How the hell is this reply 10 hours later? I am finding Busy's notifications flakey atm. I noticed all your responses very late!

Anyway, I know what you mean about distracting with the discord voice channels running. I had them on and off, but I needed them for the last attempt. I was feeling miserable at the idea of starting again. I did actually talk a bit for the first quarter of Act 1 for that one, but it was too distracting. So I told them I had to mute myself and listen only or I'd die. I got used to it after a while. Normally, I don't have voice running. I am either chatting or playing. And you would also know it's a balance to use the in-game chat too. But I suppose it's moving into the next level of gamer nerdiness that I can play and listen and then eventually play and chat. All the guys I voice chat to are playing the game and carrying on a full conversation. I don't know how they do it too. As my pal pointed out during the race, it was the first time he'd heard me swear so much. But that is me, I swear a lot when people are not meant to be listening -- remember I talk to myself a lot, especially when ambushed by a crowd of mobs trying to kill my witch. hehehe

I get it with being shy on voice. I used to be like that, but it's been an evolution for me when I first did voice a couple of years ago with a group of guys for my Dungeons and Dragons online campaign. It's just a case of ignoring the first time fear of awkwardness and just go with the flow. You will realize it is not at all scary and the fear is fun to defeat. I would actually prefer to communicate primarily by voice and fall back on text only when necessary. You'll find out quickly I am ditzy, immature and overly chatty in voice. My previous manager described me as "scatty" because I am forever confused, forgetful and lost. lol I actually hold back on the channels because I am really there to listen and learn by osmosis. Some just enjoy the novelty of having a female voice present, so I'll chatter more if they are helpful/polite, and I leave if they are the dickish types. But it's great to find a small group having an inclusive and friendly conversation, because it helps keep you enthusiastic about the game too. As you'd know by now, PoE is not team game without a fair bit of pre-planning, so voice chat is a great way to get that 'shared' experience. So if I see you online, and I am in a voice chat with a group of nice guys, I'll ping you. You'll realize it really isn't such a big deal. They'd probably be thrilled to have two female aussie voices to listen to if anything. That would be uncommon. But if they make you uncomfortable, we can move to a private chat too. But all things at your own pace so don't fuss about declining. I equally enjoy chatting to you in-game anyway. But I've dragged poor @nvisible into voice once and he is still practicing his English speaking since he's Morrocan. lol As I said to him, no worries, I can easily fill up the awkward silences with my chatterbox personality, but I'm someone who makes a point to listen if you speak. I love hearing people talk about themselves than the other way around.

Now that I've started this wall of text about voice chatting, which is an essential for me in PoE gaming fun, let me get to your gaming experience.

A while ago, I wrote a post on Facebook griping about those darn Solar Guard spectres. Here it is:

It was funny someone asked me on my latest post where was my spectres during the race. I'll be playing them again in SC, but my minions are not my primary strategy in this league. They are what I guess @nvisible would consider 'utility'. I need some about for distraction and to make Spiritual aid of value to me, but I plan to be a spellcaster this league for the Witch. I just didn't have time for spectres during the race.

I love soulrend, but I love all chaos damage. It's the purple. Give it a go. I'm not sure if toteming them is the go, but another player gave it a try after I mentioned it in voice. He reported back it wasn't at all bad. I've always wanted to cast chaos spells, but relying on them as a handcasted spells just never felt 'bang-bang' enough and I like the spells I cast to have instant kick, rather than be all soft and flowy.

Anyway, you never cease to amaze me on how well you pick things up and travel efficiently. As I've gushed all over the place, your support of my PoE journey has been an important part of my fun. Like you, I'm proud of both of us in our efforts to learn the game by just playing it and having so much fun. I've really loved the synergy in feeling like we're part of a team even though we played separately; in knowing we started from the same origins and we're still not giving up. Some seem boggled by my determination to just play the game for myself and not relying on trade. I plan to focus more on crafting, I just didn't have the time and patience last league. But I see this as no different as any offline game. The content is there for you to experience and we don't need to consult some expert for every action! I simply get a lot advice because I am a social. But before us, other players would have travelled the same learning paths. I don't want to cheat myself of this even when others might consider me arrogant or foolish in wanting to waste my time dying and not studiously following builds. As much as I try, I just can't find the interest to take in a build spec. IMO, learning from defeat it part of the core design of the game. That's why there is the re-use of content mixed in with new storylines and mechanics each league. It's all about what have you learnt in the previous leagues and how well do you adapt to new challenges.

There's no need to reply to this as you're so busy, I write so you have something to read. But honestly, thank you for being such a good friend to me here and in Path of Exile. It means a lot to me, I'd have dropped steem a long time ago had it not been for you keeping me interested through our engagement. Much love to you too!
<3<3<3