Focus is the hunter version of mana. It's the resource used to activate special skills. Every class has something. Rogues have energy, warriors have rage, death knights have runes, everyone else has mana. It recharges over time, recharges faster with certain abilities, etc.

There are four secondary professions in the game, and you can have all of them if you want. They are Cooking, First Aid, Fishing, and Archaeology. Archaeology rewards rare cosmetic items and a few rare bind-on-account pieces of equipment, and otherwise lore flavor items good only for selling to a vendor. Fishing nets you fish for cooking (or for Alchemy, or for feeding your pet if your pet eats fish), and a grab-bag of other random goodies from time to time.

Then yes, you get two main professions. On my first characters I often choose two gathering skills and sell everything I gather for money on the auction house, so that I don't have to worry about money. It might be easier to get enough money without doing that these days though. I'm not sure. At any rate, if you want scads of money, go with Mining and Herbalism and sell everything on auction (not to vendors).



I raided once upon a time, during the last expansion, but it ended up being too much of a drain on my life and my schedule. So I've been supremely casual ever since.



It depends. There are people out there who will treat you poorly if they realize you don't know what you're doing. But there are probably more people who will gladly offer help if you are up-front about the fact that you're new at this and if you are willing to learn and be friendly. You can probably find a guild that seeks new players (guilds are another thing I've sworn away from after trying a few, due to not wanting in-game obligations). In groups, just be up front and friendly if you need help with anything and most people will be cool with that. Don't get upset at criticism. If someone acts like an ass towards you, remember that you don't have to play with them, or talk to them. Turning the other cheek is often the best idea.

As a hunter in a group, your role is relatively simple. Just keep your pet on passive when in a group. That way he will never embarrass you. And let the tank engage enemies before you do.



Not that I'm aware of. We're out there, but we're all on different servers. No effort that I know of has been made to gather us all together, because once you've grown roots on a server it's hard to start all over again somewhere new.

If you have any specific questions, there are quite a few people here who will happily offer advice and tips, including myself. I've been playing for five years now and have played a variety of characters, so I'm a jaded seen-it-all type who keeps playing because it's relaxing and fun.