Wish I saw this thread earlier lol
The biggest tip I have is to NOT be afraid to ask for help or do online hunts. The best way to learn is see how other people do it. You might be surprised at how helpless or meaningless you'll feel next to experienced players, but that's what helps encourage you to get better at it and build better equipment for the job.
I've helped many low rank players get into high rank, a few of which were real life friends. It takes someone to show you the ropes or to bring you along sometimes for you to really "get" it. I was once that new guy, and I thought I was doing a pretty good job, but then I finally went online and watched everyone else wallop the monster while I got knocked around, and it was in that moment the challenge and addiction began lol
It can be humbling at first when you have to somewhat stay back and let the others beat on it so that you don't faint and fail the quest for everyone, but we recognize when that's happening and have nothing against it. Everyone was new at one point 
