So as someone who got to lvl 50 in about a month and a half and played casually for another two weeks (this was more than a year ago, I got pretty close to the end of the main story at that time, I think...), am I right in thinking I couldn't just pick this up and carry on through to the new content? I was only at iLvl 70 or something, I reckon.
On the one hand, that seems like a bizarre restriction on lapsed players who might otherwise pick up the game. It's a big barrier to reentry. On the other, I actually have huge respect for the fact that such a decision would respect all of the time and effort more hardcore players made to progress in the end-game rather than wiping all of that away in the rush for lapsed-player dollars.
It's just a shame that it appears like I'd miss out, as I don't really 'do' grinding, I just explore, do quests, do dungeons (once), and level to max. That's it. That's my MMO experience.
If I'm wrong, please correct me, FFXIV was one of my favourite games of the last few years from 1-50 and through to the end of the story. I'd love to pick it back up if I could immediately move into new zones.
