Professional Call of Duty 4 player, Havax, has recently won the CEVO Finish the Fight Tournament with team Guardians and is currently playing in the first CEVO-P season for Call of Duty 4. Recently Havax took some time out of his schedule to answer some questions. During this two part series he talks about gaming lessons, Call of Duty 4’s potential, and his experiences playing with Team Guardians.

What is the most important bit of advice you would give someone who is getting into professional gaming?
Constantly be aware of your mistakes and find solutions to them. Force yourself to break bad habits and if you’re not sure what good habits to have in absolutely every aspect of your game, watch how the good players do it or seek lessons. To be honest, some players do not have the raw skill to ever rise to the top, they max out their potential at a certain level and that’s the best they can do, individually. Fortunately, if you’re playing a team game, you can center your team around focusing on your pros, and minimizing your weaknesses. For instance, I’ve seen many teams that do extremely well that have very little individual skill. They do this by creating their own style and having the best possible communication and teamwork possible (they would go extremely slow on offense for example).

What makes you play Call of Duty 4 rather than a different first person shooter?
The first team I ever joined was in CoD1 and I really liked the way you were so flexible in game, and unlike Counter-Strike, you had elements that made the environment more realistic with proning, leaning, and ironsighting. I improved vastly throughout CoD1 into CoD2 by simply focusing on what it was better players were doing that I wasn’t. From there I’ve stuck with the game since I’ve been playing at the top of the competition from the start of CoD2. It’s fun to win, and I suppose it’s not worth trying to get used to a game like CSS where people have had so much experience carrying over from 1.6. I suppose I just like the feel of the CoD games which have really been the only series of games that have good leaning physics and viable ironsighting on all the available weapons.

Do you think that Call of Duty 4 is more entertaining to watch as a viewer then other competitive games?
I definitely think CoD4 is more entertaining than any other shooter I’ve seen. Like I said before, with all of the unique features of CoD, you get a lot of flexibility with what teams do from round-to-round. You’re not watching team after team play in the same spots in the same exact ways like you’d see in the Counter-Strike games. You can prone, crouch-lean, or jump-shoot over or around objects throughout the map in CoD which creates more variables in which players interact with in-game. It’s faster-paced, more realistic, and easier to play than any game I’ve seen, and that is what makes it such a captivating game to watch.

What do you think of the shoutcasting websites out there? Do you think they’re doing a good job? Do you think they’re necessary and are benefiting the community?
I believe there are two American shoutcasting companies out there now, e-rev and Gamefire. Both do a good job logistically, and with editing. However, I haven’t ever really seen satisfactory shoutcasting except on a few occasions, where the shoutcasters actually know what’s going on in the community and actually know strategically what is happening from round to round. These shoutcasting companies would engage the community much more if they were more intertwined with the latest community drama and knew a thing or two about what teams are doing on the nitty-gritty level on a round-to-round basis.

How do you feel about gaming lessons? Do you think they’re effective and can be taught to the community?
I think the negative perception of it is that it’s a waste to spend money to seek training in a video game. Some may even think it’s ridiculous. However, when you look at what gaming is, and it’s current competitive nature filled with sponsors and money tournaments, it makes all the sense in the world to get lessons. Even if you don’t plan on being the best or playing seriously all the time, I think most people can agree that it’s more fun to win at something than to lose. Thus, why not dish out a few dollars for a lesson in a game that you enjoy as a hobby to increase your skill in? I know for a fact that lessons can be effective because I have seen many mediocre or clueless players rise to the top of the community by simply working on a few fundamental flaws in their play and breaking some bad habits.

Do you think it’s possible for you to learn from other top Call of Duty 4 players?
I do it all the time, and I never will stop learning from other players. I think once you get to a certain level, everyone has certain things mastered and are second nature. However, players will always come up with their own unique way to play a certain spot or trick their opponents. The key to being a good player, in any game, besides having the raw talent, is being able to constantly analyze your situation and remedy your mistakes.

Why should someone purchase your lessons from FPSTrainers?
I wouldn’t be working for FPSTrainers if I wasn’t absolutely confident that I would be able to make you improve drastically. I know what it takes for players to excel, and even if I have my personal shortcomings as a player myself, I am confident that I don’t have any shortcomings when it comes to knowing what a player needs to do to improve. I am extremely analytical and would be able to give you practical solutions to improve your gameplay after watching you play for a few minutes.

Do you stay in shape? For example, do you run, hit the gym, or play any sports?
I play on a flag football team and a intramural basketball team at my university as well as lift weights a couple of times a week. This is really a common stereotype about gamers which in reality isn’t that true in the competitive scene. Most top teams that I have met seem to be made up of successful and athletic college students that are far from an antisocial recluse.

Make sure you stick around next week for part 2.

Head over to FPSTrainers.com to book a Call of Duty 4 lesson with Havex.

http://www.fpstrainers.com/index.php?c=profile&playerID=271