EPT
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/uEx1qn6.jpg)
Now, I know this kind of achievement comes with a pretty big grain of salt. Rank 1 is pretty wide, and there's definitely a perception that it's pretty easy to get by just grinding games. The real test will come whenever Blizzard gets their act in gear and actually starts the first ranked season, with Grandmaster ranks. Still, being able to get at least this far makes me think that maybe I actually have some respectable ability at this game, gives me an additional incentive to push for GM, and provides a nice starting point if I want to find a team for Team League.
About the game itself, I play maybe 95% of my HL games solo (for some reason I actually find it more stressful playing with a friend) and in terms of roles, I try to be flexible. Naturally, this means most of the time I'm left playing support. Fortunately enough it's my favorite role; it feels like an interesting hybrid of WoW healing and Dota 2 supports, in that you can have a nice mix of both healing and utility.
---support rant below---
+ Show Spoiler +
"Supporting" in WoW can get a little boring when really all you ever do is stare at the health bars; your interaction with actual mechanics is usually reduced to "don't stand in shit". On the other side of the coin the healing spells that (only some) supports have in Dota 2 are usually pretty lackluster. In addition, the emphasis in Dota 2 on leaving priority farm to your carries can leave you in a pretty frustrating and irrelevant spot as a support once the lategame rolls around, particularly if your team is behind. Basically, nothing feels worse than having such large power differential between you and the enemy carry that he can one-shot you with relatively little effort in the lategame. (I stopped playing Dota a little while before patch 6.84, and I haven't casually raided since Highmaul/hardcore raided since Dragon Soul, so I might be a little behind on the meta of those two games...).
In terms of heroes, for supports I rotate between Rehgar and Uther, and occasionally Malf and Lilli if the comp calls for it. For tanks, I'm the most comfortable by far on Tyrael, and fortunately enough he's pretty rarely contested, what with all the Johannas and Leorics running rampant. In the rare case tank/support is already picked, (or I actually got first pick for once) I go with the standard Jaina, KT, Raynor, Zagara, and sometimes Valla. For some reason, I just don't enjoy playing melee assassins (though Sonya is pretty baller).
My roster is a little small as I refuse to spend real money on this game (the dollar prices are a little ridiculous, imo), but I enjoy the heroes I do own, and it certainly improves your consistency if you have limited choices. And besides, once you get sick of playing support or warrior for 10 games in a row in HL, there's always QL to whip out the Nova or Murky!
Random notes:
- For the final game, on Sky Temple, right before the fight for the temple that would decide the game, this song came up on my playlist. Needless to say, I was fucking pumped, and we mopped them up.
- I actually started to get a little excited when I began occasionally running into people that would link their stream. Of course, e-fame is still pretty far away given that they all had single digit viewers
- One game I ran into a fellow named IWDominate. I assumed it was a fake nick, but he said he was the actual TL LoL jungler. I don't follow much LoL, but I guess the TL squad unfortunately has a bit of downtime at the moment. For the record, he played a pretty badass Murky.
I dislike playing as Tyrael lol (I prefer Jo as a warrior). 
