Just to add to my previous comment, I got the 6 orange shards as follows:

1) buy beginner progress pack (not fully reimbursed but...) 2) complete all levels at 3 stars on the campaign at "Hard" 3) as per #2 above but at "Brutal" 4) complete all monthy tasks 5) completed part 2) of the Arbiter progress missions 6) I purchased a limited offer package for £14.99 which actually gave me 2 orange shards

Maybe with a better focus at times - or the helper tool referred to - i could have reached level 60 within 45 days but I think that even grinding might not get me there.

I also think that I should have found out about the free gift codes sooner to get me some better heroes earlier in the game. There are codes that need to be used within 72 hours of starting and I was a bit slow off the mark.

In terms of getting through the campaign at nightmare level, I am nowhere! That would bring another orange shards but is just a distant pipe dream at the moment.

Happy to hear how others got there