Patch Available - GMS 1.37

But will the average players even be able to group together to succeed or will that only be reserved for the extremely funded?

I don't know how you define average. But Empress as pre-unleashed is a big joke and is much more dependant on what class you are rather than funding.
And it seems like everyone and their mother, in Scania at least, can at least take down minions.

A group of 6 "averages" (I tend to think of this as people who have ~6-12% stat avg per gear, even if it's not exactly avg. But is avg for people actually wanting to attempt Cygnus) should be able to at least take down some minions after this patch if they play smart, and that's how it should be. And the more stronger and better combo's of class skills should be able to take down the full kill. At least imo that would define a good boss.