The building up something is not worth it. You can do this all later. Simple make a Dominion and travel with it from PVP to PVP area and DO NOT Upgrade it now!
The SMALL DOMINION is more powerful because you easier can travel with this, because the smaller place necessary.
Maximum build a simple basket for storing a second set of gear, if you die.

It is not worth anything. All you collect you can do later VERY faster!
Simple fight fight FIGHT, get spawn killed and die your way to the levels.

The quest are absolute senseless. Keep up only the KILL ... Quests up

The capture and upleveling of an animal to a mount is simply pain in the ass. Buy it from anyone it already does wasting his live for this crap

If you have the feeling the enemies got easy to kill wander to the next stage (the next PVP area)
You can simple pack you Dominion by the Dominion stone and not lose anything. With you small Dominion travel from point to point and grind you way to the top.
The dropped gear is almost ever better then all you can craft (beside you spend days/weeks of intense grinding materials and got maxed out gear crafting)

Now you can lay back, hunt high creatures and trade your money for the stuff from newbies and laugh about their attend for grinding up there bases. If you want you can start building up something too, but it is not necessary.