Hopefully someone can answer without trolling but,

I haven't played since around 2.0 I think? Around when BT Beshseheshs Temple or something came out.

Are most of the servers dead? I believe I was on Israphel.

Is everything still long ass grinds?

Not that I am a casual, but Aion in it's previous state is a bit too time consuming for my current schedule wondering if things have changed at all.

ever since 2.0, they've increase the exp rate by about 2x. they've also added alot more quests.
currently, i believe siel is the most active server out of all of them in north america. TM and IS servers are pretty much dead sadly.
Aion itself still takes alot of time. hope this helps

This guy has no idea wtf he's talking about.

Siels is a trash server with shitty players and on it being dead, I cannot say.

But Tiamat is where a majority of the community has congregated. It has an extremely active player base and there is always PvP.

Since 2.0 they've implemented a feature called the Fast Track Server where you can play with people across all servers of your faction, it is PvP Free and you get 2x exp while on the FTS ( fast track server ) Prior to level 51. After lvl 56 you can no longer enter the fast track server.

The game in overall grind standards is about 4x easier, there's a multitude of repeatable coin quests that help you level and campaigns and instances have been dummied down and made a lot easier.

The new 4.0 expansion is on the horizon which is what everyone is waiting for and gearing up / saving Ap for atm. It will release 3 new classes: Gunner, Bard, and Rider. I advise you to look up videos of the 4.0 content before
making your decision to come back to game.

Good luck!

If you decide to play again and find yourself on Tiamat msg me > GsNpL

Thanks for the helpful responses, definitely going to look into it especially with new classes coming out.

They've made Aion way to easymode when it comes to leveling... and the FTS is a joke.