be directed at one tiny piece. I'm glad Valve is still experimenting with the model for holiday events as I don't think they've nailed it- though Wraith Night came close and Diretide's non Sugar Rush mode was fun- and they should be continuing to try to change it up, even if I'm less than happy with the results of that experimentation.
I would love to see post-mortems on events like this or just the dev process in general for Dota from Valve, though. I know, I know- Valve communication? LOL- but I still think it'd be fascinating and potentially go a decent ways in improving community relations.