There's nothing wrong with Garuda, and thus, there's been nothing to wait.
Fire and Thunder are the ones who are waiting - Phoenix and Apo are long gone, so getting elemental attack is a pain in the ass.
But speaking of waiting, the long awaited Mars is finally here. Fire mains rejoice!... can we please get over this stigma already?
Pride weapons are good. They're NOT "all-or-nothing" so you don't have a reason to avoid them unless you're always running 2+ healers.