This is the third time...
Content Designer
What level of participation did you receive?
Gold. In all cases.
Also, to make this more clear. In events in the past where I arrived late (say for The Shatterer or Claw of Jormag) the chests still spawned on my screen I just didn’t have access to them.
In the cases mentioned above I had Gold medal participation and there was nothing on my screen. Though I could see other players going to the area where the chests should be and likely they were getting their loot.
I’ve mentioned in map chat before and by account have received responses from other players who experienced the same problem. I’ve also bug reported once or twice.
Going back to the beginning of the game this used to happen right after beta but then wasn’t a problem anymore. It started happening again sometime after Wintersday was patched.
On the flip side I’ve run up to meta-events that completed before I arrived, didn’t give me any medal or completion, and I was able to loot the chest.
This happened with the “Seraph Assault on Centaur Camps” meta-event. I think the chest was not the final one, but at some point mid-way because I stuck around after looting the chest to continue with the rest of the event to receive medals in other portions.
I think chests can be a little bugged sometimes. Fortunately, unlike the OP, I’ve always had chests spawn for me in the dragon world events.
Hammerfist Clan: http://www.hammerfistclan.com