I think those who are worried about the travelling from tser pool back are forgetting that there is the village near by which you can enter at night, and a slew of dungeons that people from west barovia can travel east to meet you and a mew dungeon can be picked
To begin, I want to highlight and offer a different side to this point of view, but I want to make it clear I'm not aiming all of this at you or trying to tear you (or what you say) down.
Reading through the comments on this thread, this doesn't seem to be the concern at all. The concern isn't, "What if I get stuck on this or that side of the Mist Wall and can't dungeon or get to a shelter?" It's, "Will I be stuck on the side of the Mist Wall where I don't want to be?"
Speaking as a player of a low-end high-level character who's basically permanently stationed in Vallaki and hasn't leveled up in a real-life year and a half, I'm not necessarily in favor of the change, and I would readily give up any RP XP in Western Barovia in exchange for not having to further try to flex my RL schedule around a hobby for the simple sake of making sure my character can make it through the Mist Wall at the appropriate time.
As BSR and others have pointed out above, for those with IRL obligations and limited play times, getting things done can already be a huge logistical challenge. It isn't that we don't want to RP along the road (as Soren recommends); I'm sure we would, because travel RP can be really, really fun. It's that some of us are already limited in what times we can log in or how long we can be logged in for and that trying to log in apart from those times can involve some really arduous RL logistical backflips. It would be really nice not to have to add yet another backflip for a hobby.
Furthermore, I appreciate the spirit intended behind the change, but I'm not sure it's going to mitigate the issue it's seeking to address. It's a short-term means to address a termless situation: if, for instance, a high-level character wants to go from Vallaki to the Mist Camp to dungeon, then return, they're going to do it if they're dedicated enough. Putting a time limit on the Mist Wall doesn't prevent them from returning; it only delays their return. If the idea is to prevent travel for XP grinding and, by extension, the influx of the higher-level characters who've just finished grinding, changing the hours at which they can return doesn't actually stop them from returning.
A high level is going to be in Western Barovia after dungeoning if they want to be. In terms of limiting their presence, what's it matter whether they arrive at 3 p.m. on Tuesday instead of 5 p.m.? On the off chance they miss a scene they could have influenced, sure, it matters. But in the larger picture, I'm not sure it does. They'll be there either way.
And to the point that other things on the server are gatekept by time, sure, they are, but not in the same way as this. If you need to craft, there are locations apart from Vallaki's crafting hall (which closes at night) if you know where to look for them. For nighttime merchants, there's the Night Market (or just a blatant disregard for curfew if that's your style). For nighttime travelers, there's the option to go as a group or get an escort to mitigate the risk of danger. Et cetera, et cetera. There are mechanical obstacles, yes, but there's almost always an option for a workaround.
In any case, I
do appreciate the Team's willingness to listen to feedback and give the option for more XP gain. I'm just not confident that this is the best or most effective way to balance it.