Rejoining since release, new character or existing one?

Hey all.

I quit the game back around release date after finishing turn 4 (and attempting Turn 5 a few times) since real life pulled me away for a while.

Yet now that I have some more time on my hands, I've decided to resub and play again and christ do I have a lot of catching up to do...

I had a WAR and PLD at 50 when I last played, but this time I decided I want to play a DRG/BRD/MNK or BLM. Now, I'm not sure if I should just make a new character or use the same? I have a friend who told me that FATEs are only boss FATEs and that no one does low level FATEs anymore.

Also, has there been any changes to the story/leveling system or new quest areas that would make it worthwhile to recreate a character?

Also, is there anything I should be aware or or keep my eyes open for?

Thanks!

No reason to start a new character. If you want to level a new class, and assuming that class is still low level, you can do all the new lower level content with that class. I've never done much FATEs, so I really don't know much about that, but doing dungeons is quite a nice way to level alongside some quests and the occasional FATE if you happen to run into one. Variation makes the levelling process a lot more fun :)

How about you keep your progress and use a fantasia?

Ah, Fantasia is the thing that changes the looks of your character, no?

I don't mind keeping my same character, I just wondering if there are a few things that might make leveling a new character better, like new story quests or reduction of FATEs (as a friend said, but I'm guessng it's the same as it used to be.)

With Fantasia you can change the looks of your character yes.

And actually, keeping your character has an advantage with regards to levelling. Since you have a level 50 class, any non-level 50 class you level will get bonus exp. Pretty much all of the story quests that were introduced with the patches are level 50 content. I did try starting a new character when I moved to a EU server from an NA server, but I ended up transferring my old character to the EU server instead. Didn't feel like doing everything again, and I'm too attached to my character to start over anyway ;)

The game has changed a bit since you last played. First of all, not many people FATE grind anymore since SE nerfed them. Do a combination of dungeons, FATE and hunting log to level a new class.