From Zero to Hero: A One-Year Free-to-Play Challenge (Day 7 - LoL, my first big event on a small account)

If you missed the previous day, you can find it here: Day 3 - Let's talk real money

I start another day optimistic and full of hope, ready to close the gap between my accounts and the top Lords ruling this kingdom. Step by step, I work through the daily activities, remembering the ever efficient and now very missed City Affairs tab. Thankfully, I’m getting close to Castle Level 25, which means these tedious tasks will soon be a lot faster to clear.

Today’s plan is to push past Chapter 14. This means completing T3 research, training some T3 troops and starting some wars. With the Castle Siege event underway, the timing couldn’t be better. I speed up my Castle construction to level 23 so I can upgrade the Master’s Tower to level 23 as well and finally finish the last level of Building Mastery.

Before closing the day I want to start Castle construction to level 24. It’s an ambitious plan, and realistically, it might take more than a day to accomplish. Resources and speed-ups will be tight today, but I should be betting back some from the previous 4 days.

However, I notice I’ve been bumped down in the Training Grounds yet again. 😔 Climbing back up feels futile right now, as some accounts already boast blue-quality Theon, Jaime, or Julien. Competing against such lineups is out of reach for now, but not forever 😉 I’d hoped to get at least some victories, especially since the Dragon Challenge is active and there are some nice rewards for Training Grounds, but only wins count toward progress. Sadly, I just have 1 win over the past 3 days. Despite consistently losing placement every night, I can't get back my spot, making me feel like I'm not really catching up with the top accounts on this kingdom, despite my rapid progress and great account evolution over the past few days.

Another thing I notice is the Day of Trade event. Or as I like to call it: Day of Plunder. The map is filled with possible rewards, and I’m not talking about Legendary Commander Chests or Ancient Dust. With my accounts barely two weeks old and just 5 days of active playtime, I’m thrilled at the sight of XP scrolls or ViP points😅Remember I need ViP level 9 for the increase in Lord XP!

It's even better when they’re unguarded! Since both the XP Scroll and ViP points cost significant Blue Diamonds (which I can’t afford to spend recklessly at this stage in the game), I’m eager to get some free ones whenever possible.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on my side for the VIP points, but I managed to loot something just as useful: Mountain Clan gear. It might not seem like much now, but it will be awesome in a week or so, especially since Rebel Leaders should become a requirement for all important alliances on this kingdom, just like every other.

At the end of a workday, I always check my calendar to see if there’s anything important scheduled for the next morning. It’s mostly to find out if I can sleep in and enjoy a bit of extra rest, not because I'm a workaholic or anything😅. Yesterday, before logging off GoTWiC, I did the same thing in game. Out of curiosity, I took a quick look at the event calendar to see what’s lined up for new kingdoms. To my pleasant surprise I noticed Lord of Lords starting. This aligns perfectly with my new accounts since they have the Lord of Light's Blessing, meaning a % of resources and Speed Up items consumed from Day 1 to 4 of character creation are returned from Day 5 to 8. As I pushed a lot of speeds and resources into account early development, I'll be getting a lot of those back to burn again during LoL.

Before blitz-ing WW stages with the Stamina refreshed overnight I try to get some more progress. I expected Enzo on stage 156 to be a roadblock, but my minions sliced through him effortlessly. My free-to-play support account wasn’t as lucky, though. Not that it matters to much, my main account hit a wall soon after, stuck on stage 157 against Sinara😭. She doesn’t seem like an overwhelming threat, but it’s a three-stage battle, and I don’t have counters for any of the waves. I guess is this where I'll rest for a while.

Meanwhile, I remember Lord of Lords was starting so I check the timing to send out gatherers in advance. I’m determined to make my presence known across the kingdom. I want every Lord to notice me during this event! To prepare, I’ve decided to pause all account advancements. No Commander upgrades for now, partly because I’m still blocked by my Lord Level and can’t make significant progress there just yet. While I could upgrade my Commanders’ quality, I’m resisting the temptation. This will be a strategic move to save resources, tokens, speed-up for a stronger push in the coming days, when it counts👍

Coming back to LoL, I'm off to a bad start. Looks like I’ve missed half of Phase 1 already, I didn't realize the event started at midnight or reset. I was planning to train troops and double-dip on the Dragon Challenge day 3 stage with speed-ups and troop training.

Now I’m stuck with just the points from the overnight farming and a low 27th place overall.

I start training a battalion of troops to send them all out to gather resources… or should I say, points for LoL.

I wasn't expecting much from this phase, but I’m not happy about missing the start and the different timing in the rookie kingdoms. No worries though, my main plan still stands. I'll focus on getting the majority of my points in Phase 2, 3, and 5 with city advancement and troop training. There's still time to catch up and secure a comfortable top 10 position by the end of the event!