new to the game with a few questions

[Keydah]

PvP: Wolves Den nobody does. Frontlines (level 50, sync up & down to item level 80; 8v8v8 or 24v24v24 Grand Company PvP) is done, but still has a long queue time.

Housing: There are housing districts in each major city - they are not instanced, there are wards with a set amount of plots, but on many servers there are absolutely no plots available. or no small/medium. If your server is populated, you're probably out of luck until they add more wards.

Prices for your server listed (Diabolos) BEFORE price reduction over time: Small plots are 4-5mil, medium are 30-37mil, and large are 70-87mil. They aren't cheap.

Wards: The Lavender Beds - accessed from Central Shroud docks; The Goblet - accessed from outside the Ul'dah Gate of the Sultana (Western Thanalan); Mist - accessed near Red Rooster Stead in Lower La Noscea.

Gear appearance: Yep! This is called "glamouring." To unlock it, you do a level 50 (yep...not til 50, but it's an extra large money sink before 50 since you change gear regularly) quest, "A Self-Improving Man" in Mor Dhona from the NPC Wiscard. You'll then unlock the ability to use "Glamour Prisms" which are crafted by max level crafters - they sell for anywhere from 4-10k each on the market board, and you need one (which will be consumed on use) per item you glamour. [Here] is more explanation, including restrictions/requirements and such.