I also sent in tickets (many of them) and I got a response a few weeks ago stating they are aware of this issue.

No resolution on it yet and I do not anticipate this to be fixed until they open the next area is my guess.

Just keep plugging away at hitting chests in the arena.

I managed to make 2 swords and it was a long painful process to farm it. I had help from my guild members who would pop a chest for me. Also the claw drops from level 100 - 104 predominantly. 105+ you start to see diminished claws and other materials. So you may be limited on being able to farm the claws.