Been away for almost a year it seems. PLD In need of guidance on how to catch up

My job in general keeps me insanely busy. So, gaming of any kind has been pretty much Nil for about the past year or so. I've been able to occasionally log in and work on seasonal quests, but that's about it.

The last time I was able to seriously play, was when Crystal Tower was introduced and I think, they were introducing MAYBE, the third Coil. Though I am not sure, memory is rusty. All I remember is that people were griping at the time at SE about some kind of mechanic dealing with a boss that was some kind of Dragon type thing for that section.

Character and her items are below so that folks can understand at what point I was at when RL intervened.

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest...racter/350894/

So, even after researching, even after looking at so called guides, I'm still at a loss. I have my Curtana Zenith and my Holy Shield Zenith Thankfully. I'd like to, if possible, complete my Valor Armor, even if not required. Frustratingly, I found out Valor armor isn't even purchasable anymore, and I have no idea where to even get it. Hell, I don't even have my Myth Tomes anymore. They're all gone and the vendors give me squat.

I'm not really looking for a detailed guide. If someone wants to throw one out there, by all means please do. What I am mainly looking for, is kind of a very simple " Go to Point A, then Point B, then Point C. " Which also details how I can get the gear I need so that I am not a burden to anyone. Basically, I am looking for what I can do at this point and should do, to complete my valor set, and also get to the point where I can go to Ishgard and Unlock Dark Knight as quickly as is reasonable, as back in FFXI that was Brianna's main and that is where I'd like to get her to again. Paladin was never my main goal, and though I need to shake off the rust, I wasn't too horrible at it back in the day.

Any help would be appreciated. As I've said, I've looked at guides, but so many main scenario stories and patches have been gone through since back in the day I am overwhelmed, as all of the guides make mention to a bunch of stuff that I have no freaking idea what it is even talking about.

Thanks in advance.

Note: If the last time you played seriously was when CT was introduced, then they hadn't even brought in Second Coil. If I have anything else to say to your edit I'll say it.

Hi, I know where you're coming from after taking a break and feeling completely lost with what's going on; I was in the same boat a couple months ago. My suggestion to catch up gear wise and to get to the current content is to finish all of the main scenario (2.1,2.2,2.3, etc) up to the end as that'll grant you access to Heavenward and the quests along the way will give you 110 gear and weapons. I was watching my buddy who's new to the game play today and they changed a lot of the old questions rewards to help people catch up for the new stuff. I probably wouldn't bother doing second coil and final coil as most people are going to be moving on I'd imagine to work with the new stuff and it may be harder to find groups willing to go thru all that. Good luck!

Ok, with edit there now:

Do the main story. Don't worry about any of the raids or the like, just do the main story. If I'm correct it will start giving out gear now as well so you will be prepared for sure by the time you need to be ilvl 90 (I'm pretty sure you are atleast close to ilvl 80)

Note as well, if you do have the xpac the story quests should be giving you some exp as well so yay!

As for Valor: You actually can still get it. The Myth tomes, up until yesterday, could be swapped out for some Sol tomes. However, since we are getting new currency the Sol tombs have now become obsolete and only good for trading in for Poetic and Myth is gone completly. THAT SAID: There are some dungeons (Sastasha Hard, Snowcloak, and one other that I don't remember) that drop Antique types of gear, which can be traded in at an Npc in Mor Dhona for ilvl 90 gear: In the case of Paladins its the Valor gear. I don't remember his name but its he's in a room near Rowena. Snowcloak is part of the main story so you should see atleast one drop.

Thank you, both of you. It's nice to have some solid advice that tells me a direct route, instead of the many guides that try and say "Do all of this side stuff"

I really appreciate it.

To be fair with the xpac having just come out, most of the guides aren't prepared for it I think. If it was before Heavensward they might be better for you since doing side stuff would help, but now just taking the direct route seems the best.

Yeah, a lot of the stuff out there was really confusing. It's going to take me some time to catch up. I'm at Pass the Smell Hest right now. And trying to unlock the guildhests up to that so I can fulfill that. I still want to get my Zodiac weapon done too, but, from what I understand that is a nightmare based on old conversations. Not sure if it's gotten easier or more difficult.

Out of curiosity, how do I unlock Sastasha Hard, or Temple of Qarn hard or any of the dungeons so I can trade in those antiques for Valor Gear? Or do I have to wait until I reach Snowcloak?

Edit: Found out how to unlock them, so I'll work on that. Hopefully I can complete full Valor as I would like to. Thanks all