As part of our ongoing series where we interview our community streamers, we spent some time talking to veteran Path of Exile player, Havoc! He was the first player in Path of Exile to reach level 100 and has been involved in many community events during his time here.

For example, he recently arranged a series of community race events that you can watch live on Twitch! You can check out the uncut vods of this past weekend's events here and the highlights on ZiggyD's channel here. This Friday we'll be posting more information about what to expect from the weekend events.

Hi Havoc, thank you for taking part in the interview! Please introduce yourself.

Hi Bex, thank you for the interview. I'm 25 years old and currently live in Toronto - Canada. I stream Path of Exile full time during league launches and part-time for the rest of the league until race events.

How long have you been streaming for? How did you get into it?

I've been streaming Path of Exile on and off since March 2013. Back then I was rank 1 overall on the ladder and had daily messages asking me to stream or for ranger build advice. I decided to stream since it was a lot easier to help someone with their build verbally and engaging with the community ending up being an extremely enjoyable experience.

What can people expect from your stream? What kind of schedule do you follow?

I've always tried to stream what I personally found entertaining so my content usually changes over time. In the past I was focused on endgame content, especially hitting level 100 as fast as possible in a fresh league, however, recently I've enjoyed going at a slower pace so I can interact with chat more often. If I'm not trying random builds, doing race practice, or in the midst of a Path of Building session I'm most likely streaming a variety game; I've had a ton of fun playing Realm Royale recently.

My stream schedule has always been irregular due to school but I generally stream in the evening EST and host the community race events every Saturday & Sunday, starting at 4PM EST!

How and when did you find out about Path of Exile?

I learned about Path of Exile from the (in)famous Kripparrian. I started watching Kripp after his pre-nerf hardcore Inferno Diablo kill and thought, "Hey, this guy is pretty good". I continued to watch when he switched over to Path of Exile during closed beta and really enjoyed his racing and endgame content. I decided to buy closed beta access a month before launch and leveled a ground slam marauder to level 30 before stopping due to the impending wipe. On release day, I played a Lightning Arrow ranger that was inspired by none other than Nugiyen.

What was the moment that got you hooked on the game?

The bait was initially set when Chris or another GGG employee mentioned reaching level 100 was going to be near unachievable. I took the bait and decided to see how realistic that statement was; this led to the first day of launch where I found myself top 10 on the ladder and it was "only a couple more docks runs" to get a higher rank. While the allure of pushing ladder hooked me, Path of Exile's complex nature kept me coming back for more because everyday I would learn something new about the game and still do to this very day, 5 years later.

You were the first player to ever reach level 100 in Path of Exile. What was that moment like for you?

It felt very surreal. It was my first 24 hour stream ever for the final 10% of level 99 and a culmination of 3.5 months of grinding on average for 12 hours per day. I was at a loss of words and once I dinged all I did was let out a deep breath. It took me 5 minutes at the time to process the fact that I had actually hit it and wasn't dreaming.

What are the top highlights from your time streaming Path of Exile?

There are way too many highlights to list in 5 years of streaming Path of Exile. From 14 Level 100's to crafting a mirror worthy dagger, from PK's to getting PK'd racing Mors for the first hardcore Atziri kill and subsequently claiming the first hardcore Uber Atziri kill. These are just the tip of the iceberg that I can remember off memory.

Is streaming your full time job? If so, what were you doing for work prior to streaming?

I stream part-time since more often than not I'm attending classes to finish my EE Degree. Although, I've considered and still do consider making the swap to streaming full time.

Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of streaming?

I've been weightlifting on and off on various bro-splits for the past 2-3 years, and have become a bit more disciplined the past 8 months. I wouldn't consider myself a powerlifter or bodybuilder but someone that just enjoys the general physical and mental health benefits that exercising provides. Waking up at 5-6 AM and working out for 1-2+ hours is hands down the favourite part of my daily routine.

I also really enjoy reading anything from fiction, non-fiction, reddit or textbooks (yes, textbooks). Additionally, I've been looking into recording audio-books since I get asked a couple times per week if I have any available.

Lastly, I know you said interests outside of streaming but I also have a ton of fun watching other streamers, especially ones with crazy chat's; there's just something beautiful about a fine-crafted copy pasta...

There are many new streamers looking to make their way in the Path of Exile community. What advice do you have for them?

If you're a new streamer looking to make their way in the PoE community I would recommend:

• Following a consistent streaming schedule.
• Make sure you're actually having fun! Viewers can definitely tell when someone is faking it.
• Interacting in other communities to get your name out there.
• Consider creating unique content and find yourself a niche

Are there any new streamers you want to give a shout out to?

There are a ton of awesome community members and it would be difficult to list them all. But if I could only pick a couple, I often hangout at Martypoe's channel and if Ventrua or DeadandDoom are doing a speed run I generally try to catch it since you can learn a lot by watching the best.

Do you have any projects on the horizon you want to share with the community?

The major project I'm taking part in at the moment is organizing, administrating, hosting & casting the community races which take place every Saturday & Sunday at 4PM EST or Jul 14, 2018 5:00 PM (EDT) and Jul 15, 2018 5:00 PM (EDT) this upcoming weekend (in your local time). It can get quite busy at times since I'm trying to schedule 20+ people from various time zones around the world and work with various community members such as Jamsaa or ZiggyDLive, but the payoff is always worth it when we see the positive community reaction to the events.

I also have a couple other projects that are still too early to announce but expect some collabs with your other favourite streamers in the future! Thanks again, Bex, for inviting me to this interview.

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Thanks for participating in the interview! If you want to follow Havoc, check him out on Twitch, YouTube and Twitter!

If you're interested in checking out the community races this weekend, they'll be hosted live on Havoc's Twitch! These races include some of the top streamers and racers from the community and are set to be a lot of fun. While we are not officially hosting the event ourselves, we have provided some prizes to the winners!