Where do I start? The game is a bit harder then FO3 (which I like ) because there is less level scaling...If I do not want to touch the MQ where do I go to get some early level xp 8-15 or so without having to fight deathclaws etc.

Follow the highway from Goodsprings to Novac, hitting minor quests, Geckos, and some Raiders on the way. Than walk back, find a place to set up shop, make the highway your main turf at this point. I've spent 20+ hours without ever seeing the Lucky 38 on the horizon.

you have no other choice than trying to get past the I-15, of course you can just ignore primm and continue onwards...

appreciate it! :flamethrower:

There is a pass through the mountains east of Primm can allow you to skip a lot of stuff and get some decent loot. You can then head to NV and do freeside some freeside and surrounding area quests, these will take you back to mojave and primm anyway and by that time you will be around level 8 I think and you can go on from there doing quests around NV and NCR outposts.

Quests still give the bulk of EXP in this game. There are mobs to hunt, but they aren't as plentiful. As long as you head south from Goodsprings and then roughly follow the roads east, then north, you will find mobs to hunt. Level 8 shouldn't be much of a challenge to get before you reach the strip area.

The MQ doesn't really start until after you confront Benny. All that stuff you did on the way to the strip before was just foreplay.

Unfortunately I don't think you go to The Strip without confronting the main quest, no matter what you will run into

If your are refering to Primm Pass, it has a blind deathclaw in it, which will decimate a low level character. The OP wanted to avoid deathclaws anyway