That's a question that is generally asked often. Getting your first hero in my opinion is one of the hardest things to do on CF. It has been said many times, the learning curve is steep, and until you can get over the hump it tends to be the same thing over and over, and repition can become very boring. As for Advice from me, play something you enjoy. Don't try to accomplish everything at once. Focus on heroing first, exploring and competing at hero range are both very large goals. After you hero and get the swing of things in the high ranks, then start making characters to accomplish those goals. Cabals, in my opinion, are a great way to hero. So trying to get a cabal is a reasonable goal to start with. Do you like Politics? The roleplay? You like to be goofy, tell stories? Every cabal has their ups and downs. While all cabals have politics, they all are vastly different depending on your spot in the Cabal. A leader will always have more to toy with, though Tribunal, there can easily be plenty of politics for Seantryn Magistrates. Go with what you like to do. If you can't enjoy a character, you can't take the hours to hero. No point in being bored. Just do what you like to do and never give up. Make it a goal with your next character to reach level 30, no matter what. Have 4 con left, and you're level 29, have the option of getting to level 30, but guaranteed to die? Shoot, go for it. You won't get to experiance 30, but you hit that goal. Baby steps are often the most reliable. While they can be slow, they can still get you to where you want to go. Have fun and set realistic goals and don't throw them away, no matter how frustrated you get. And ALWAYS have fun, don't let people ruin that for you, just follow the rules and go at it. Hope this helped, and good luck!