basic 'how do things work?'

[Elman1o1]

first off, thank any one who reads is with the intention of helping me out.

1) picking a character, what is a good character for a beginner to choose?
ie, if you don't utilizes skills to the best you can still play, and be an asset to a group.

2) which of the 3 sides to pick from? ie, what does it really mean in terms of how does it affect your character?

3) death... do you loose xp? do you loose gear? is there a corpse left behind that you have to retrieve.. what happens if you don't/can't?

4) Powers: it appears that they are completely flexible... ie, you can put every point you get early on into the first skills, and then just reset them latter on when you learn some thing new that you want to focus on.
is this the case in this game?

5) where can I find stats about equipment and such (pages and pages of raw data to read while bored at work )
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I have read the beginners guides and I feel I know the interface now how to play the game, but nothing about how to play the game (not the best phrasing, but you know what I mean)
above were the questions I still have.

I have played MMORPG games online before (the 4th coming, EQ)

ty.