I've known a few people who came back just to say goodbye to the story.

If you've been gone 5 years from any MMO, you should expect to be behind. People gone 5 years were in abyssea, they know what's up. People gone 3 years saw the release of ilvl, they know XI changed.

Much as I dislike the spam-nature of the fights, Ambuscade gear is a stepping stone and a great one. Since the "golden age", SE has gotten much better at "stepping-stone" gear. The only trouble with Ambuscade is if you miss the month your gear came out, you're seemingly out of luck. The grind for last month's gear is much longer and if you're a newbie, that really really sucks. If you're more than a month late, you're just... out of luck. I wish SE would change it.

Cruor gear (Teal, Perle, Aurore), Bayld gear, Skirmish II (the tent one), Bayld +1 gear, Reforged JSE, JSE weapons, Alluvion Skirmish, Ambuscade Gear. I deliberately left sparks gear off the list because I think it was designed to be unimpressive gear. Also can't forget abjuration and adoulin campaigns.