Also is there a "returning to SoA" chart I can look at to know the gear progression and where to start?
do sparks > get basic eminence gear(i117) (highly soloable or small group friendly)
do skcnm rematches > get 109 af/relic, at least the pieces most beneficial to your job(can choose your own difficulty, normal mode shouldn't be challenging for any group of 6 and the rewards come fast.. if you have 119s in the mix you'll probably want to try difficult mode)
do skirmish > get low acc 119 gear (don't necessarily need a full group of 6 for rakazanar, yorcia can be done with a couple people, still very easy)
work on delve and mission bc rematches to get high acc 119 gear and 119 af/relic
you can skip straight to delve/mission bcs if you have a horn/harp brd, a cor, a good whm, or friends who already do them
the low acc 119 gear from skirmish still remains useful whenever you do any lesser content, while delve2/119 af/relic tends to compose most of what you'd use in high end content