If you've never taken a velk hit, Velk for sure is where its at these days. The ZEM was just recently buffed.
Velious armor gems drop even if not doing a named camp, a decent amount of people doing pickup groups these days, easy CRs (if not kos), etc.
HS is nice too though...I guess they changed the keys...they don't disappear after logging out anymore so no need to corpse them up on the cliff outside the zone in.
Whatever you do...just make sure you have 12k ish saved up for 58 so you can have Bedlam pre-purchased and ready to scribe. Will do more for your survivability than any gear.
After 12k for bedlam, you'll want another chunk saved away for VoG @ 60. Anything more can be spent on the following cheap gear upgrades according to your magelo:
https://wiki.project1999.com/Robe_of_the_Ishva
https://wiki.project1999.com/Embroidered_Black_Cape
https://wiki.project1999.com/Coldain_Skin_Gloves
https://wiki.project1999.com/Spider_Fur-Lined_Boots
https://wiki.project1999.com/Bronze_Statue_of_Bathezid
Yes, CHA is still the most important stat. Keep it right at 200-205 unbuffed. In general, CHA > HP > AC / Mana.
I'm sure there are other good gear replacement ideas...but a big one to work towards is getting ally w/ dragons and a velious robe.