Part Two: Walk in the Park

Ember continues in Act Two at clvl 34 with the following skills, stats and equipment:

Firebolt @ max (+3 from staff)
Fire Mastery @ 5
Warmth @ 13

Str 12, Dex 25, Vit 133, Nrg 80

Primary Gear:

Gemmed Battle Staff: +3 Firebolt, +2 Frozen Armor (unused), w/ flawless ruby and diamond, normal amethyst
Greyform: +20 Cold and Fire Resist, -3 Magic Damage - gambled Act 3 Normal
Burgundy Leather Gloves of Tiger: +18 Fire Resist, +29 Life - bought from Gheed in NM
Amber Light Belt of Tiger: +32 Lightning Resist, +28 Life - bought from Gheed in NM
Rare Boots: Faster Run, Fastest Recovery, +14 Lit Resist, +11 Life, +7 Stamina - gambled Act 2 Normal
Rare Ring: +37 Lit Resist, +29 Life, +1 Light, +130 AR - gambled Act 1 NM
Ring: -2 Damage, +35 Cold Resist - flesh spawner boss, Outer Steppes in Normal
Amulet: +45 Fire Resist, +12 Dex - beetle boss in the Disused Fane in Normal
Rare Cap: Fastest Recovery, +53 Life, +2 Light, +8 Poison Res, +3 Mana - gambled Act 1 NM

Alternate Gear:

Rare Quilted Armor: +49 Lit Resist, +29 Cold Resist, +34 Life, -50 Poison Dur, -20 Req - gambled Act 1 NM
Rare Cap: +49 Lit Resist, +25 Poison Res, Fastest Recovery, +6 Life, -25 Poison Dur - gambled Act 1 NM
Rare Light Belt: +26 Cold Resist, +15 Lit Resist, Fastest Recovery, +19 Life, +6 Mana - gambled Act 1 NM
Rare Ring: +29 Poison Resist, -1 damage, +1 Light, Half Freeze, +2 Mana, +79 AR - Duriel in Normal
Ring: +43 Fire Resistance - Act 4 Normal
Amulet: +29 Cold Resist, +13 Dex - Act 4 Normal
Amulet of Defiance: -75% Poison Length - boss drop, Act 1 NM
Amulet: +49 Life - LEB Archer boss in Barracks, Act 1 NM
Sash: +59 Life
Gemmed battle staff with +3 Blaze (for use on Duriel ONLY).
Lennymo, Broc, Hotspur, Snakecord, Biggins Bonnet saved for High Durability Rare purposes (gambling).

Ember's narrow escape from her first failed attempt to get the Viper Amulet necessitated a revisit of the path from the Lost City waypoint through the temple to the stairs in the far far northern end. I fought targets of opportunity along the way, including Dark Elder and a second Magic Resistant zombie boss. I expected the temple entrance to be a walk in the park. Not! With Guardian champs or boss to the south, and a tight hallway down the east branch, I expected to be forced north into the long hall with the fire towers. Down we go... oh, this is NOT good. Two Guardians and skels right there at the intersection, and here come several salamanders, all hissing greetings to little Ember.

I'd have to say it was a good thing I "practiced" up a lot in the Halls. I knew precisely what Ember could and could not do (and in this fight, there was more she could not do!) and I ran past this dreadful mob, north past the first fire tower, and smack into two more Guardian mobs with salamander escorts. Zippety do daa playing tag with all these Bone skeletons, weaving through and between and around numerous columns in this lengthy hall, ooh complete smackage from a salamander and Ember is batted around like a ping pong ball. Nearly instant recovery, though, and now the skels are massed and I just have to slip past them before they can close the knot and trap Ember against the wall, ending this game one way or the other.

Mmmph, that was close. Don't try this on Realms!

So back south I run, past the tower, leaving ALL those skeletons behind, and there they are: the two Guardians at the front door, all alone. If there had been a true intelligence guiding the hand of this enemy, one might fairly describe this result as a tactical blunder on their part. Ember mowed them down (well, for Ember that means killing them with less than ten shots each), then mowed down the slow army of undead pursuing her from the north. They pushed her around a little, but not much, as the mob was thinned considerably before they were all on her, leading to a very short loop track right there in the intersection.

All righty then, we're IN. Now to duck south real quick, lure another mob away from its masters, far enough north to be well out of resurrect range, pick them off, close in on the champs, slay them, then begin in earnest the march north to the stairs at the far end.

Advance another room or two and Ember is quite nearly up to clvl 35. Back to town and I decide to make a quick pit stop in the Halls level two for some extra experience. I had planned to take on the viper temple at level 34, but the first attempt was aborted and here was clvl 35 just within reach so why not? I cleared the first two rooms in the Halls, ran into Hollow champs and cut out of there, then back down my portal into the Viper temple. Two more rooms to clear and I come to the end of the line. The last monster I killed in this corner leveled Ember to clvl 35:

How's that for timing! :)

I switched gear to get Half Freeze on top of the cold resistance, and also to beef up that Lightning resistance to maximum in case I came face to face with Fangy. I also picked up the important items off the ground in town and left a single space open for the staff headpiece. This is the same config I used for the first attempt. With Teleport this would have been a snap. For a Hot Babe (especially one as "alternately able" as Ember) this is a grueling trek through dire peril. The first try failed the moment I hesitated, looking to clear out the mob of Embalmed instead of running past them. I knew that this particular map was not going to change: it was going to be thick with monsters up top and Fangskin to the bottom was even less of a walk in the park. Since there were too many to fight, the only winning strategy for Ember was not to fight at all. Run past them, run around them, run right through them if she had to, but keep running.

That was the plan, at least.

Down we go...

Guardians, three of them to the west and north, mob after mob after mob of bone warriors, and even a few Claw Vipers in the mix. I have never seen Viper Temple Level Two more crowded than this!

Oh cool, nothing to it. A walk in the park, I tell you. A walk in the park!

I committed Ember into the jaws of death and attempted to run the gauntlet....

Click Here to see where Ember's sprint ended.