diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index b6d08117..7137a57d 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-2024-11-05  Dirk Eddelbuettel  <edd@debian.org>
+2024-11-07  Dirk Eddelbuettel  <edd@debian.org>
 
 	* DESCRIPTION (Version, Date): RcppArmadillo 12.1.99-1
         * inst/NEWS.Rd: Idem
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@
 
 	* inst/include/armadillo_bits/: Re-sync Armadillo 12.2.0-rc0
 
+2024-11-05  Dirk Eddelbuettel  <edd@debian.org>
+
+	* inst/include/armadillo_bits/: Re-sync Armadillo 12.2.0-rc0
+
 2024-11-03  Dirk Eddelbuettel  <edd@debian.org>
 
  	* inst/include/armadillo_bits/: Armadillo 12.2.0-rc0
diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index ff051464..dfe1e281 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Package: RcppArmadillo
 Type: Package
 Title: 'Rcpp' Integration for the 'Armadillo' Templated Linear Algebra Library
 Version: 14.1.99-1
-Date: 2024-11-05
+Date: 2024-11-07
 Authors@R: c(person("Dirk", "Eddelbuettel", role = c("aut", "cre"), email = "edd@debian.org",
                     comment = c(ORCID = "0000-0001-6419-907X")),
              person("Romain", "Francois", role = "aut",
diff --git a/inst/NEWS.Rd b/inst/NEWS.Rd
index 8049cfc6..d4b6e5f3 100644
--- a/inst/NEWS.Rd
+++ b/inst/NEWS.Rd
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 \newcommand{\ghpr}{\href{https://github.com/RcppCore/RcppArmadillo/pull/#1}{##1}}
 \newcommand{\ghit}{\href{https://github.com/RcppCore/RcppArmadillo/issues/#1}{##1}}
 
-\section{Changes in RcppArmadillo version 14.1.99-1 (2024-11-05)}{
+\section{Changes in RcppArmadillo version 14.1.99-1 (2024-11-07)}{
   \itemize{
     \item Upgraded to Armadillo release 14.2.0-rc0 (Stochastic Parrot)
     \itemize{
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/auxlib_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/auxlib_meat.hpp
index 72bd2e75..a6a1f122 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/auxlib_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/auxlib_meat.hpp
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ auxlib::inv(Mat<eT>& A)
   {
   arma_debug_sigprint();
   
-  // NOTE: given a matrix with NaN values, getrf() and getri() do not necessarily fail,
+  // NOTE: given a matrix with NaN values, lapack::getrf() and lapack::getri() do not necessarily fail,
   // NOTE: and can produce matrices with NaN values.
   // NOTE: we're not checking for non-finite values to avoid breaking existing user code.
   
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/config.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/config.hpp
index a8f6cf9d..46d755bc 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/config.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/config.hpp
@@ -95,9 +95,6 @@
   #error "use ARMA_USE_FFTW3 instead of ARMA_USE_FFTW"
 #endif
 
-// #define ARMA_BLAS_64BIT_INT
-//// Uncomment the above line if your BLAS and LAPACK libraries use 64 bit integers
-
 // #define ARMA_BLAS_CAPITALS
 //// Uncomment the above line if your BLAS and LAPACK libraries have capitalised function names
 
@@ -105,6 +102,9 @@
 //// Uncomment the above line if your BLAS and LAPACK libraries have function names with a trailing underscore.
 //// Conversely, comment it out if the function names don't have a trailing underscore.
 
+// #define ARMA_BLAS_LONG_LONG
+//// Uncomment the above line if your BLAS and LAPACK libraries use 64 bit integers, ie. "long long" instead of "int"
+
 // #define ARMA_BLAS_NOEXCEPT
 //// Uncomment the above line if you require BLAS functions to have the 'noexcept' specification
 
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@
 //// Uncomment the above line to use Intel MKL types for complex numbers.
 //// You will need to include appropriate MKL headers before the Armadillo header.
 //// You may also need to enable or disable the following options:
-//// ARMA_BLAS_LONG, ARMA_BLAS_LONG_LONG, ARMA_USE_FORTRAN_HIDDEN_ARGS
+//// ARMA_BLAS_LONG_LONG, ARMA_USE_FORTRAN_HIDDEN_ARGS
 
 #if !defined(ARMA_USE_OPENMP)
 // #define ARMA_USE_OPENMP
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_cond_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_cond_meat.hpp
index ad1bc765..be1ef078 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_cond_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_cond_meat.hpp
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ op_cond::apply(const Base<typename T1::elem_type, T1>& X)
   
   if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_cond::apply(): detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_cond::apply(): diag optimisation");
     
     return op_cond::apply_diag(A);
     }
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_expmat_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_expmat_meat.hpp
index aff2deab..7278cabc 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_expmat_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_expmat_meat.hpp
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ op_expmat::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<typename T1
   
   if(A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_expmat: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_expmat: diag optimisation");
     
     const uword N = (std::min)(A.n_rows, A.n_cols);
     
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ op_expmat_sym::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<typenam
     
     if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || X.is_diagmat())
       {
-      arma_debug_print("op_expmat_sym: detected diagonal matrix");
+      arma_debug_print("op_expmat_sym: diag optimisation");
       
       out = X;
       
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_inv_spd_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_inv_spd_meat.hpp
index a252e5dc..73ed5c79 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_inv_spd_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_inv_spd_meat.hpp
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ op_inv_spd_full::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<typen
   
   if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || out.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_inv_spd_full: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_inv_spd_full: diag optimisation");
     
     eT* colmem = out.memptr();
     
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ op_inv_spd_rcond::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, op_inv_spd_stat
   
   if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || out.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_inv_spd_rcond: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_inv_spd_rcond: diag optimisation");
     
     out_state.is_diag = true;
     
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_log_det_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_log_det_meat.hpp
index 5601597d..39ef514d 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_log_det_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_log_det_meat.hpp
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ op_log_det_sympd::apply_direct(typename T1::pod_type& out_val, const Base<typena
   
   if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_log_det_sympd: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_log_det_sympd: diag optimisation");
     
     eT* colmem = A.memptr();
     
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_logmat_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_logmat_meat.hpp
index 67136602..43cd9ac5 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_logmat_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_logmat_meat.hpp
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ op_logmat::apply_direct(Mat< std::complex<typename T1::elem_type> >& out, const
   
   if(A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_logmat: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_logmat: diag optimisation");
     
     const uword N = A.n_rows;
     
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ op_logmat_cx::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<typename
   
   if(S.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_logmat_cx: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_logmat_cx: diag optimisation");
     
     const uword N = S.n_rows;
     
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@ op_logmat_sympd::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<typen
     
     if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || X.is_diagmat())
       {
-      arma_debug_print("op_logmat_sympd: detected diagonal matrix");
+      arma_debug_print("op_logmat_sympd: diag optimisation");
       
       out = X;
       
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_pinv_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_pinv_meat.hpp
index 48f02edc..f88ca05b 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_pinv_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_pinv_meat.hpp
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ op_pinv::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<typename T1::
   
   if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_pinv: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_pinv: diag optimisation");
     
     return op_pinv::apply_diag(out, A, tol);
     }
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_powmat_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_powmat_meat.hpp
index bbd104cf..c95b6860 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_powmat_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_powmat_meat.hpp
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ op_powmat::apply_direct_positive(Mat<eT>& out, const Mat<eT>& X, const uword y)
   
   if(X.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_powmat: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_powmat: diag optimisation");
     
     podarray<eT> tmp(N);  // use temporary array in case we have aliasing
     
@@ -194,11 +194,11 @@ op_powmat_cx::apply_direct(Mat< std::complex<typename T1::pod_type> >& out, cons
   
   if(A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: diag optimisation");
     
     podarray<out_eT> tmp(N);  // use temporary array in case we have aliasing
     
-    for(uword i=0; i<N; ++i)  { tmp[i] = eop_aux::pow( std::complex<in_T>(A.at(i,i)), y) ; }
+    for(uword i=0; i<N; ++i)  { tmp[i] = eop_aux::pow( std::complex<in_T>(A.at(i,i)), y ); }
     
     out.zeros(N,N);
     
@@ -207,11 +207,11 @@ op_powmat_cx::apply_direct(Mat< std::complex<typename T1::pod_type> >& out, cons
     return true;
     }
   
-  const bool try_sympd = arma_config::optimise_sym && sym_helper::guess_sympd(A);
+  const bool try_sym = arma_config::optimise_sym && sym_helper::is_approx_sym(A);
   
-  if(try_sympd)
+  if(try_sym)
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: attempting sympd optimisation");
+    arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: symmetric/hermitian optimisation");
     
     Col<in_T>  eigval;
     Mat<in_eT> eigvec;
@@ -220,16 +220,39 @@ op_powmat_cx::apply_direct(Mat< std::complex<typename T1::pod_type> >& out, cons
     
     if(eig_status)
       {
-      eigval = pow(eigval, y);
+      bool all_pos = true;
       
-      const Mat<in_eT> tmp = diagmat(eigval) * eigvec.t();
+      for(uword i=0; i<N; ++i)  { all_pos = (eigval[i] <= in_T(0)) ? false : all_pos; }
       
-      out = conv_to< Mat<out_eT> >::from(eigvec * tmp);
+      if(all_pos)
+        {
+        arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: all_pos = true");
+        
+        eigval = pow(eigval, y);
+        
+        const Mat<in_eT> tmp = eigvec * diagmat(eigval);
+        
+        out = conv_to< Mat<out_eT> >::from(tmp  * eigvec.t());
+        }
+      else
+        {
+        arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: all_pos = false");
+        
+        Col<out_eT> cx_eigval_pow(N, arma_nozeros_indicator());
+        
+        for(uword i=0; i<N; ++i)  { cx_eigval_pow[i] = eop_aux::pow( std::complex<in_T>(eigval[i]), y ); }
+        
+        const Mat<out_eT> cx_eigvec = conv_to< Mat<out_eT> >::from(eigvec);
+        
+        const Mat<out_eT> tmp = cx_eigvec * diagmat(cx_eigval_pow);
+        
+        out = tmp * cx_eigvec.t();
+        }
       
       return true;
       }
     
-    arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: sympd optimisation failed");
+    arma_debug_print("op_powmat_cx: symmetric/hermitian optimisation failed");
     
     // fallthrough if optimisation failed
     }
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_rank_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_rank_meat.hpp
index 15511fc1..c7840e57 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_rank_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_rank_meat.hpp
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ op_rank::apply(uword& out, const Base<typename T1::elem_type,T1>& expr, const ty
   
   if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_rank::apply(): detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_rank::apply(): diag optimisation");
     
     return op_rank::apply_diag(out, A, tol);
     }
diff --git a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_sqrtmat_meat.hpp b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_sqrtmat_meat.hpp
index 44017455..3c2f07d4 100644
--- a/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_sqrtmat_meat.hpp
+++ b/inst/include/armadillo_bits/op_sqrtmat_meat.hpp
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ op_sqrtmat::apply_direct(Mat< std::complex<typename T1::elem_type> >& out, const
   
   if(A.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_sqrtmat: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_sqrtmat: diag optimisation");
     
     const uword N = A.n_rows;
     
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ op_sqrtmat_cx::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<typenam
   
   if(S.is_diagmat())
     {
-    arma_debug_print("op_sqrtmat_cx: detected diagonal matrix");
+    arma_debug_print("op_sqrtmat_cx: diag optimisation");
     
     const uword N = S.n_rows;
     
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ op_sqrtmat_sympd::apply_direct(Mat<typename T1::elem_type>& out, const Base<type
     
     if(is_op_diagmat<T1>::value || X.is_diagmat())
       {
-      arma_debug_print("op_sqrtmat_sympd: detected diagonal matrix");
+      arma_debug_print("op_sqrtmat_sympd: diag optimisation");
       
       out = X;