A few random points that might help beginners... add yours too
I've been playing a lot since the release a few days ago and thought a few of my little discoveries might help someone.
Resources in caves, animals, clay etc reset after 6 real life hours irregardless of whether you play on a server or solo (I play solo)
Upgrading weapons, armor, cannons, and especially boarding all make a lot more of a difference than you might think. It's worth it.
Dodge is OP, but is tied to stamina so prioritize stamina points/food/etc
Buyers for the various factions items are located at their specific bases. Each faction has a provisioner (not the same as a buyer!) and bounty buyer at Tortuga
Combat fairness is questionable especially with regard to groups of baddies - you can use the building options to fence yourself or groups of enemies together. I've stood on a ruins wall with dogs attacking and just fenced them in by building a fence around them.
6)You can change the options for your world at any point by clicking on "edit" when your world is highlighted after the main menu... you can change immersion settings, difficulty etc
You can actually take your character and start a new world and collect supplies and take them back to your world. It's cheesy but it works
If you want to skip to the next sea shanty hit B to tell em to shut it, then hit B again and they'll start singing a different song
Caves have bizzarely hidden exits once you're inside. Build a torch at the entrance to find it quickly when you're done mining.
that's all I can think of at the moment - add your own random tips below