By Bahamut.Genryu 2016-09-15 11:24:41
I'm also a returning player (As of two weeks ago).
I happened to find a friendly linkshell called 'Welcome' that is aimed at new and returning players (And surprisingly there are a lot of us). A pearl can be picked up from the new linkshell NPCs in the game called "Linkshell Concierge's", there is a concierge in Ru'Lude Gardens if you are interested in taking a look.
It is a good way to ease your self back into the game, whilst acclimatising your self to all the overwhelming changes of the last few years. We even have a couple of pup players, including a pup main who I am sure can give you a bit of advice.