So i have been lurking for a while while waiting for 1.5 and Arrange .
On the discussion on Vincent, i think that (if possible) you double the chance for healing with his innate while transformed. With that you have a berserk char with decent self sustain, which compliments him not using MP.
On the rank issue, i think adding mobs that you can grind SP on before Clouds return kinda removes the purpose of having a rank system at all. From my understanding, the rank system serves several purposes, one major being for balancing bosses/enemies. If you allow early ways to grind, you might as well just let stats grow with lvls.
A suggestion, might be late but hey i can try. Is it possible to return a char to its base lvl and stats? If so that could be a way to allow "respeccing" rank ups. The cost might then be that you start att base lvl and have to grind SP for ranks again. Since you have better gear and materia, leveling back up might not be a big problem, but its steep enough of a downside to keep you playing the mod for a while.
In any case, keep up the good work, i am back to lurking again *POOF*