Question for top ranked FTP players

FWIW, I was a true F2P and attained #1 in Arena. Since then, I have bought the $5 Ewok pack (because I'm working on Ewok Elder right now). Yes, for me, it took the level pause at 70 to get there. I was top 50 for a long time, but soon after I caught up at 70, I was able to quickly move up in rank. It took a focused plan, both long term and short term, farming smartly from Cantina battles (GS, then Dooku), Cantina Shipments (Poe, then QGJ), Arena shipments (Sid, then STH), and GW Shipments (Lumi, then Phasma). Also a plan to gear farm to get them all to 8 ASAP. Finally, some luck in Bronzium packs (Lumi, Dooku and Daka 2x) really helped. Also agree with garublador that you can't be distracted by special events. Stick to your plan if winning is important to you. If not, just have fun.