I have logged +500 hours on AOE2 HD now....

...and today for the first time, I rose back to +1600 in ELO, after falling as low as 1390. What a great feeling. For the first +300 hours or so (I think), I only played casual 4 vs 4 BF team games and scenarios, not really caring if I win or lose. But after getting dropped from many rooms for my low rating, I started to put some effort into improving my game, watching recorded games on youtube and such. I still don't have thorough knowledge of any build order, but I feel the improvement largely came from always attacking first in dark/feudal while managing my economy. And maybe laming sheeps.