Starting an expansion with a new toon.

Hello! I'm a returning player from a little while ago! (full Gw3 hype mode) I have played through End of Dragons before and would like to pick things up at Secrets of the Obscure. I want to continue with a new character and Im wondering whats the best way to do that? Do I have to use a ticket to level my alt or can I start SotO at level 1 and level it naturally? Is it better to redo the base game to lvl80 and then start SotO?

I do apologize if this is an annoying or obvious question, I am very far from being an MMO professional. I mainly play the game for the story and only the combat that that implies.