Quote Originally Posted by Gundammeister View Post
So is gear in this game similar to how it is in Eve, where it is mainly obtained through the purchase from other players who craft it?
Yes. Mainly from crafting.
I have not seen any gear drop, nor have I received anything as guildleve rewards.
Some mobs drop gear (for example, skeletons drop eye patches). And most lower level NMs drop gear. But for the most part, mobs will drop stuff that can be crafted into gear.
Is there a central place to purchase gear? Like an Auction house or something? I understand how the bazaar works, but is that the only option, to run around and keep browsing everyone's goods for sale until I find a sword I can afford and use? Seems like there should be a central place to purchase things of that nature.
Like Frisque said, each city has its own Market Wards. You can do a search before entering the Market Wards for a particular piece of gear. It will tell you whether anyone in that city's Market Wards is selling the item, how much it costs, the name of the retainer selling it, and which Ward the retainer is located in. Then you just teleport into the right Market Ward, look for the retainer(s) with the red star over its head, and buy the items you want.

If you're trying to figure out what to buy, I'd suggest browsing ffxiv.yg.com. You can figure out what you want to buy, and then do searches for those items.

And keep in mind that on pretty much all servers, most players have migrated to Uldah. So if you want to find goods to buy, the Uldah Market Wards are your best bet.
I take it NPCs don't sell that type of stuff either?
NPCs sell some items, but most have to be purchased from players. Again, if you check YG, it will tell you whether an NPC sells a particular item, and if so, where the NPC is located.

Good luck!