So the update has come and gone for May 9...

And I can't say I'm the World's Happiest Camper with most of it...

Voidwatch:

Tried once, and died miserably to the worm because the status of when you are in a Voidwatch Operation Battle is the same as a Confrontation in some other mechanisms (Fields of Valor Elite Regimens, some WotG fights, etc.) -- hence, it wiped my pet and it hits like a truck.

Don't like that it sounds like it's bringing some of the Abyssea stuff over here. Hopefully, once we learn some more on this, it'll improve.

Grounds of Valor/Revamped (High-Level) Monster Placement:

Gee, they really don't want low-level players in the dungeon areas anymore. Once you go up the spout in Dangruf Wadi, you're in 90-land now, Toto! Wasn't paying attention, and a 90 goblin ate me for lunch.

Be interesting to see the benefits you get from continuous GoV work, but gotta get a rhythm going on that.

Neo-Dynamis:

YE-OUCH!!!

Someone's trying to kill Dynamis.

I can understand lowering the drop rate on singles.

But effectively eradicating it entirely??? 45 minutes in Bastok Monday night, just completed 70 minutes in Xarcabard. ZERO coins.

That said, if they can balance the drop rates, the action is soloable for a careful 90, and there are some other changes as well:

• Killing a pet's master kills the pet.
• If all on a monster's hate list dies, the monster despawns effectively immediately.
• Beastmen and Xarcabard demons link with each other, but NOT with Statues or Eyes.
• The 2-hr can be really quick. Watch out on the summoners!! (Learned that night 1.)
• Regular mobs can now be snuck and invised against -- no more True Sight and Sound.
  

Actually did have a decent run in Xarcabard. One time extension gave me a total of 70 minutes in there, and I killed the WHM demon NM and got a pop item drop. Got 3 AF2 in Xarcabard, and 2 I could use (RDM and MNK -- BLU was the other.) MNK now 5/5 AF2.

If they get the coin rates balanced, this could be a godsend. Until they DO....

Protip to Square-Enix: Coins are what make people money and get them to come back. Most of the AF2 gear is either gotten a couple times over, obsoleted by AF3, or both.

Adventuring Fellows:

I really need to break out Sharlene some day. She's hot. :)

Abyssea:

I thought they ninja-nerfed the drop rates on Pursuer's Wings just before the update.

I do like the knowledge on lights -- each light has a 0-255 strength list. /heal - ing shows you that along with your time left.

And the NPCs coming to the home nations?? Let's just say I finally moved my home point back to Bastok! :)

Battlefields/KCNMs:

Haven't tried any, but will take the Inventory Space +6 from finally getting to trade all those buggers in! :)

Other administrivia:

Got my Prishe statue. She's now pointing at nothing in particular. All hail Prishe fan-service.

Working on Axe WSNM points after finishing Staff, Polearm, and Dagger. Club next, then some Shinryu soloing.

Ninth Vana'versary:

Ring is different, now a 9000 point bonus limit, 12 hours to use it up, 10 charges.

Another Dinner Jacket uselessness, sounds like. Early indications: Looks cool, though.

Mog Bonanza:

A number of changes, mostly to Empyrean stuff and rescaling the game to Abyssea. A number of items have been removed, as well, as a result. This is mostly about changes to additions to level changes.

Rank 5: No changes. Mostly battlefield entries and statues.

Rank 4: A number of changes.

• Joyeuse has been reduced from Level 3 to Level 4. And there was a time that was one of the most sought-after things in the game!
• Same with Valhalla Helm, Yinyang Robe and Nocturnus Helm.
• Carbuncle's Pole and Redeyes added to the list.
• Most of the craftables removed from all levels, except for HNM stuff/Black Belt stuff (Behemoth Tongue, etc.) here.
  
• Bahamut V.2 "Wyrmking Descends" Orb added.
• Also downgraded: Kupon B -- Beaucedine Dynamis AF2 armor -- Rank 3 to Rank 4.
• Also added: Kupon S. Win this, and you can pick any one job of your choice and gain all the necessary seals (but the seals only -- still gotta buy the rest and farm the feet!) to upgrade any one job's AF3 to a full +1 set. This is cool. And doing this at Rank 4 keeps things from getting too far out of hand. That's for later!

Rank 3: Gil breakdown for the top three tiers is the same. Downgrades already listed, plus the following...

• The Great Sword "Nightfall" from the Fiat Lux BC (remember that obsolete situation?) has been added. Aneiro, if he didn't get it before, really might want that one!
• Nocturnus Mail has also, as the Helm, been dropped one Rank, from Rank 2 to Rank 3.
• Byakko's Haidate, elite body-piece, downgraded one Rank, from Rank 2 to Rank 3.
• King Arthro's Velocious Belt (Haste +6%) also similarly downgraded from 2 to 3.
• The Synergy item Galley Kitchen has been added for that chef who needs everything.
  
• Level 4 Sarameya ZNM drop Hachiryu Haidate downgraded one Rank, from Rank 2 to Rank 3. Anyone still doing ZNM's at all?
  
• Roundel Ring (Oztroja (S) SCNM drop) has been added. Great curing piece!
  
• The Nomad Moogle Rod (an exclusive item to Japanese events) has been put at this level. But you can't give the Moogle Pies to yourself, and, unless they vastly upgrade the "gift" you can give, why the Hell is this a Rank 3???
• Odin drop: Valhalla Breastplate downgraded to Rank 3 from Rank 2. Which see Abyssea obsoleting a lot of other things, like Einherjar.
• The Elite Salvage gear: Ares' Cuirass, Skadi's Curie, Usukane Haramaki, Morrigan's Robe... Downgraded to Rank 3 from Rank 1! Talk about an admission as to the obsolete nature of Salvage!

Rank 2: Downgrades already listed, plus:

• Tier 4 ZNM Tinnin staff drop, Alkalurops, downgraded one rank, from Rank 1 to Rank 2.
• Dynamis Lord drops Shadow Ring and Shadow Mantle both downgraded one rank, from Rank 1 to Rank 2. And if Dynamis isn't fixed tout suite, it could be completely obsolete.
  
• Shinryu drops Twilight Mail and Twilight Cloak added.
• Jailer of Love "drop" Novio Earring downgraded the same one rank. Rank 1 to Rank 2.
• Ebisu quest items stay up at this level, as does the Pandemonium Key (for those suckers who want to try Pandemonium Warden).
• There's an item called a Cat's Eye, which is a jewel, which has been added in the May 9 update, added to this tier. Apparently, the .dat people (got this from FFXIAH) have said that it will automatically complete the alexandrite leg of any Mythic weapon. But you do not get the alexandrite you've spent back.
• The most interesting addition, though, to this tier, is the Kupon EA. Now, of course, you can conclude that this is not a preview of the Peyton Hillis Madden 12, but this has to do with Empyrean Armor. Like the Kupon S, you select a job. But with the Kupon EA, you receive ALL FIVE AF3 +2 PIECES COMPLETED from that job! WOW!!!!

Rank 1: Most of the items have been changed, as a number of the other items got downgraded from previous versions of the Mog Bonanza. With the gil, you get the choice of, for the Grand Prizes:

• Kupon A: For an AV drop. (As in the previous Mog Bonanza.)
• Kupon P: Pandemonium Warden drop. (As in the previous Mog Bonanza.)
• The Ridill, the Kraken Club, the Defending Ring, and the Ebisu Fishing Rod are also at this level, as before.
• Kupon EW is a slight change from previous Mog Bonanzas. It grants a fully completed (to this point) Empyrean Weapon of your choice. A winner of a Kupon EW would get a more completed weapon than a Kupon E winner did before, but it's the same concept. The list of trial completions is on the website linked above.
• Two mega-additions from the Nomad Mog Bonanza from Vana'Fest 2010: Kupon RW and MW. I don't think I need to say much more than the Relic or Mythic of your choice, respectively!
• Two new Grand Prizes have been added to the gear set. The Ochain (effectively the upgraded Aegis), and the Daurdabla (basically the best stringed instrument in the game). Not known if these two items will be level 85 or level 90 -- my guess is the latter.
• Three final Grand Prizes have been added for the person in need of lots of cash that even the gil prize might not satisfy: Each Dynamis nation's TEN THOUSAND-PIECE (the one you would normally have to collect to gain the final part of your Relic Weapon). Let's put it this way, the gil prize is usually about 100,000,000 gil. The Sandy and Windy ones of these could be worth, at pre-Neo prices, 120-150,000,000 gil!

So salivate over all that. Sales begin near the end of the month and the numbers come out mid-July.

My choices:

Rank 5: A statue I do not have.
Rank 4: The seal set, job unknown.
Rank 3: Tough call, though I no longer see equating Xarcabard Dynamis drops to the same level as elite Salvage gear.
Rank 2: The AF3 +2 completed set, obviously. Job becomes a real pain to decide at that juncture!
Rank 1: OH DEAR GOD... Call me if I win, after I am revived.