I've already looked through Stickies and such...

So I must ask you guys...
I installed this game because it looks very promising, and while I consider myself to be pretty good at ARPGs, I am beyond confused when it comes to this game. I really want to enjoy the playtime I have with PoE, so if any of you have any tips, or can refer me to any good ones that would be great.

For example:
Are there multiple viable builds?
Are Templars viable?
Is the end game actually worth farming?
How does the system of skills/potions and leveling up work?
And what is the penalty of dying?

I apologize in advance. I have read some FAQs and done some google searching, still very confused and would love some insight, thanks!

you can look at my signature to find some of the guides i've written mostly for new players trying to wrap their head around the unique features of the game

http://en.pathofexilewiki.com is a great source of information when it comes to this game. very reliable information as well.

as for your questions, yes there are multiple builds, almost anything you can think of is a viable build. though this game does have some gear checks to make sure you built yourself sturdy enough to withstand massive hits from enemies.

templar is as viable as any class. the classes in this game isnt anything like any other ARPG, in this game, the only thing classes do is how you look, your starting stats, and where you start in the passive tree. but no matter where you start, you can pretty much build any thing from any position, though some classes will have a much easier time doing it, and are closers to certain nodes that may provide much better and efficent usage.

currently theres technically no end game. this is still in beta testing, and thus is not complete, when you get to the final quest you'll find it ends very oddly, thats because its not finished yet. though GGG has mentioned that they do plan to continously add new content each year and thus will never have a true end game. currently the end game is really farming for maps, which will give you new challenges, and also new areas to view. so its not as bad as diablo where you'll end up in the same place over and over again. plus being able to create such multiple amount of characters, theres so much replay ability that you probably wont stay in end game for long and start up something new.

when you level up in this game, you just gain 1 skill point to fill out your passive tree, you get a set amount of health, mana, and accuracy. each class will gain the same things. skills on the other hand will be represented by gems, you can only have as much skills as you have them socketed into your gear. you can improve those abilities or even change the ability by added support sockets that are linked together. each gem will gain 10% of your exp and will each level up seperatly gaining additional damage, or being more efficient.

Potions in this game are not potions, they are flasks. the major difference is that they hold charges and each flask will use up a certain amount each useage. every kill will give you a certain amount of charges depending on their difficulty. also these flasks are reusable and are fully replenish every time you step into town.

dying in this game has no effect in normal difficulty. in cruel you'll loose a 7.5% in EXP and in merciless you'll lose 15%. in hard core though, you die you'll be placed in to default. though dying will send you back to the town within that act, if you did not have a way point found in the area you died in, you'll have to run back to it from the last way point you found, or through a portal if you had one up. but zones will reset themselves after 15 mins of no activity in it. thus if you were in a zone with no way point or portal, and you died and the previous zone was not active for over 15 mins, you will enter a whole new zone and must find the exit once more.

most of this information can be found on the wiki

Thanks for the response!