Bottom line, Likes do not replace points. These are two different things and unfortunately, we just don't have a point system right now.
The old system was custom and it had a lot of things that most of us liked, some things not so much. Unfortunately, the custom setup went away and we were forced to find something that was already built. It's like the difference between building your house with all of your special nooks and crannies that you need and want vs. buying one already built and just adjusting to it.
I spent weeks looking and trying out different systems and this one, Xenforo, was the one that had the most options like what we were used to. There is no point system built into it but there may be a plugin available. A plugin is like an app on a phone that you install and it lets you do things you couldn't do otherwise
The problem with plugins is it adds lots of extra code and extra weight to the site and makes the pages load just a little slower.
For this reason we have to be pretty choosy about what we add and what we don't. Xenforo has a new version available and I don't know if it has the point system or not but we will most likely be upgrading sometime this year.
I too liked the points so hopefully we can bring them back eventually.
For now, a "Like" is comparable to a friendly smile, a wave or a pat on the back. They are endless in supply and can be given out anytime you have half a reason. It makes people feel good, new members feel welcomed and it 's just an all 'round nice thing to do.