so ive been licensed for about 3 years now and mostly just did local stuff and some contests here and there, but lately ive been getting really into DX and i think i want to actually go for DXCC. i've worked maybe 80-something entities confirmed so far through LoTW which feels like a decent start but i honestly have no idea if im doing this the most efficient way.

my main question is — do i need to worry about mixed vs phone vs digital separately from the start or should i just focus on getting the basic 100 confirmed first and then worry about the endorsements later? also is WAS worth chasing at the same time or is that a distraction? some of the elmer types at my club say to focus on one thing but im finding that a lot of the stateside contacts are actually helping me get comfortable with pileups for the rarer stuff anyway.

also what do you all think about eQSL vs LoTW for this stuff — my understanding is ARRL only accepts LoTW or physical cards for DXCC credits but want to make sure im not wasting time logging on both platforms if it doesnt matter for the award

yeah you've got the right idea on LoTW — eQSL doesn't count for DXCC, full stop. some awards programs like CQ magazine use it but ARRL won't touch it for DXCC credits so just make sure you're uploading to LoTW consistently after every session and you're good. the good news is once you're in the habit it takes like 2 minutes.

on the mixed vs phone vs digital question — honestly just chase mixed to start. once you hit 100 confirmed on mixed you apply and then the endorsements kind of take care of themselves because you're already working stuff. a lot of people find they accidentally have enough for phone or digital endorsement by the time they hit the basic 100 anyway, especially if you're doing FT8 at all because that mode just eats through entities fast.

WAS and DXCC at the same time is totally doable and honestly i'd do it. the US states arent going anywhere so you dont have to rush that, but grabbing them when you can is just smart. a lot of the 50 states show up in the same general operating time windows as your DX anyway.

im kind of in the same boat as you actually, been at this about 18 months and just cracked 100 entities confirmed last month which was a big moment. one thing nobody told me at first — dont ignore WAZ while youre doing this. i almost had all 40 zones without realizing it and its a really satisfying side award that doesnt require a ton of extra work if youre already hunting DX. zone 26 and some of the pacific zones were my hardest, took forever to find them at the right time of day on 17m.

also just anecdotally, FT8 is kind of controversial in some circles for award chasing but for someone trying to build up confirmed entities it is really hard to argue with the results. i got like 30 new ones in my first month on that mode. your mileage may vary i guess depending on how purist you wanna be about it