Advice rather than ridicule is certainly most welcome.

I'm stuck on Mulan, HR Lascivius and Mud Giant. I expect I will be for quite some time. Pre-patch, I felt each day as I raised my power, I was making some (even small) headway and looking forward to the challenge of trying to figure out the best way to defeat these guys. Today, bleh. Whatever. Same nonsense, no progress despite spending on runes, talents and gear. Can't get plans. Nothing I do even makes a 50% dent in anything and hasn't since the patch. Looking at the replays, when they work, people are using old heroes and formation with old un-nerfed capabilities, so that's no help. I can use the identical formations, heroes and have the same power as the replay stuff and barely make a dent. So.

I don't mind working for it. I do need a little bit of a sense from day to day that I'm actually working toward something, however. And sitting for a month getting nowhere just really isn't fun. And, call me a purist, or old school, but I sort of think "fun" is a pre-requisite for a game.