Returning player seeking class advice.

Hello, I played ffxi from 2004-2008, and have just picked it back up as something to do until GW2. It feels like almost a completely different game now, and I was just wondering what the ideal job/subjob would be for soloing missions and campaigns, while still being able to find groups fairly well.

I was thinking about drg/Mage for the healing wyvern, or maybe blu/nin or I hear good things about /dnc.

Bst is a lot of fun but from what i recall, no one invites a Bst to an exp group.

Any tips welcome, thank you.

Every job has a place in abyssea exp parties nowadays, so feel free to play whatever you have fun playing.

Was toying with going through a breakdown by job... but yeah, Savlyn prety much nailed it. There are a few jobs that may be worth noting that are good to have though. If you find you may be stuck to more solo/low-man situations, there are a few jobs you might want to keep in mind.

On the DD side, WAR for proc'ing NM's, NIN and/or THF for blink/evasion tanking (some mobs will rip you up with additional effects if they land regular hits), WAR and BLU are also handy as a foundation for starting XP parties (particularly cleave styles, MNK too to some extent--BLU is especially handy as it can build azure very fast).

On the Mage side, BLM will always be key in farming because of it's long list of magic proc. No matter what, strong healers are always needed, so WHM and SCH are good to have as well. RDM is still a reasonable mix of both, but it also has some specific uses as well. It's still treated like one of the illegitimate red-headed step-children of SE, but it's managed to carve a small niche out for itself.

Pet jobs....well, pet jobs still excel at soloing and teaming up to pet burn things (nothing new there). You can prertty much Solo/Duo all of WotG on pet jobs. Some might need a third wheel, but most are a cake walk at 99. Same with Sea and Sky (to a certain point, towards the end you will want more help for some key moments).

im actually more interested in whats the better solo class that is still useful in groups. DRG? SMN? NIN/DNC?

Depending how often you play, and when GW2 comes out, if you choose BLU you might still be getting spells for it when you leave, so I would leave that for now.
BST can be a brilliant job for soloing just about anything once you build up your gear sets.
NIN/DNC is good for both solo and groups. Can be quite costly though, especially for a newcomer. (On BST you would be able to get at least 100 currency from dynamis every day to sell)
SMN is very useful in some of the more challenging fights in the game (Arch dynamis lord etc.) but you need to get alexander, which means doing the aht urgan missions first.
DRG is a nice all-rounder, not especially asked for in parties, but useful for both healing and DDing.

If you haven't tried PUP, I would highly recommend it. We are amazing now in terms of what the automaton can do. PUP fits into any party slot fairly easily if geared well. PUP is second only to BST in terms of solo. In terms of end game, PUP is a viable DD that should be getting some more love with the new Legion system (the need to change damage types on the fly, and pet fighting).