Not to put salt into any open wounds here but calling yourself the best unempowered ranking char in the game is a bit much. Bards are great sure, but I wouldn't go that far. Regardless, generally given time, power sways and you'd get to hero fine. Besides, taking your time and beating on people while making it to 51 often makes imms happy with you. Just go out there and kick butt and worry about the rest later