New Player New Questions!

I started playing a bit back in December 2013 but ended up stopping when my roommate got me hooked on another game. Before I stopped I got a lv30 Dragoon. Now that im back I started up leveling the guardian class and trying to become a Paladin. My questions:

I just got really awesome looking gear at lv26 and has 4 sockets on it, I bought some Materia but cant seem to find the info I need on how to install the Materia. How do I get the Materia installed into my gear, I know its gotta be a simple solution lol

If I plan to play mostly Solo, would it be better for me to just drop the Paladin and stick with the Dragoon? Or does the Paladin actually become a better heavy hitter later on? right now I feel like im spending too much time killing mobs.

I noticed that the Gilgamesh server was locked down, I couldnt create a new character on it. So I stuck with my old one but releveled as a Guardian. Does this mean that any friends I get to play the game will not be able to play with me?

A pld will never hit hard, but out survivability is through the roof.

1) You need a crafter for that gear to meld the materia in it.

2) Play whatever you enjoy. Paladin however will get you into queues faster since Tanks are often needed.

3) Gilgamesh is a high population server which tends to have restrictions on character creation. If you want your friends to play with you than have them try creating a character between 3am-8am in the morning. This typically is when the restrictions drop for a bit.