Continuing with Old character vs starting a New character

[Arthrun]

With a new expansion on the horizon I have a question that I cant seem to find answer for. As a on an off FFXIV to Wow player I do have gaps in time where I did not play when certain content was relevant and other times I did. Because I think i need something other than Wow and with its catch up Mechanics it doesn't feel like I will miss out much and not so cluttered in what to do. Coming back to FFXIV I seemed to be a tad overwhelmed about how cluttered my character feels. 1 lvl 70 SAM, other Jobs partially leveled, quest lines I do not renumber sitting in my log. Other logs and achievements partial - near completed. Bags and gear all over the place. (Because glamour menu not really a thing like WoW I may not want to get rid of gear its wardrobe is not robust)

So finally here is my question.

Would it be more prudent for a returning player to start a new character fresh from the start or should I make the same amount of effort to try to figure out where I left off?

Because I was more catered toward a wow player I played FFXIV more for MSQ and some times endgame content. Before I had a hard time finding a free company that was looking a endgame raider, thus why I bounced back to WoW. Before I actively look for a free company I hope to see some options come about to see where it helps push my decision to place my focus in.

Thanks for reading.

[MistakeNot]

If your character is at level 70 it will take far more effort to level up a new character to that point than it would to just relearn your old character.

[Arthrun]

to me it would feel the same amount of effort. Maybe coming from WoW that catching up seemed far simpler when dealing with professions and classes so not as daunting when returning.

[SenorPatty]

If you're up for it and want to start with your old chr, you just need to put on your surgery gloves and dissect your pacing.

First, try to set a simple, clear goal. For this example, we'll use this goal: I want to complete SB msq

Set aside everything else. Keep everything you don't recognize in your main inventory in retainers and/or choco saddlebag. Any sidequest you don't remember, tick them off. Complete the msq we have now if you haven't. Once you have that settled, do sidequests one by one. Don't be pulled off in all directions. From this point on, all you have to do is tackle everything else one by one or until things get familiar again. As you clear these goals and get more comfortable, you can try branching off little by little.

I hope this helps.

[Seraph522]

to me it would feel the same amount of effort. Maybe coming from WoW that catching up seemed far simpler when dealing with professions and classes so not as daunting when returning.

I've never played WoW before, but from what I've heard, catching up there is easier to do because content isn't really gated behind the main plot quests like it is in FFXIV. If you start over completely, you'll have to go through all of the MSQ again, which is a lot of content to work through. If you're okay with that, then go for it; just know that unless you spend a lot of time playing, you probably won't be caught up with the MSQ again before Shadowbringers drops. Alternatively, there's going to be a New Game Plus system introduces in ShB, which will allow you to play through old content again, so if you can wait for a month or so, that might be another option.