Ah, it'd take a long time to explain what you can do where and to get what.

It'll take a while before your character is ready to get the higher end stuff. If you go anywhere in Ilshenar (one of the choices on the left side when you walk through a moongate) if you fight anything gold in color with (Paragon) after it, you have a small chance of getting a Minor Artifact. And even doing that can be difficult depending on what your fighting.

Have you checked out uo.stratics.com?? UO.Com? And there is also UOstuff.com and UOGuide.com that have some good information too.

It's hard to explain what to do, where to go, what to kill because everyone has a different taste for things. And something one person may like to do (hunt dragons + collect leather & items or run with a group and hunt Peerless Boses) may not be what another likes.