What level players read these forums?

Began with release on November 12 with Xbox One.

Currently level 150 (XB1)
152 troops
Reached first Mythic troop 10 days ago.
10 Kingdoms at level 10
12 Kingdoms at 1 gold star
VIP 5

Okay, now for some caveats:
I’ve played this game for quite a bit. Admittedly I’m a little perturbed that I’m VIP5 and started Day 1, but apparently have still gained much less progress than others report in terms of Kingdom building, troop traiting and troop Ascension. Even the OP is level 75 after one week for pete’s sake.

I can’t figure out whether it’s because I didn’t abuse the previous personal Task list, or because there’s some odd levelup issues with my account. Constantly feeling strapped for gold keys and gold itself, finding that gaining common cards could be equally as hard as getting legendaries (this has continued even recently), never mind that trying to get legendaries is hard enough. Currently I am missing a hero weapon that should have unlocked several levels ago at Fire Mastery 25. Today the game also tried to award me an old level 1 weapon (Knight’s Sword) for the third time. I’ve requested support tickets for these issues but still, I have to wonder how you folks have progressed so rapidly. Hoo boy.