first things first, Nag on vent or the guild channel for a picaxe/woodaxe gathering really does boost your stats .
for combat it is essential that u have a staff and a primary weapon (most people prefer either polearm or 2handed sword) which costs 120 gold for your weapon and second slot if noone's available i can give u gold for this,it is also essential to carry a bow with u at all times as archery is quite OP and extremely handy at taking down an enemies mount while they are fleeing.
it's a good idea to train lessermagic to at least 50 for greater magic and mana to stamina spell (best spell in game

), or to 75 for the spell Launch which enables u to leap over walls and such for quick getaways :p