Just started a few days ago. Quite a few general questions please.

[rabbitzero]

-I'm a perfectionist, that being said I like to do all the hunter logs, guildhests, and sidequests as I level. I read a guide that said to not do any of those until later.. Am I really hurting myself by doing them now? Will I have enough to do to level another class later, or to level my dragoon/pugilist?

I did them all on my main, kept the two starter areas for my "side" classes. (gridania for conj, Uldah for Thaum) I got the two side classes to 15 each from those, but after that it was only one path for getting the main up. It's not terrible, but you do run out of quests and the guildhest bonus for first time is great, other times not so much. Depends on how you really want to play. If Dragoon is your main goal, then it wouldn't really hurt you.

-As I'm leveling, should I take Lancer to 50 before I take Dragoon? Or do the non-advanced jobs have a lower cap?

I feel it's best to take a job when you can instead of waiting until 50, they are helpful once you get them, and level the same as the class they come from.

-What is the difference between a Linkshell and Free company?

Linkshell you can have 8 or so, and are mainly chats, but can be really helpful. Free companies are guilds from other games, with more bonuses but also only one.

-Is there a place I can bank all my crafting materials I'm finding? I'm still learning the basics and I don't want to overwhelm myself with the crafting.

Retainer, you will open it with a quest. You can have two now, each with 7 slots (i believe) each one is good sized. You can store a lot in them.

(Such a low cap limit on forum posts!)

Edit later to add more, i agree, it's annoying.