Sadly if you dont have abyssea to leech in, nor ls people who set up parties any more, how are you going to get exp if you dont solo. I hear what you are saying, some servers do have low numbers of people who party. It has become much easier to solo than it was when the parties where about. Like someone said there are FOV and TOV pages you can do. Make sure you get your reraise regen and if you are a mage refresh. I do worry how you are going to learn about skillchains and party setups and roles in groups but it seems there are not many people doing outside stuff of abyssea. If you can bite the bullet and get it, seriously think about it if you cant. This game going to be more frustration for you than success especially as more and more people dont respect solo players out to have fun.