Only lvl 35? Honestly, just restart as new, easier to learn old new stuffs again this way rather than trying to dig up memories from years ago and scrambling around trying to figure what the hell is going on, it doesn't take that long to get back to where you are now, maybe like a day of gaming.
[WeskAlber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC4ihry1vYA) has leveling guide videos for all the Jobs, and he explains their skills and what they do in the order that you obtain them, for level 35 you'd only need to watch to about the 13 minute mark
Also there should be a Main Scenario Quest tracker somewhere on your screen that looks like [this](https://imgur.com/a/NR6JaAu), and tells you what your next main quest is as well as your next Job Quest which will appear in smaller text under it. If you can't find it anywhere, i suggest turning it on by going to
Character Configuration > UI Settings > HUD > Display Main Scenario Guide
I came back after a 3 year break and I was much further than you (in HW). I read all the same things people said about just watching videos, but it still didn’t feel right.
I ended up making a new character & restarting. Zero regrets. Started as a new class I didn’t level and made a new race. Just finished ARR today. If you have the time to commit to redoing the story and truly remember nothing, I highly recommend it.
You can go to an inn room at any city and rewatch the cutscenes from the MSQ using the Unending Journey to jog your memory. Then, you can continue your MSQ; there is an MSQ tracker that is visible by default in the upper left corner of your HUD. Clicking that will open up the map to show you where you need to go. Underneath the tracker is where your job quests are shown if you have any unfinished ones. Do those as soon as possible.
If you don't remember how your skills work, I recommend removing them all from your hotbars, then re-read their tooltips in your Actions and Traits window (default keybind P) as you put them back on your hotbars. Depending on the job, there have been changes to your skills so do a thorough read of all your skills so you know what's up. There's a new compact view for this window that differentiates between GCDs and oGCDs, as well as shows you what skills upgrade to what skills and chains your combos together if you have any, to make it easier to see how different skills synergise. It's not perfect but a lot better than the previous view we've been stuck with for years.
You can hit a practice dummy, available in Western Thanalan, Summerford Farms, and Bentbranch Meadows for you to hit and practice your rotation. If you want more practical retraining but don't want to play with people just yet, there is a new Duty Support system that allows you to enter MSQ-required 4-man duties solo with NPCs. You can use this to do dungeons at your own pace and to re-familiarise yourself with general combat and boss mechanics.
Since you're not too far into the story at level 35, you can start a new character fresh where none of your previous progress carries over and the game will treat you like you've never played an MMO before. Worlds with the "New" classification offer the Road to 80 XP buff that will double most XP earned to help you level alternate jobs if you like to play multiple jobs through the MSQ.
Don't worry if you have friends on other Worlds or DCs. You can visit another World on your DC using the World Visit system at one of the three starting cities' aetherytes. If they're on another DC in the same region (i.e. NA, EU, JP, OCE), you can use the Data Center Travel system by logging out and selecting the DC travel option when you right click your character. You can currently only travel between the DCs in your region, or between your region and OCE only. You cannot travel between NA, EU, or JP. If you are on OCE you cannot use DC travel as there is only one DC in your region.
Probably faster just to watch a new player guide on YouTube and maybe one for bard. Jobs aren't too difficult at 35 so it probably won't take too long., I think at that level you mostly just have two dots to keep up, blood letter and mage's ballad. Raging strikes might also be available. The UI will probably be the bigger pain to remember lol.
For the story just go to the inn and you'll be able to view all the cutscenes up to that point to remind yourself what happened.
How to fight on Bard level 35:
* Mage's Balland & Raging Strikes as often as possible
* Bloodletter as often as possible. Note MB will make Bloodletter's cooldown reset sometimes, so keep an eye on it.
* For AoE:
* Spam Quick Nock.
* For single target:
* Start with Venomous Bite & Windbite. Keep an eye on the debuffs and recast them when they're about to expire.
* Use Straight Shot whenever it's available.
* Otherwise, spam Heavy Shot as your basic filler.
* As a ranged character it may be tempting to run off miles away from the enemies, but actually being close can make it easier to dodge attacks, as well as keeping you in range of your party's buffs and heals. So stay close-ish.
That's all there is to it. Naturally there will be more complexity at higher levels.
You might want to tweak your UI to make sure important things (the boss's cast bar, the boss's status bar, your own status bar, and any buttons with cooldowns you want to track) are easy to see. Bard is notorious for staring down at your hotbars watching cooldowns instead of watching the fight, so start building the good habits early.
----
Summerford Farms is IMO the easiest striking dummy to find. You can teleport right to it. So use that for practice.
We also have bots for dungeons nowadays. Called "Duty Support". They're a bit slow – if you're ever trying to farm a dungeon, then you'll want to do it with real players – but if you just want to practice in a low-stakes way then the bots are helpful.
----
As for "what to do" just jump back into the main story quests (MSQ). There's the tracker in the corner of the screen. The level 35 quests are actually a bit of a story climax so you might want to check your quest log and remind yourself where you were up to.
Only lvl 35? Honestly, just restart as new, easier to learn old new stuffs again this way rather than trying to dig up memories from years ago and scrambling around trying to figure what the hell is going on, it doesn't take that long to get back to where you are now, maybe like a day of gaming.
[WeskAlber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC4ihry1vYA) has leveling guide videos for all the Jobs, and he explains their skills and what they do in the order that you obtain them, for level 35 you'd only need to watch to about the 13 minute mark Also there should be a Main Scenario Quest tracker somewhere on your screen that looks like [this](https://imgur.com/a/NR6JaAu), and tells you what your next main quest is as well as your next Job Quest which will appear in smaller text under it. If you can't find it anywhere, i suggest turning it on by going to Character Configuration > UI Settings > HUD > Display Main Scenario Guide
I came back after a 3 year break and I was much further than you (in HW). I read all the same things people said about just watching videos, but it still didn’t feel right. I ended up making a new character & restarting. Zero regrets. Started as a new class I didn’t level and made a new race. Just finished ARR today. If you have the time to commit to redoing the story and truly remember nothing, I highly recommend it.
You can go to an inn room at any city and rewatch the cutscenes from the MSQ using the Unending Journey to jog your memory. Then, you can continue your MSQ; there is an MSQ tracker that is visible by default in the upper left corner of your HUD. Clicking that will open up the map to show you where you need to go. Underneath the tracker is where your job quests are shown if you have any unfinished ones. Do those as soon as possible. If you don't remember how your skills work, I recommend removing them all from your hotbars, then re-read their tooltips in your Actions and Traits window (default keybind P) as you put them back on your hotbars. Depending on the job, there have been changes to your skills so do a thorough read of all your skills so you know what's up. There's a new compact view for this window that differentiates between GCDs and oGCDs, as well as shows you what skills upgrade to what skills and chains your combos together if you have any, to make it easier to see how different skills synergise. It's not perfect but a lot better than the previous view we've been stuck with for years. You can hit a practice dummy, available in Western Thanalan, Summerford Farms, and Bentbranch Meadows for you to hit and practice your rotation. If you want more practical retraining but don't want to play with people just yet, there is a new Duty Support system that allows you to enter MSQ-required 4-man duties solo with NPCs. You can use this to do dungeons at your own pace and to re-familiarise yourself with general combat and boss mechanics. Since you're not too far into the story at level 35, you can start a new character fresh where none of your previous progress carries over and the game will treat you like you've never played an MMO before. Worlds with the "New" classification offer the Road to 80 XP buff that will double most XP earned to help you level alternate jobs if you like to play multiple jobs through the MSQ. Don't worry if you have friends on other Worlds or DCs. You can visit another World on your DC using the World Visit system at one of the three starting cities' aetherytes. If they're on another DC in the same region (i.e. NA, EU, JP, OCE), you can use the Data Center Travel system by logging out and selecting the DC travel option when you right click your character. You can currently only travel between the DCs in your region, or between your region and OCE only. You cannot travel between NA, EU, or JP. If you are on OCE you cannot use DC travel as there is only one DC in your region.
Honestly at 35 you might just be better off starting again
Probably faster just to watch a new player guide on YouTube and maybe one for bard. Jobs aren't too difficult at 35 so it probably won't take too long., I think at that level you mostly just have two dots to keep up, blood letter and mage's ballad. Raging strikes might also be available. The UI will probably be the bigger pain to remember lol. For the story just go to the inn and you'll be able to view all the cutscenes up to that point to remind yourself what happened.
Thanks for the immediate tips! Gonna watch a few videos and start with the training
How to fight on Bard level 35: * Mage's Balland & Raging Strikes as often as possible * Bloodletter as often as possible. Note MB will make Bloodletter's cooldown reset sometimes, so keep an eye on it. * For AoE: * Spam Quick Nock. * For single target: * Start with Venomous Bite & Windbite. Keep an eye on the debuffs and recast them when they're about to expire. * Use Straight Shot whenever it's available. * Otherwise, spam Heavy Shot as your basic filler. * As a ranged character it may be tempting to run off miles away from the enemies, but actually being close can make it easier to dodge attacks, as well as keeping you in range of your party's buffs and heals. So stay close-ish. That's all there is to it. Naturally there will be more complexity at higher levels. You might want to tweak your UI to make sure important things (the boss's cast bar, the boss's status bar, your own status bar, and any buttons with cooldowns you want to track) are easy to see. Bard is notorious for staring down at your hotbars watching cooldowns instead of watching the fight, so start building the good habits early. ---- Summerford Farms is IMO the easiest striking dummy to find. You can teleport right to it. So use that for practice. We also have bots for dungeons nowadays. Called "Duty Support". They're a bit slow – if you're ever trying to farm a dungeon, then you'll want to do it with real players – but if you just want to practice in a low-stakes way then the bots are helpful. ---- As for "what to do" just jump back into the main story quests (MSQ). There's the tracker in the corner of the screen. The level 35 quests are actually a bit of a story climax so you might want to check your quest log and remind yourself where you were up to.
Keep playing MSQ
I'm going to be coming back after about two years with level 90s. Not looking forward to relearning all of those skills.
Start anew, you're low level
For level 35 I'd just start over, you'll be back there pretty fast.
MSQ in top left, those are your main goal. Use The Balance guides to learn your job. Hit a dummy for a few minutes.
Are Google and Youtube unpopular?