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[Namlet]

I haven't played DF in about 2 years and I was wondering if you guys had any tips for people coming back to the game?

[Schmaven]

The basics are still very much the same as they were 3 years ago.  Try to train a militia and build defenses before you get attacked by goblins, werebeasts, or a dragon.  Food is a profitable industry if you're looking to trade for things.  The new things that stand out to me are being able to send out raiding parties to enemy sites, and you can name levers now.  So you don't need an excel spreadsheet to keep track of which of the 100 levers does what.  This forum and the wiki are still super helpful for accomplishing just about any project you can imagine. 

Edit: I'm not actually sure if being able to name levers is a recent development, or if I only recently learned out how to do that.

[Shonai_Dweller]

Oh, and stress has a noticable effect now. And in the current version can get out of control a little too easily. There are tweaks to come in the next few updates (release arc is due to complete "around the end of the year").

One easy solution (at first) is to use the new "send away" option. You can send dorfs to off-site holdings or just exile them into the wilds. Be warned that they'll take their families and pets with them. (This feature sometimes suffers from bugs making it not possible to send away certain dorfs).

(naming levers, piles, zones and workshops is new)

[Deus Machina]

If you had dreams of conquering the world, that time is coming.
As mentioned, I'm much appreciative of being able to label levers, too. No more notepads or location markers in-game to make sure you don't route magma into the mist generator.
First thing: build the quality-of-life improvements quick. Dorfs get stressed easily and fast, and it really doesn't reverse. My latest fort's new unofficial sport of moat diving would be more enjoyable if it had water in it.

[gchristopher]

You've seen world activation and temples/libraries/taverns already, so probably the psychology rework will be the biggest change, followed by being able to send out raiding parties. Changes have been a bit more focused on adventurer mode and groundwork for future fortress changes.

It's great that breakdowns can happen again, but you're going to run into the usual problem that stress-prone dwarves are almost impossible to keep happy. In my experience, you don't need to rush happiness improvements, though. Just cover the usual bases of having mediocre bedrooms, big common rooms full of furniture, etc, and most dwarves will be fine.