Don't know how, but I somehow put 20 hous into this game. I feel like I've only been playing for like 30 minutes.
I just finished hunting a Gobul, I hate underwater monsters though.
Everybody hates underwater monsters, I think. The slowness, the camera, just the whole thing.
1. Sometimes when I attack monsters my blade bounces off of them, why does that happen?
I believe it's a matter of weapon sharpness and the durability of the monster part you're hitting. If you can't get your weapon any sharper, you may need to target a softer area of the monster.
2. After I do a free roam hunt and return to the elders sons, should I convert some of the items to resources? I don't see an option to send it to my item box, so I'm guessing it's safe.
You should be able to put rewards from the hunt report into your item box. Some of these will be useful for trading with the Argosy captain for fishing fleet upgrades and other goodies. Whether to convert to resources depends on if you need the parts or not.
3. What's the best armor for a Low Rank Blade Master? I'm still using the 1st set I bought early in the game, and I'm assuming it's gonna bite me in the ass eventually.
Even cheap sets like Alloy or Jaggi will offer more useful combat skills than armor like chainmail or leather that you start out with. But the amount of armor spheres you put into upgrading will make the most difference when it comes to defense.
4. Should I even be worrying about jewels this early in the game?
Decorations can be helpful even early on since some of the cheap skills like capture guru and pro transporter are most useful on the capturing the transporting quests that litter the early levels. It's the game's way of teaching you how to make use of skills, perhaps.
5. I started with the bone blade and have upgraded to the cataclysm sword. Should I stick with this path or is there a recommended upgrade route for Great Sword weilders?
It might be worth checking
an online Great Sword tree to see what upgrades into what. I'm not really sure what works best for Great Swords, though.
6. Are there any items I can consume that adds buffs or elemental damage to my weapons?
There's bound to be some meal from the cat chef that boosts damage, but most of the food/drink you consume during a hunt is there to keep your health/stamina up rather than increasing attack outright.