Question about Sorcs and leveling

I am a returning player (still about 2 or 3 weeks left of Olvia access), I have an unused book of combat, and decent enough gear (only like 120/240 on my 52 Sorc since I need to sell my lvl 58 Ninja weps). I am still somehow struggling to grind to 56. 1-50 was less than half a day with very few boosts, but now my Sorc's damage feels way too low for Mediah, and I cannot find any Livertos/Kzarka amulets to supplement that. Any advice one where to be grinding and what to use? I almost exclusive use her shift+E on cooldown, then just filler with claws and the W+LMB for the crit bonus, alongside keeping my buffs up.

I do also have a few other questions in regards to Sorcs. Why are we not really ever mentioned in the grouping of stronger classes like Wiz Witch DK Warrior? Is it simply because they outperform us in all types of pvp with minimal effort, or do we also not even stack up in our PVE clear speeds?

Should I be practicing any combos/cancels/general concepts while rushing my awakening?

Post awakening, do we use our unawakened weapon very often, or simply just for mobility and buffs?