New player, Have some basic questions need answering.

[Ghostookami]

Hi, Im new to FFXIV, couple of my friends decided to get it so i figured id join them. So far its been really fun (only level 10 lol). I have played FFXI before but was very late to the party as i didnt pick it up till it came on the xbox360 and even then i didnt stick around for more than a couple months so i really didnt get anywhere in it. Im liking XIV a lot more than XI though so far and am looking forward to staying with this game for a long time. That being said i have some basic questions.

1. Is there some sort of auction house in the game? im in the city...uhh..Limsa Luminsa (i think thats how you spell it). And the map legend doesnt say there is one so i figured id ask anyway. I know in XI there was an AH and a lot of the lower level gear was cheaper to buy from there than it was the shops so thats why im asking, dont want to go spend a bunch of gil when there could be an AH and i could get the same or better for 1/3 the price.

2. If there isnt an AH, where do lower levels get gear? should i just buy from a vender somewhere in the city? or should i craft my own.

3. Do you get gear from quests and how often should i be upgrading gear while leveling.

4. Do different venders in the game sell things at different prices? or if i say, find a vender that sells a bow for 1k gil, is another vender going to have the same bow for the same amount? or would another vender sell it cheaper/higher.

5. When im looking at gear from a vender it has a "optimal level". whats that mean? Im level ten and i see some gear that has an optimal level for like..12-13 and its yellow, but i also see gear that is optimal level 18, can i use that level 12-13 or the level 18? not sure how this works.

6. How do most people make money? Do you earn significant amounts of gil questing to support buying upgrades or should i level up crafting a bit and sell some things to keep my money flow up.


Those are all the questions i have at the moment, if i think of any more ill edite/update my post.

Thanks