The reason you didn't see anyone with a sword is because the classes are locked to the starting regions at first. Gladiators are in Uldah and Marauders are in Limsa Lominsa. I don't agree with this design but it really isn't a big deal. The first 15 levels in this is basically teaching you everything like getting around, crafting, hunting log and all other basic stuff.
The game opens up at 15 as you will unlock the ability to use the airships which then will give you access to the other areas and from there you will see a mix of classes. At this point you will also unlock your first dungeon and from that point you will unlock more dungeons frequently and at this point you will have Guildhests unlocked.
As for the archer thing stick with because once you hit lvl 10 you will gain the ability to get another class. Not only this when you start getting other classes you can share abilities between them which is very helpful its probably the best thing about this game. The freedom to play what you want when you want really makes this game stand out .In no time you'll have all unlocked and plenty of options.
Stick with it there is alot of cool stuff to do and I know the beginning drags abit but when it opens up it becomes less about fetch quests and small things and more about dungeons and looting.
I'm surprised how good this game looks and runs in the beta. It certainly looks nicer than my PC.I think I will need to pick up a mouse and keyboard for this as I really only used the PS3 version for crafting and gathering. The only thing I'm not big on is the track pad stuff I mean its a nice option but it just doesn't feel good in my opinion.