***Cloud Boots are absolutely awesome... you need 32 gold bars and 4 feathers to make them, but they are totally worth it***
I grab wood and make the basic tools first (I made that little building at spawn first thing). Collect a shitload of wood.
I had to fight shit off with a block of dirt first thing because I spawned in at night. You have to fight smart, try not to get hit. Avoid skeletons early on, and creepers until you can at least 2-3 shot kill them with something. Spiders and Zombies you can kick ass on, and you want to kill spiders for the string.
I always look for a mountain (my starter base is across the water from spawn to the SW). I dig into a mountain at sea level and set up shop. If you don't have trees outside, plant some from the saplings you collected before.
Hollow out the mountain a bit... maybe 10x10 at first. Just use cobblestone picks/shovels/axes at this point.
Dig down to y=11, just be careful. You should find some decent shit on the way... make sure you're digging a staircase... I create actual steps out of cobble. Try to find diamonds (they appear in Hexxit at all levels). Keep an eye on the time, and head outside in the morning... watch for creepers but kill some pigs and start a 21 block or so wheat farm for bread.
As soon as you can, get 3 wool to make a bed. Right click it to bind there. If you die, you'll respawn at the bed. Make sure there is plenty of space around your bed.
At this point I keep pretty much everything. I make doors in and out from the outside, and EVERYTHING gets lit up with torches (burn logs to make charcoal for torches, take like 4 axes out in the daylight and treefeller - hack bottom log - of trees.... get like 6 stacks of lumber and burn 4 of them into charcoal for stuff. Hit F7 to see the light level... any red or yellow X's inside your shit need to be lit. ANY connection to an area with red or yellow X's, or dark caves especially, need to be doored off. Use a wooden pressure plate on the INSIDE of the door, right click to open from the outside.
Your dig should start you on the way to iron armor (but the armor at spawn is better) but the first 3 ingots go to making a water bucket (in case you find lava) Leave the water bucket on your toolbar! If you fall in lava and cant get out, swim to the top and pour water above you. Calmly, but quickly.
Use found diamonds for pick, sword, shovel in that order
Down at Y=11 or so, start branch mining... make one long tunnel, then branch off that tunnel leaving 3 blocks of stone between each branch, you cover more ground that way.
You are looking for meteorite down deep... you can get enough to make a meteorite detector pretty quick, then just dig till you have a stack of meteorite... make armor, weapons, etc.
Once you have a full set of armor and weapons, and a bit of food, you want to go out in search of cows for leather. Kill a bunch, make 2 or 3 backpacks. Load up your shit. CAREFULLY set out at morning to find a home.
You want:
Half a stack of food (at least)
A water bucket (or two to make infinite water when you need it)
A diamond or meteorite sword (or better like your Krek sword that is enchanted)
Diamond or meteorite armor (or heavily enchanted iron, etc)
An extra bed (NOT your starter base bed)
A bunch of chests
A full set of diamond or meteorite basic tools (pick, shovel, axe)
Bow and arrows if you can!
Backpacks filled with all the shit you are comfortable carrying with you.
DON'T DIE. Take your time, be careful, watch where you are going.
I recommend traveling by boat when you can at first. At night either hang out on the water, dig a hole, or make a small building. I usually tunnel and dig during the night, but during your move phase you want to be CAREFUL because you have all your shit with you.
Now, where do you want to live? A castle? A village? A ship? Your own base you make?
If you want something that is under enemy control, find it, then make a quick building (or dig one out, even better) near it. Put your chests down, dump your shit in them, put your second bed down, bind to it.
Now, you are in combat mode... you want sword, (bow if you have it) pick, shovel, stack of food, torches, water bucket (on your toolbar)
My (combat) toolbar almost always looks like this:
1. Ender or Diamond Giant Sword with Sharpness V+
2. Manyullyn Rapier with Fire Aspect+
3. Legia Bow with Infinity and Power IV+
4. Meteor or Diamond Pickaxe +enchants(For destroying spawners, or quick escapes through a wall, etc)
5. Food (when you are fighting you will need to eat a LOT)
6. My gear backpack (I keep a ton of shit in here) or an empty large backpack for quickly dumping loot into
7. Blocks (Something a pickaxe breaks easily, usually cobble) for climbing or blocking doors... if you are getting swarmed, you can run and block the enemy pretty easy... play smart.
8. Torches... always light up dungeons so you can see and know where you've been.
Be DAMNED careful in dungeons/castles/etc... they all have traps, and some will absolutely overwhelm you with enemies (especially armored walkers, etc)
What you might do is come build right next to me... share my shit at my castle, I can show you how to do certain things, you can use my stuff to get started. Once you learn a few key things, you'll be good to go and having a shit load of a lot more fun.
Just southeast of my place, across from my chocobo pens, is a mountain. You could build a facade house on that, and dig inside to set up a house.
Your other options are the castle I cleared to my northeast (it's a little bit away, maybe .3km (300 blocks), the stronghold I cleared to the south, and there is a floating castle (low to the ground) as well as another chimney castle farther southeast.
We can run together tonight, just give me a yell when you are on.