Just some things I've had on my mind for a while now; as discussed on Episode 250 of Pet Food Alpha. The following are some of the things I feel could/should be adjusted to balance the playing field for obtaining a Mythic vs. Empyrean:

1. ZNMs - If there are no plans to change the current format of ZNMs (i.e. maintain them as they are now, farming Zeni, purchasing pop items, etc.) then at the very least, the ZNM kings need to have a drastically higher drop rate for the trophies (I don't think I'm unreasonable in saying they could/should very well even be 100%). This alone would make it more comparable to what you see with Empyrean NM farming (that the drop items have at least 1 that is 100%, the second is 50% or what have you). Personally, I'm not directly opposed to the idea of revamping ZNMs to adopt the VNM format, like VNMs or hate them, either way they provide a much better system overall than the Zeni system.

2. Balrahn's Eyepatch - This is the first of the real tedious items required for advancement in the Mythic quest, personally, my thought process here is it either needs to be a drop from all Einherjar bosses (including Odin) or the cost for this must simply be reduced (assuming the same structure is to be maintained for Einherjar as we know it now). The other suggestion I could present here is a revamp of Einherjar to a similar system of the new Dynamis (i.e. Key Item instead of Lantern, enter once daily, etc.). Either way you look at it, this is one aspect of the quest that does need to be looked at in one shape or another, not that obtaining 100k Therion Ichor is impossible, it is just dauntingly time consuming in comparison to the time one would spend killing NMs for an Empyrean and basically stems back to the limitations on entry conditions.

3. 30,000 Alexandrite - This is seemingly where people focus the most of their attention when they think of the current problems in building a Mythic weapon. It appears the basic consensus on the forums is that Salvage is dead. There was some mention a while back about adjusting it, here is what I believe should/could be done: It all stems back to the tags that are required for both Nyzul and Assault missions. The stones system is quite flawless at the end of the day in comparison. Perhaps what should be done for starters, is allow tags to re-accumulate at par with the rate of stones; consequently, this would allow players to eliminate the issue of choosing Salvage vs. Nyzul Isle vs. Assault missions and having to conserve tags. The main principle behind this idea is that it would allow for more of everything, plain and simple. This way, players could enter multiple versions of these events daily, and allow more flexibility and variety in the activities required for obtaining Mythic weapons.

With regards to the aforementioned Alexandrite, it either needs to become available outside of Salvage (via mobs such as the gears in Abyssea-Uleguerand), or the drop rates need to be increased and added to all mobs inside of Salvage. One thing I had discussed on the Podcast was that it would be quite appropriate for the Salvage chariots to drop a guaranteed amount (be it 100, 200, 1000, etc.) this would allow for people to accumulate more, and in a more streamlined fashion with what we see in Abyssea and Dynamis "2.0".

4. Assault Missions - Personally, I believe the current system of obtaining Captain is an excellent and worthwhile aspect of the quest as a whole. What I do have an issue with is the things highlighted above (limitations to the amount of assaults per day/week) and most importantly, the fact that they need to be done a second time afterwards. My suggestion here is that the second round of these quests should just be removed, entirely.

In conclusion, I think there is still a great deal of players who share a great interest in creating an empyrean; however, the current system in place is neither fun or effective (in terms of a small group focus building one). Many improvements could be done be it through the suggestions I have made; or further, through removing some of the conditions entirely (although I think that personally many of these should remain untouched, such as: The killing of all of the major Aht Urghan beastmen leaders, ZNM kings, and Odin. My hopes are that in the weeks to come the development will shed some light on what they are currently working on in regards to adjustments for the Mythic weapons and other Aht Urghan content (Salvage, Einherjar, Nyzul Isle, etc.).

~B