Make sure all of your drivers are up to date. Also check your power settings. Set them to performance when you are plugged in so your CPU doesn't get throttled down.
You can also turn down shadows, those seem to be the biggest drain on performance.
My order doesn't show on origin but I did get an email confirmation and the charge posted today on my account. I'd call origin just to be sure, but I think its a bug.
No, because it innovates when it comes to the narrative. Sure the story is cheesy at times, but to put something like that in an MMO is groundbreaking.