Contribute at low levels?
You can still contribute. Supply runs, manning siege and such is an important part, that I like to give to upleveled players, if they’re willing to do it. You might not level that fast as running inna Zerg, but there are allways a bunch of upleveled guys arround, so they can take turns.
And some professions can even hold there own in in 1v1 when they are upleveled. So I once delayed 3 lvl 80 guys with my necromancer, who was arround lvl 60 at this time. They tried to kill me for 5 minutes but I still survived and they finally gave up.
Chronomancy works, I am proof of it. Now stop asking me questions. Time must be preserved!
You can contribute at any level.
I use WvW for levelling – it’s much more fun than the PvE quests.
You need to keep your armour and weapons as current as possible ( tip: buy PvP gear for karma from the vendors in WvW – look around, they’re there.)
If you do that, the uplevel boost you get will make you competitive.
You don’t need to hide either. An uplevelled character is only missing traits and skills that make life easier, it’s not lacking killing power or toughness/vitality. In a 1v1 you still can win with skill alone.
The best thing I think low level players can do in WvW is run support ( as much as you can with your gear/traits you have unlocked ) or/and stay ranged or on the outside of big zerg fights if you are running that way.
Best green pvt gear you can buy and you can run in a zerg well enough.