Combat is quite a beast, so this primer will be fairly long, but will keep it to the basics, and allow you to find your own way to a certain extent 
Also, before I start, I think it is important to mention the āmindsetā with PT is quite different to CE. Although there are similarities, the games are most certainly NOT the same. Things work differently here. If you have come from CE, clear your mind, and enter the game (and combat) with no pre-conceptions and you should be just fine 
Now, first things first, I have always stressed, and I will remind you here, no matter what you do or where you go, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SHIELD EQUIPPED!! This is priority No.1 especially now combat is active, as you are likely to be dragged into combat. Now you can retreat if you are not equipped to fight, but this is not immediate, so you need a buffer, and that is what the shield is for.
If you have a spare character slot (some of you do, some donāt yet) then you can create a new combat toon from the character select screen. This will give you some starter items and a selection of skills to get you started. If you have no slot, you can skill up a current toon, and buy the items you need.
Step one is of course to equip your ship. At the very least you need a weapon and a shield.
Step 2, undock, travel to an entity on the nav map, (Jump Gate, Planet, Station) then at the top right click the āEnter Combatā link:
Once in combat, mousing over the question mark icon on your weapon will show the stats (as usual) and also show your weapon range on the grid, like so:
You can lock an enemy at any range (click on the enemy, then your weapon to begin locking) but the enemy must be within your range marker for you to fire on them. Once locked, close into range then click your weapon(s) to fire on them.
You can unlock an enemy from your weapon by clicking the icon beside your weapon.
Once the enemy is destroyed (assuming they are before you are!) then you will see in the combat status box at the top your XP and credit rewards, and also any loot you may have found on them:
Some enemies will explode and vaporise, others will leave wrecks behind. These wrecks can be salvaged for resources if you have the right tools (check gen-tech in the weapons category).
Combat in PT is pretty smart, get together with a group of your friends and go hunting in low Law Level areas, where you will share the excitement, and rewards. Perhaps one of you party will have a spare slot and equip a repair laser. This will enable them to target and lock friendlies and repair their hull and armour for them in the field.
As a general warning, the lower the law level, the tougher the enemies are likely to be, so be careful if you venture alone into dangerous areas. If you are dragged into combat and have no offensive capabilities, you can retreat, but as I said above, it takes a little time. Make sure you always have a shield equipped.
Combat is everywhereā¦ Mining fields, jump gates, planet, stationsā¦ you will always be at risk of being dragged into combat. As a rule of thumb, the lower the law level, the more likely you are to be attacked (and the more enemies will be there). If you want to go mining in a low law level area, see if you can rustle up a couple of friends to sit in the combat field where you are mining to keep the bad guys busy, leaving you to mine unimpeded. If you are alone in a low law level area, do not be surprised if you are ābotheredā regularly
I will expand on this primer over the next couple of days, but should for now provide you with the basics you need to know for combat.
If you have any specific questions, or issues, please create a thread for those in the forum, or catch someone in chat.