Some early thoughts, now that I've had the chance to play some of the new material

-- Genkai VI is not unreasonable, though those who recently merited might think otherwise.

-- Actually got a meritpo with five other people, and ran like Hell to Caederva (after all bird camps were already taken 10 minutes after the restart!!), and did imps and the like til I got my 3 merit points.

Then, with a Besieged starting, ran out to kill a couple birds. DING 76 DNC! Return, change, repeat. DING 76 DRG!!

Already a number of 77s on Siren.

16 78's on, as of 2:30 AM PDT.

3 79's.

NO 80's.

-- Started the Bastokan finale line, and need a Castle Zvahl Baileys [S] cutscene next. But I got a bit sidetracked.

-- Walk of Echoes. You have GOT to be kidding me.

Campaign on Steroids.

A bunch of antlions ran over about 10 of us for breakfast. :)

It's got potential, though -- let's see what happens with larger groups.

-- Abyssea is a TRIP!! Did Konschtat for my first run. If you go in alone, or use one Traverser's Stone, you get 30 minutes before you get kicked out. Another stone cannot be given to you for a full 24 hours, it sounds like (minimum 20).

Lower level monsters con EM-DC to a 76, meaning they probably are 74-76. Fought three Shadow Lizards -- quite a challenge, but no real danger. Just think of a 75 as a level 1, and you get the idea. :)

They do spawn chests, which can have items! Combination quests apply here as well.

(Got Eft Blood and a Giant Bugard Tusk, which are used in crafting L76-80 items.)

However, they do tell you the amount of time you have left and the number of guesses left, and the list is only 11-77 -- you must guess to get a clue. A guess gets you an additional clue, other than higher or lower.

Heard a rumor some of these chests are mimics!!!

One possible bug I saw: In the chat log, it will show the maximum number of attempts allotted, but will not decrement that number when an attempt is made. In the mini-game window, it will decrement, however. Has been reported to a GM.

There are quests here, and I completed about two of them in the time allotted.

-- Interesting ninja addition (pun intended, in this case): The Utsusemi icon now shows how many shadows you have left in your last casting.

More later. My bed calls me... :)

One quick EDIT before bed:

Sounds like there are two BCs in each finale line. The reward is an L80 ring. San d'Oria's is HP +25, Reduces Critical Hit Rate.