As posted on my Facebook community the Path of Exile Hideout (https://www.facebook.com/groups/pathofexilehideout). Sharing here as this is dedicated to you 
Today, I'm just going to write about someone who is important to me in the game. It's a ramble, so please skip past if it is too much.
I have mentioned in my posts occasionally of this favorite gal pal gamer chick. I'm a big fan of her cat, soju, even though I'm kinda scared of cats in real life. If you are a cat person, you can wander over to a crazy cat group...it is an experience! omg https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrazedKittiesOnCoke/
This lady was my very first Solo Self Found Hard Core (SSFHC) recruit to the game. It's the most difficult mode in Path of Exile. She was my most supportive friend beforehand on a different platform, and I knew she was an ex-gamer. We're talking her going as far back as dos games...that's super scary geek to me.
Since I started last month of Betrayal, she has been there with me on and off, depending on her schedule. Apparently, she sometimes like to work on her Sims 100 baby challenge, or whatever it was...In fact, I was supposed to return the favour and go try to have 100 digital babies...As if 2 real ones were not enough work for me...😂
She has a great sense of fun, and I still remember how I had started playing PoE only for a few days and posting on my experience, when she surprised me in a comment that she's downloaded the game. More shocking to me was that overnight, she had already well passed me in levels in what took me days! Yep, when I started, it took me days to finish Act 1 and Merveil was HARD. So funny to compare now.
And you know when you visit someone's hideout, you can immediately tell what kind of gamer they are?
Well, there her's was, just freshly started and her very bare minimalist hideout had all the key items strategically placed for optimal efficiency. When I gently complained (for fear of offending her) that her place wasn't decorated enough, I think her improvement was a fancy table that she managed to find and place in a corner...🤣That's not to say this lady has not got good taste, I've seen the impressive macaroon creations she bakes. But in gaming, she is in serious gamer mode.
Even with very limited time to play, she has got into maps on her own playing SSFHC the way she wants. And I really enjoy her perspective on the game. Gosh, when I first pointed out Path of Building to her, she totally nerded out on me! I'm giving that Hex Master skill node a go because she once raved about it. I am always thrilled to wake up to a discord message from her telling me she's continuing her Hardcore journey. Of course, I am devastated with her when she announces a rip. She's still going for her Immortal achievement (Level 80 HC), so I am rooting for her to exceed this and go onto Eternal (Level 90 HC), if not this league then the following ones. She's a perfect example how you can still enjoy and progress a HC game on your terms and pace.
It's great to have supportive friends in the game to keep you motivated.
We both play independently as we play SSFHC, and more than once we've bump into each other in town. Made me smile to catch her last night (see screenshot and chat - kooky/supersoju on the left, Nerfessa/Linny on the right), and that we had our Betrayal helm adorned as we both went for that in a last minute dash during our first league. I hope others are as fortunate to have developed lasting friendships that we can share our gaming with.
<3