My advice would be to ride the coattails of the Free Log In Campaigns.

As someone who had been unsubbed for almost eight months before resubbing for 3.3, I can attest that, personally*, not much has changed. Using the two Free Log In Campaigns to do 3.1 and 3.2, I was able to finish off the storyline without a hefty investment for the rest of the month. At this point the only content that I actually enjoy consistently is the story, so 4 free days each time was perfect to complete them.


*I should explain what I mean by "Personally, not much has changed". My biggest gripe is in terms of gear grinding, as stating things like "Lord of Vermillion was dead on arrival!" or "I dislike Relic grinding!" is subjective to those who it caters to. So I'll only discuss the gear progression.
Lore gear is in it's prime. It's gated by a weekly cap, and individual content (running one trial, raid, dungeon, etc) doesn't give a lot of them.
Therefore the Lore gear progression is slow, and it eats up a lot of time for one full set.
But this was the same for Esoterics, which are now very easy to get. With the last Free Log In, I got a full 200 set within a couple hours.
Even before Esoterics, Law and Poetics in their prime were the same.
The slow grind, only to replace the gear, has made me stop caring about having the next best ilvl. So who is to say that there is even a need to grind out Lore gears for someone like me? I could simply wait until the next log in campaign and reap the Lore gear quite quickly for whatever content is gated by a higher ilvl.


I've always broken down my argument mathematically as to why it's simply better to wait for the log in campaigns than to continue subbing when you're unsatisfied with the content. Because the rule of subscription-based MMOs is: your sub pays for more enjoyable content. But how much content are you getting?

If it costs roughly $15/month to play, then you're paying $45 per patch.
That's almost the equivalent of a new release game through Amazon Prime.
So is the content released per patch worth a brand new game?

What about the five-month content drought last year after the release of Heavensward?
We payed $40 for the expansion, and five months worth of subs until 3.1. So was Heavensward worth $100? ($40 + $60 in subs) Two brand new release games?


With the Free Log In Campaigns, you can do any of the content you miss, and catch up with the storyline.
Personally, I resubbed for 3.3 because the story, Aquapolis, Moogle Beast Tribe quests (those Meandering Mog Slippers!!!), and Deep Dungeon were all extremely exciting pieces of content that was worth my $15.
I'll resub when Deep Dunegon gets released for 3.35, and Ill see how it is. If it bombs, then I'll probably ride the Free Log Ins until 4.0