What to do now?

Hi,

I started this game about three weeks ago, and since then have focused solely on grinding out my first character to reach Level 70. I accomplished this goal yesterday right before the patch.

I know I have a little bit more to do with the MSQ and will probably finish that up before the weekend.

Does anyone have suggestions on what I should do afterwards? I have a general idea of certain activities I am going to try out, but I am still learning about the game and would love to hear some suggestions from more experienced players.

I found this last night: http://accomp.me/ffxiv-daily-weekly-checklist/

There are many other things that can be done in the game, namely:
1. Gearing up => Many end game gear require player to exchange certain item or currency, and the only way to obtain those things is mainly through dungeon, raid, or roulettes.
2. Crafting and Gathering => Very fun yet challenging.
3. Possessing house.
4. PvP.
5. Unlocking achievements & logs.
6. Collecting Mounts, etc.

Getting a class to 70 means you can access the end-game content. Do the "Extreme" trials for Susano'o and Lakshimi (and Shinryu if you meet the ilvl requirement). You can also do the Savage end-game raids, O1-4S, which give the best gear you can obtain. You can start on that with the i310 gear, or a mix of i310 and 320. (It's recommended to meld VIT materia into your accessories if you don't have any 330 pieces.) You can also do the 24-man raid "Return to Ivalice" that was introduced this patch too for i330 gear and fun fights as a large group. Plus there are three extra dungeons just for level 70- Kugane Castle, Temple of the Fist, and the new Drowned City of Skalla. The end game is mostly focused around getting the best gear you can for you main job and then filling out other jobs as you want. If you only care about one job then it's fine to focus on that. The patch that just launched today, 4.1, is a catch-up patch that will make it easier for you to get good gear that lets you have an easier time doing end-game content.

You can also level alternate classes that you might be interested in. Since you're a Scholar main you could try out the other healers- Conjurer (CNJ) starts at level 1 and can turn into White Mage at level 30 (the quintessential healer; simple to learn and master with a lot of raw power), and Astrologian (AST) starts at level 30; it has a lot of flexibility and party support power. You can try out anything you want, really, which is one of the best parts of this game. Check out crafting and gathering jobs too- some players find real enjoyment in them since they have complicated systems and nuances just like the combat systems do.

Welcome to end game! So, youre going to want to spend a little time getting your gear sorted out. Depending on the type of content you want to run, you may or may not need the very best of the best, but you still want a decent set for your main class. You'll upgrade this more or less every other patch. If you want to get right into extreme savage and ultimate difficulty instances, this is priority number 1 with a bullet. If thats something you dont care about, then you can just do a piece here and there while you focus on other objectives(and if you fall in between adjust accordingly). Grinding out 70 levels in three weeks on your first toon means you almost certainly skipped a ton of optional content. So now you certainly have time to go back and check out some of what you missed. Optional dungeons(a few in the "leveling" range, many at level 50 and 60, 2 currently at 70), optional trials, 8 man raids, 24 man alliance raids - theres plenty of combat instances to try out. You can start befriending beast tribes and gaining their trust. You can pick up crafting and gathering and try making some things. There are other classes you can try. Some people lose a lot of time on the gold saucer games(triad racing and minion). Others dedicate themselves to collections(mounts, minions, music). There are a few sidequest chains that are incredibly well done(Hildy being a popular favorite) which you probably missed. Have you met(and potentially been enslaved by) everyones favorite mi'qitten?

And of course, theres the TRUE end game if you think youre ready. Ill put this one under a spoiler tag, just incase your mind isnt prepared.

The TRUE end game is glamour. Making the prettiest, most badass, and best put together outfits to glamour over your own potentially ugly and not well matched gear. It is truly a war that never ends.

And i know im leaving some out, so clearly there are a lot of things you can check out! Part of being "caught up" in level and story is that you now get to set the style of game you want to play without feeling like youre being left behind.