Simple Questions, Simple Answers

[Saerdna]

Pigskin, I had a rough time until Level 8 last week. That mana regeneration makes Nuking mobs down tedious. Finding the right camp helps, but I ended up pushing to 8 in Crushbone in the end. Meditate will speed things up a bit, but soloing (decent XP mobs) is still dangerous if you're not twinked at least a little.
Finding groups can be difficult, but one option is to see who's in your zone. I typically look for someone within 1 or 2 levels of me, and ask if they want to team up. The increased killing speeds coupled with the fact that you offer HP/AC and AC buffs on top of being able to heal will typically be enticing enough.

I didn't mention STR buffs because even though you have "Reckless Strength" I wouldn't use it on most characters with how quickly it degrades and how much mana you'll spend keeping it on you and your partner.

Soloing will also go quicker once you find a suitable undead camp and can use your Undead DD's. If you do decide to stick with Soloing, Swish has a decent guide written up. And even though he doesn't have it listed, there is an Undead Chessboard in Butcherblock Mountains. I think the normal skellies are 8-12 or so, but I don't know if it is the revamp, I just know that I couldn't solo a Dark Blue Rook (Monk) at level 10.

Hope any of my blathering is helpful.