Figured I'd post some basic info/tips to help new players who haven't gone through the Reddit threads linked in the OP. The game really throws you into the water without a life vest...
Ranged attacks: Hold down the shift button in order to stand in place while attacking
Currency: Here's the basic exchange rate values
http://exilestats.com/ex/Using stuff like Scrolls of Wisdom and Portal Scrolls is perfectly fine: a lot drop and they're very useful. Then there's stuff like the Orbs of Transmutation, Orbs of Chance, and Chromatic Orbs. You can use those to make gear better without worry; I'd advise to keep them (and the shards) in your stash box, to free up your inventory. The only currency I keep in my inventory are Scrolls of Wisdom and Portal Scrolls.
However you'll want to avoid using more valuable stuff like Chaos Orbs or Orbs of Alchemy. Use them to trade for items. People often trade the best skill gems for a Chaos Orb or two, so you never want to waste your valuable orbs.
Quick tutorial on how to reset instances, for farming
Passive Tree: There are literally hundreds of different builds to try but one of the uniting principles of PoE is that health is very important. Especially if you're rolling a hardcore character. You'll want to get as many Life % nodes as you can. Strength gives you life so don't worry about getting some. Finally, armor helps especially for melee.
Elemental resistance: If you don't have enough you'll die. A lot of gear has resistance stats but you'll also want to get some on the passive tree.