So I started playing Mabinogi the other day

It's really fun, and much more solid than other MMO's I've played.

What I really need though is tips from some of you whom I think have played it for quite some time.

Any good information would be really greatly appreciated.

Long time player here, but I haven't been on recently.

Adivce:

• Pump combat mastery asap
  
• G quest and Shadow Missions are useless
  
• Only train in dungeons
  
• Having 200-300 DEX makes Refining so easy to level its not even funny. Save it for last.
  
• Archery is awesome for shadow missions, if you insist on them.
  

Hope I helped.

Long time player here, but I haven't been on recently.

Adivce:

• Pump combat mastery asap
  
• G quest and Shadow Missions are useless
  
• Only train in dungeons
  
• Having 200-300 DEX makes Refining so easy to level its not even funny. Save it for last.
  
• Archery is awesome for shadow missions, if you insist on them.
  

Hope I helped.

Actualy it did!

By the way, one of my friends says making pots is also a great way to make cash, Is that true?

[*] Pump combat mastery asap

It's been maybe a year or two since I've last played, but isn't it typically advised not to do this? Because of the fact that increasing your Combat Mastery lowers how you see an enemies' levels as "Strong", "Awful", Boss", it usually makes training some of your skills harder because of the requirements to attack/knockback/kill a monster of so and so strength level in ranking up your skills. One skill in particular that it makes harder to train, for an example, would be Windmill.

Pumping Combat Mastery too quickly can be a major nono because it over inflates your CP rating and makes it harder to rank other skills.

Go spend some time in the Mabinogi World Wiki, it's very informative cause I don't really agree with anything Hazzy told you.
Most of how you play the game depends on what you're focusing on at any given time.

The "only level in dungeons" thing is rather outdated since the overhaul to premium services.

one of my friends says making pots is also a great way to make cash, Is that true?

Herb Gathering and Potion Making both take thousands of successes to get to decent levels, and massive AP along the way, so for fast, easy cash, no. It might be doable, but generally you'd need to make a character dedicated to it in order to have enough AP to achieve it. I make far more money with a level 1 who's older than dirt proffing wands for resell for 4x value.