Considering Coming Back.

My static typically runs my BLU for our Sortie runs.

Is it TOP TIER best possible return on Gallimaufry? No, especially since it's not Mage strat.

Is it as good as bringing a heavy DD, maybe Warrior, instead? Yes/No, I'd argue some aspects of the run are made easier, while clear speeds on basement bosses might be slower... It might hurt us more on specifically F boss, but we do get to cleave the Flans quickly. The Tourbillion + Nat. Med diffusion steroids certainly close any gap a BLU would have vs another DD.

That being said, presuming your typical MELEE Sortie run is:
COR
BRD
RDM for buffs/debuffs supporting DD?
Healer(WHM)
Heavy DD (we use SAM, but most fill the role)
Additional DD

With Blu filling that Additional DD slot it's pretty negligable. We clear ABC, EG, all upstairs mini bosses, all Flans in E, E WKR's, Botulus/Naraka + Bitzer chests, Then end the run with F where we wipe ~20% of the time to Wind hand start. When you're netting a total of 40-46k Galli, versus somewhere closer to 50k, it adds up sure but its not really a deal breaker.

Ultimately as most have pointed out, you should play the job you enjoy 1st and foremost, and if you play that job at a high enough level you can do well enough that it wont matter. If you want to Min/Max everything to the utmost, then you can transition to other party compositions, try other more 'meta' jobs.

As a returning playing I'll reiterate what others have said, BLU certainly is a solid option for low manning / soloing content, as well as getting you enough RP (odyssey) or galli (empy upgrades) to start working with PUGs or statics in a more meaningful manner. Tizona is still the best weapon by far for the job, so theres no reason to shame them for wanting to work on it as their goal.

If they work their way up in upgrades they may even be utilized by some groups for some of the higher end Odyssey fights like Mboze, Ngai, Kalunga or even Bumba v25. If you'll take my anecdotal evidence, you can even get a respectable amount of Galli in melee comps if you put in the effort. When you're on such a miserably long grind it's more important to have fun and mix things up rather than mix/max it every day and burn out.

Ultimately, should they return to the game now? Arguably no... the games in quite a dead end state at this point, and if your not grinding end game content with a static you'll struggle. But if you're only in it to experience the things you've missed out on, do TVR, maybe grind some stuff Solo/low man that you couldn't 3 years ago, Go for it have fun and try to play with others to keep the community going.

In terms of server; Asura isnt as bad as people make it out to be, especially if you filter out the /yells, strictly due to player density and economy. That being said the aforementioned other populated servers are just fine and if that's how you'd prefer to play you won't miss out.

I think the deciding factor on whether to play ffxi or not is the cost.

Base subscription plus 3 mules plus 4 wardrobes is for me is 19.99 or close. Anyways I can't justify more than that as a monthly subscription and I had to work real hard to bring it under $20. I'd love another wardrobe to make things easier and put the 5th job in but its just not worth it. For me, the nostalgia and mechanics of the game that are fun to me are worth $20 maximum I'd pay. The value however is really at the $11.99 monthly subscription range if that.

Then end the run with F where we wipe ~20% of the time to Wind hand start.

Only Me (BLU) and the SAM engage to avoid excessive TP feed and consistant skillchains. Mumei > Mumei (gravitation) > Expiacion (Darkness), repeat. Typically by time the 2nd mumei goes off with AM3 I have just over 2k tp, hitting ~50-60k expiacions. We technically could have the BRD tp as well for Rudras double darkness, but it seems like a net loss.

There's a linkshell I like, social, that does events, that I think is perfect for both new players and returners. The LS leader is a streamer as well, and everyone gets along and helps eachother out. I would say that they are mostly mid-game, doing some end game stuff (like dyna-divergence farms twice a week). It's one of the most welcoming linkshells on Asura I know of and I can give you a pearl if you come here. It's a perfect start.

Ok so, I did decide to reactivate my account, but then I got admitted to the hospital for an extended stay, just my luck lol.

While I did mention blu is my favorite job, and I'd likely spend a good deal of time on it, I neglected to mention I also have a geo with an Idris and a cor woth Fomal. Couldn't really say if they're geared enough for stuff, but a decent starting point I think. None of my remas are ranked up though, so maybe that'd be a good place to start as well. Thanks again for all the input and hopefully this hospital ordeal will get sorted quickly.

Stuff

The BLU has to sit there swinging for a long time with plenty of TP while waiting for those Mumeis to go off.

A BLU with capped haste, Sam roll, & DW will get TP like an absolute monster

A BLU with capped haste, Sam roll, & DW will get TP like an absolute monster and SAM TP rate is totally irrelevant because the real delay here is the WS animation, delay for the SC, WS animation, delay for the SC, not the rate at which the SAM can be prepared to WS.

As with most endgame buffed scenarios, the issue isn't how much TP you get per hit but the Global lockout for animations and the natural delay involved with the SC.

I'd be very surprised if the BLU didn't have 3k TP by the time it came for him to WS. Meanwhile, your BRD COR and RDM are all standing around.

Seriously, I recommend spamming WS as fast as you can on all of these jobs, I guarantee it will do better damage than having 2 people SCing, and frankly I think the mob will be getting plenty of TP from a SAM & BLU beating on it, the "extra" from having the other melee won't matter much if at all. Might be a nice relief to have him waste 5 seconds of his extremely short life using a WS instead of pounding you with auto-attacks.

Not to derail this thread, but to follow-up:
We ran today, he was on wind hand, we delayed the Asylum until we started WSing him and had all 5 players just spam on it. On the one hand, a bunch of us dropped low at times due to him TPing much more often, but also he died before Asylum wore off.

I think we switched to only BLU and SAM on it awhile ago due to the damage getting out of hand, but it seems to be zerging it with all the gas is the better way to go and just have the healer keep up haha.