hello i had got to avalon when i was 72 and most people get there at 73 so my friends are up with the main quests and a level ahead of me,im currently level 75 about to fight the jabberwock but my friends and everyone else i have seen is level 76, should i go back to zafaria to do side quests please help.
If it comes down to a choice between leveling up or staying with friends ... I would say, it's a better idea to keep working with friends. You can level up on the side if you want to, but having friends available to help you is far more beneficial to a Storm wizard than being 1 or 2 levels higher and trying to solo.
In terms of when Avalon was first released, everyone started at level 70 and finished at roughly level 80. In other words, you are already two levels ahead of the typical wizards who quested through Avalon when it was first released.