Incoming Anxiety Attack:

I am confused with gear progression in this game and how to go about it and what I should have or not have at such and such point in the endgame. Traditionally, without a bunch of people who love and tolerate a person enough to help him or her through a fight/dungeon, what do normal players do and in what order do they do it? I think it goes like this: WP/AK/Prae/CM until TOMES are acquired and delicious. Purchase Darklight with TOMES. Do Ifrit for weapon. Now equipped with Darklight and Ifrit weapon, DO Garuda. Now equipped with Darklight and Gaurda weapon, do Titan? Wait, but I am missing AF+1 in there, aren't I? Hmm. Well I don't even know how you acquire AF + 1 and I certainly don't know how easy acquiring Thyrus is (and when I should acquire Thyrus +1). Okay...head ache incoming. xD Help. Lol.

Is Thyrus better than Ifrit/Garuda/Titan Weapon? If not, is Thyrus + 1 better? If so, I'd need to know the order in which I obtain the + 1, right?
How did everyone else learn this stuff? o_o;
I can just look for the information where everyone else looks if you just want to point me in that direction. I just wonder how I would know. O_o You know?

Should I just jump into something (which something?) and hope something happens that clarifies things for me? I've already done Titan HM and Garuda HM with no drops for my WHM self (my friends brought me with them). They were enjoyable. At one point someone complained about my HP in Garuda (I was in standard AF gear with a weapon I found on the auction house XD), but I survived the fight, so I guess I'm pretty lucky. Actually, they only complained about my HP once they had died failing to dodge a mechanic I didn't. I was told that this was pretty amusing, but again, I have no idea what I am doing, so I don't know how funny that really is, not that I am advocating for making fun of others or something. My basic point was that I am not sure what recommendation this player was trying to make to me? I'd like to know, if at all possible.

So yeah endgame seems fun.

I'm panicking~~~~