So I am new to PL and to MMOs. I have no idea what I am doing. I chose the fox since it looked cool. I am now at Balefort castle, and I realize that the fox is not as good as pretty much any other class. This is compounded by the fact that I am pretty clueless. I rush into battle, use some skills pretty randomly, and then die. Sometimes, I end up tagging along with a group of Level 30+ superstars who destroy everything in their path, and I luck into completing a quest.

So, my questions:

1) Am I bothering these groups when I end up playing alongside them? I enjoy it every once in a while, but I will never be good enough to contribute to a team like that. If I'm just a nuisance, I would like to know. I have no idea what the etiquette is in an MMO.

2) Is DPS the only offensive stat to care about? Seems like "damage per second" trumps other things like damage or hit rate or ... am I right?

3) Am I right that the fox is the weakest class, or am I just too green to recognize the true power of the ranger? I see mages, archers, and bears come into crowded rooms and clear everything out easily. Not sure how I would ever do that with the ranger skills.

Thanks!