Originally posted by DivineEvil:

Does someone NOT doing it? Each buff grants a massive boon for the next stage. Wandering mobs do not change in any sense from trophies, and raids are also pretty easy to handle with the help of those buffs until you get the equipment to just brute-force them.

Exactly, events are triggered based on what boss you've beaten. Not the trophies hanging from spawn circle. OP is just shooting himself in the foot by not taking advantage of boss powers.