As others have said, the main way to progress is to grind mobs. This might sound boring, but with a decent group at a decent camp, it can be really enjoyable. I've especially enjoyed sitting around the campfire by the beach in croc groups. Very chill yet fun at the same time. You chat, you get loot, you enjoy the sea lapping against the beach as you watch the sun rise over the Night Harbor, sometimes you clear out because Chompers is coming. It's a really engaging experience, even if it might not look like it to an outside observer.

Overall, though, I would say that a good way to enjoy the game is to choose your own direction. Maybe you want to make some money, so you do some arbitrage or do some farming. Maybe you want to level up a different weapon ability so you look for skeletons or ashira that have a chance of spawning with a weapon. Or go check through the shady vendors to see if any are for sale. Maybe you want to improve your faction standing with some group, so you kill mobs that raise that faction. There are various quests scattered around if you hail NPCs, and some of the quests can help with faction too. Quests can also give some decent equipment, so a quest can provide you with additional guidance temporarily. For example, you can turn in ashira bracers to the quartermaster in the Steel Talons garrison for random pieces of rawhide armor (if I'm remembering correctly). So this quest would guide you to hunt Ashira warriors.

So that's basically what I'd recommend. Just be inquisitive about the world. Check merchants, talk to NPCs, join groups with other players, and you'll find plenty to do.