I would really like to see this whole thing succeed.
As a player since '09, I've been really depressed and overall disappointed with the declining popularity and quality of the game. I hope that you are ultimately successful in creating a new 9Dragons with a loving community and fair and equitable gameplay; that, my friend, would be a true gift.
I suggest using GC's weekend rates with your own weekend rate bonus of maybe x1-2 higher than that. As these are instituted Friday-Sunday (almost half of the week!) on the official server, it would retain most of the difficulty of grinding, while increasing the pace just enough to stay interesting.
I also have an extreme distaste for three quarters of the server running around with 1,000 base damage weapons refined to +9 without any second thoughts. In the old days, Golden Blossoms with a +7 was an achievement to brag about. I think a large part of this is saturation of the market with BE from the weapons and clothes crafting system. Please vanquish this.
Just my two-cents though. I wish you guys luck in all of your endeavors, and cannot wait to hop on board after release!