My prediction is that Garuda will take longer than Ifrit did the first time, or about as long. Why? I think its the litmus test for "balance". That is, developers have given us relatively easy content up til now. AV and CC were harder than the other stuff we've been given, and took a fair amount of time for ppl to do successfully. Garuda will probably be the hardest thing the devs have ever implemented in the game for several reasons:

1) Ppl been whining about difficulty

2) Jobs actually have to be *tested* to see where they are lacking. Only stupidly hard content will do that.

3) They specifically said they will address the whole "5 ranged dd for auto victory". I expect the fight to be severely punishing on ranged, but just as punishing on melee. In other words, almost impossible without figuring out how to balance a party.

Because we've been so accustomed to certain strategies, it will actually take quite a bit of time before someone can think outside the box and run a successful group. I expect it to be THE fight that will require a balanced party makeup where everyone is forced to cooperate in a highly successful manner.