My position always was - the greater is the level, the better! I would suggest you getting all the good swords (Carsomyr and Daystar), earning a good deal of XP. Later on (you know that, dont you?) you'll need ALL the XP you can gather so these beginning chapters are the time to earn A LOT of it!
I dont want to give any spoilers, so the general plot stays the same - the more XP you learn the better!! And good eq is the key to getting fun outta game
