I've played FFXIV since it's first iteration in 1.0 through all the shit until now. I've accomplished virtually everything the game has to offer. There is a lot of artificial gating that happens. If you start the game, you will want to start as either a healer or tank. DPS queues are abysmal (potentially over an hour of wait for lower level dungeon entrance). There are several grind-driven aspects of the game like Relic weapons, which require a lot of work to chug through, especially being as behind the curve as you are. These weapons are NOT necessary, they are simply a neat thing to upgrade as you progress (more geared towards the casual crowd than the raiding crowd, though at times the Relic weapon can be considered BiS), they are mainly aesthetic and only end up being the better weapon for a couple months before the next raid comes along. You must find a dedicated group if you want to participate in cutting edge endgame progression. PuGs do not fair well the first couple months of new raid releases. Usually they'll make it past the first couple of bosses, and then it's a lot of smashing face to wall for the last few. If you want to be well rounded you'll have to level gatherers and crafters as well. This will require a good amount of dedication and time. You'll notice if you join now there will be a bit of a lull in groups as people are enjoying the Golden Saucer (mini games, etc.) and many have moved past the current endgame raid (we've been clearing for about 2-3 months now). A new expansion is set to be released by, potentially, June of this year. Send me a pm with any questions you have, I can offer a ton of advice, I've played since this whole thing began and intimately familiar with all mechanics, classes (everything max level, many highly geared). Any intimate details you want I can help you with (I'm actually leaving the game myself but the information I have is relevant until the xpac drops).