you can't buy named sets off of the tp as a free to play account, if i remember correctly, which is the easiest method by far of acquiring decent endgame-fit equipment for cheap. so yes. honestly like, poke ur nose into low fractals, keep doing a little of ur story and world exploration, but do prepare to buy an xpac sometime soon.

go for hot+pof, eod can wait, but do pof first unless you really like the story and Must experience it in sequence. hot is a big jump in difficulty and pof will prepare you better for it as it's easier, as well as allowing you to get an elite spec sorted so you have a more hospitable time in heart of thorns zones than as a core class for the first few hours.