This isn't a 'how do I make this sound post', more of a 'how do I do this'

I understand the concept of the arpeggiator and what it does, but not how to utilize it properly.

The track below is a big reference for me lately. And while its not very complex, I'm not sure how to go about doing something like that. What do I NEED to know and how does one go about constructing a lead like that?

https://youtu.be/rwCDv1dcue4?t=2m32s

My biggest problem when starting a new project is the drums/percussion. I never know whether I should just drag and drop/layer samples into the environment manually or do everything through a drum sequencer...it gets very overwhelming and I end up closing Logic. I have iZotope's iDrum plugin, which is pretty basic, but with drum plugins like iDrum and Ultrabeat you drag your pattern out in MIDI, but where do you go from there?