Andarial was pretty tough, so I returned to the Countess to try and find some runes to make armor for me and Gulzar.
Not much luck. These are the highlights of about 50 runs

Found this dusk shroud, and tried to get 3 sockets for Treachery. No such luck.


Bored of Countess, I returned to Andarial to show her who's boss


Once I figured out a good strategy and gear setup, she wasn't too hard.
Farmed her a good amount.

The breastplate is pretty sweet for running Andy, so I upp'd it.
Made things much smoother, as poison resis is my worst


Insane drops on this run. Gores were a welcome addition

The other drops. If only I was a druid, lol



A few runs later, and JACKPOT!!!
Now I just have to figure out how to gear this guy with my sexy new hat

Skills, life, magic find, and damage reduction.
Can't ask for anything more.
Except that maybe it wasn't so ugly haha


Ran Andy several more times, trying to continue the hot streak.
This was probably the best drops I got after the shako


At this point, I want to focus on upgrading my armor.
I'm still using Smoke from ages ago.
No luck finding lem/pul/um rune, so I need to try and upgrade my lower runes that I've been hoarding.
I needed chipped gems, so I ran some normal cows. Actually pretty fun, haha.
Also found this beauty

After I collected a decent amount of chippies, back to running Countess.
This dropped as I made my way to her. Too bad shields are for pussies



Many runs later, and finally some rune luck!

More druid drops.
This is the second Aldur's piece I've found



Also found my first skiller that I can actually use!

Now I need to figure out my gear situation, trying to incorporate shako.
Using gores makes me give up the 2 piece sigon bonus of 10% life leech, so I'm trying to craft some gear that can make up for it.
Currently rolling rings and belts.
This will be useful in 4 levels, but doesn't quite help now haha


And a random Countess run that dropped Fal.
I can now combine Fals for a Lem.
Just need to find a good base now



Kind of stuck on what I should be focusing on now.
Right now I'm using 2x Butcher's Pupil, but neither is upgraded, so my damage kind of sucks.
With the Um rune, I could make Crescent Moon if I find a good base.
I could also drastically upgrade Gulzar's armor by making a Duress (he is currently using Haemosu's Adamant - gross, I know).
Or would it make sense to just hold out and make both of us Treacheries?

Do I focus on myself first?
Should I let what bases drop dictate what I make?
If the right bases and runes drop, should I make Gulzar an Obedience? Or just upgrade his Insight?
Should I aim to make myself an Oath axe? Or just upgrade my Butcher's Pupil?

As this is my first walk, I really don't know what would be best.
Any advice would be very welcome.

And two general questions.
1. Where should I farm for elite armor/weapon bases?
2. If there is a weapon rack that is dropping war axes/nagas, is there a chance that it will also drop berserker axes as well? How do those things work?

Ran the pits to try and get some good bases. Not too hard, just time consuming.



Come on 3 sockets!