This whole 280 thing has me wondering if people have played other MMOs before. This sort of thing has been common for years now.

We're in that time during the end of an expansion where loot starts getting easier and easier to get as it will soon hold little value. As an example, at the end of Warlords of Draenor there were demon invasions leading into the new expansion that were incredibly easy that could drop loot of the same item level as the last raid's hardest difficulty.

We're basically in the off-season, so I wouldn't worry too much about item power. I'd focus instead on getting glamour, making gil, leveling jobs, completing tasks or even taking a break.