I finally reached the next, and hugely important, goal in my Crucible journey last night (actually this morning, since it was about 1:20am). For the first time ever, I reached Legend rank and unlocked the Not Forgotten.

It has taken me season after season to work on my game. Starting with anxiously sipping my toes in Trials and then Comp. From the first time reaching Fabled, then getting Luna’s Howl, hitting 3k glory, and so on, inching my way higher and higher each season until reaching the pinnacle (for me) today, with the help (and some carrying) from my clanmates.

But this achievement would not have been possible also without YOU! So I want to give a HUGE thank you to this community, the sherpas, those posting tips here, those making videos on YouTube, those streaming scrims and matches on Twitch or Mixer, and those who beat me down solidly in the Crucible on the way here. And above all, the biggest thanks goes out to the people in my clan [Ø] (you know who you are) for offering all the advice and support, and allowing me to vent when I get frustrated.

So how did it happen? What changes did I make or go through to arrive here? You may be new and wondering...how do I start the journey? Well please allow me to share a few insights I have learned, which I hope some of you can leverage and reach your crucible goals as well. I’m just going to hit some high level points...not a lot of detail, so this post doesn’t get out of control. And there are a lot more qualified people out there who can give advice...I’m just sharing what has been shared with me

-Befriend and play games with players who are at your skill level, above you, and below you. There are benefits and takeaways you can glean from all types of players

-Be deliberate in “practice”, while you are playing. Pick something to focus on and do that in a live game situation. This is especially important if you don’t have a lot of time to play in general

-Learn map layouts, lanes, and callouts. Crucibleradio.com has some great overhead views

-Spend time in private matches/scrims with people you have learned to know and trust, and therefore will help you. You can use that time to practice, even little things like where to start a slide so you don’t end the slide in a place you don’t want to be

-Pick a loadout and stick with it. Don’t just change for the sake of change or just because you are losing, or getting killed a lot. Select a loadout that fits what you want to be as a player or how you prefer to play and just use that all the time. Only that way will you master a weapon (Side note: since I have NF now I have to use it, right?! Right! So I will be changing loadouts very soon, but at the start of this season I have been using the same thing since).

-Easiest thing to say and hear, but hardest to do...stay calm and avoid tilt. Some facets of the game are out of your control. Believe it, live it, and you will be better off for it

-Play with a team in Competitive/Survival. Sure you can go solo, but only very few special players can reach the top of the leaderboard on their own. And listen to your teammates.

-Watch and study videos and streams from great players. Try to apply their tips but don’t try to become them...you aren’t them and they aren’t you. Use what they teach to hone your own skills and develop as a player. Some names to pay attention to, which many veterans will recognize, but may not be known by new players are: CammyCakes Frostbolt LiL_Sonic CoolGuy FalloutPlays LanamTrahunt Keetonicc Geekermon BRAVExHERO Apathettic Fancyy My Waffelz Jyelly Drewsky Nferraiu TrueVanguard ... just to name a few

-Most of all, don’t give up. I “gave up” multiple times on the way to Legend. Even taking a week off or more sometimes. And believe me I still have work to do and improve my skill. I’m not ready to carry anyone just yet. Still if I would’ve have let my frustrations win out, I wouldn’t have earned this. Don’t give up!