Thinking about returning and have some questions

Haven't played since I guess about October, and hadn't really done much by then (wasn't 50, hadn't done much past like lv40 on the story stuff, only fought story ifrit). I was wondering if someone might be able to sum up the bigger changes in the last 8 months? Are Fates still the main way to level up? I'm hoping to be able to find some people to level up with, I'm pretty sure that is why I didn't stick around before because I'm not playing an mmo to go solo.

There's many different ways to level now - although you're still free to grind on FATEs if that's what you like. Some of the new methods for levelling are:

Duty Roulette (a dungeon is randomly selected from the ones you've unlocked and you get an exp and gil bonus for completion)
Dungeons have had the exp yielded by enemies increased considerably
Likewise, Guildhests have also had exp bonuses added as well
Challenge Log which is kind of similar to doing Achievements, only it resets once a week and yields exp and gil bonuses, amongst other things
Levequests have also had their exp boosted by a fair amount
From level 40ish, Beastmen 'daily' quests which you can undertake up to six a day which resets once a day as well

If you're wanting to level with friends, then dungeon roulette and guildhests would be the way to go.

The bonus from Duty Roulette is only once a day, though. Yes, dungeon exp was increased but if you plan to play as DPS, FATE grinding is still your best bet due to extremely long wait times. Only thing that's really changed is they added more weapon/armor grinds.

well, melee dps have a slight advantage over range dps though in term of queue time for dungeons :P

furthermore you should just find a guild, there are some guilds out there that like to take "new" players into their family. you won't only have people there doing dungeons with, but you will also find some friends there as well you may stick to for a long time^.^

there are alot of changes made since back then, slightly more content, but alot in general.
just try out a month, the 12,xx€ shouldn't hurt :P

Frankly there aren't that long queue times for DSP anymore. Unlike at the start with 2h+... usually 30 min is max 90% of the time. Often less. But if you want to rush level then yeah fates. Frankly I'd suggest queue for DF then do fates while waiting. But not that you will be doing a LOT of fate grinding when you go for atma weapon - so there is real danger of burnout depending on luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MeganLynn

The bonus from Duty Roulette is only once a day, though.

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There are two bonuses for Duty Roulette. The main bonus that everyone can get is a once-per-day bonus. There's also a second bonus available to those filling the most-needed role (which is usually tanks, occasionally healers, but virtually never DPS). If you're in one of the needed classes, you can get that secondary bonus as many times as you care to keep running it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MeganLynn

Yes, dungeon exp was increased but if you plan to play as DPS, FATE grinding is still your best bet due to extremely long wait times.

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Well, the other effect of Duty Roulette being added (and in fact, the reason why it was added) is that it has significantly reduced the wait time for getting a group. The people you need to run a dungeon with you are being given incentives to run it. It's still a much longer queue for DPS than for tanks or healers, but it's not as long as it used to be. Tanks and healers can get into most dungeons almost immediately. DPS typically around 15 to 30 minutes during peak hours, maybe a bit longer if you play during off-peak hours. Still, it's better than the several hours wait they were starting to get on the less-popular dungeons before DR was added.