Before the Rebellion of the Noldor, Morgoth had "taught" the Noldor how to forge swords and other weapons. That's not to say that the Eldar didn't have any weapons, but they were more of the hunting sort, not fighting. They would have been able to defend themselves against Morgoth and his minions, if it came down to that.
The Valar had slightly mollycoddled the Eldar a bit, in that I do agree. They didn't really give them any other options other than sitting around in Valinor, singing, dancing, and hunting all day. After a few hundred years, that does get rather boring. Also, the Eldar were at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak, in Valinor. They were at the very bottom of the hierarchy. So when they realized that there was this huge, "undiscovered" land called Middle-earth, just waiting for them, they leaped at the chance of being able to strike out their own fortune. The Valar had controlled that in Valinor, but in Middle-earth, the Eldar could be completely independent. That is a rather great incentive, if you ask me.
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But Melkor also was there, and he came to the house of Fëanor, and there he slew Finwë King of the Noldor before his doors, and spilled the first blood in the Blessed Realm; for Finwë alone had not fled from the horror of the Dark.
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