Not particularly worried about my equipment or the rate at which I'll be clearing the Whale missions honestly. It's just nice to see we'll be getting a long-term end-game to work towards finally.
Edit: From what I understand, Whale Missions come and go like regular events, but for shorter time periods, right? Are these Missions available during a set time of day/certain days of the week for a few hours, or are the Airship Missions triggered like Raids are, by spawning an Ancient Pest from a map run?

So, abilities that boost Solar Drive damage don't apply to the Whale Cannon, huh? Shucks. I was hoping I could power level my new Ardisia to throw her into my back-crew to get that sweet, sweet 40% bonus, and maybe finally get some use out of Bipinnia Cosmos. She's way too slow to use normally.