<%=strCharName%> Character class: Sorceress Level: 87 Currently fighting in: (Retired) Life/Mana: 543/1062 Causum vita: A humble first Diablo character

History continued...

Up until this time, battle and survival were not the most technical of undertakings. Zoning the field, corraling foes and delivering firepower while managing mana usage was basically all it took to move from quest to quest. In Nightmare Act 4, elemental resistances started to become an issue, but a good set of rare jewelry and armor elements covered this problem quite well.

While Nightmare had been a pushover, Hell was a different playing field altogether. Owning not a single item that aided her hit recovery rate, Nepthys was rudely awakened by the concepts of hit- and block-stun. Groups of undead archers in the Underground Passage nearly took her life several times as she was not able to move about or cast spells while taking hits. Monsters' heightened elemental resists and increased hitpoints meant more attacks had to be made to do less damage to them on a percentage basis. Even with her highly prized, newly-found Frostburns, Nepthys found herself running dangerously low on mana at dangerously inopportune moments. The brash young Lady needed to gain some maturity, and she needed to do it fast.

Nepthys took some of her accumulated rare and unique items to the trading market and purchased a new rare crown and belt set, each item having a "Fastest Hit Recovery" modifier. In battle, she went back to using Glacial Spike to control her foes' movement, developing an impressive talent for controlling large crowds through tactical planning and swift execution. As she levelled, she increased levels in Static Field to start doing more efficient damage and continued to pump up her maximum mana for increased spellcasting stamina. Pacing herself carefully, she slowly caught up with the level of prowess she had been able to display in lower difficulty games. By level 60, she had completed all quests to earn the haughty title of Baroness.

Nepthys had come of age. Highly motivated and stronger than ever, she soon took to almost exclusively fighting by herself in full games to rack up the most experience possible. When level 75 came and went in an evening, the previously unspeakable became certain fate -- the Baroness would move to claim a spot on the USWest sorceress ladder, joining the ranks of Baroness IILina-inverse and Japan's Lady kaori-sorceress. Within two weeks of late-evening work, Nepthys was lvl85 and destiny was within reach!