Down the mountain... There's a side quest boss (Barmanu) around here, that i'm going to avoid at all costs. He's a death trap, he stuns and drops ice meteors that are insta kill. His stun attack can be avoided with a lot of movement, but for a melee character and on deathless attempt run... he's just not worth the trouble, he's quest only gives small amount of experience.

The Gargantuan Yeti - he's easy with a decent cold resistance. He's very important boss for any pet summoning builds, as killing him grants a 100% permanent health bonus to all pets. Yeah, 100% health bonus! Even the game realizes the bullshit difficulty spike that comes past this point.





In Mongolia i face the first Prowlers. These guys (and only they) cam drop the Sabertooth. I'm going farm for it at a better spot later. Even if i get with bad affixes it''ll still be better than what i have now, that's how good it is... but i want more! Not having Shroud of Eternal Night can really bite me in the ass, damage wise.



This post was edited by KillingIsMyBusiness on Oct 25 2020 12:25pm

These guys are part of the reason i was so worried about my piercing resistance, they are deadly in large groups... but nothing compared to Dragonians i'm going to face shortly after



The Great Wall of China

Now these guys are the most dangerous enemies in the act. They sometimes come in very large groups, they are fast and hit like a truck. Their mage version (the blues ones) shoot multiple lightning balls at once, that can shotgun my ass at close range - high lightning resist is needed here. The mages also cast a damage reflection aura around them and if i made a mistake and attack them while the aura is on, i will kill myself. These guys are bad enough, but they have an even stronger version in the last dungeon of the act, they end me in a blink of an eye, if i get surrounded by them. They also have charging attacks and are even faster. They're horrible... you'll see, there will be a video.



Village of Zhidan - i'm getting close to the City of Chang'An and my Sabertooth farming spot.

Level 30 - 2 points in the Warfare tree, 1 point in Triumph (synergy for Battle Standard)



This is the last rebirth fountain before the city of Chang'An and in my opinion, the best place to farm prowlers for Sabertooth. There are a bunch of groups leading to Cnahg'An and the city is under siege by the prowlers... so a lot tigerman to kill, with a good chance for MI drops. They can also drop the Prowler's Cuirass MI, which can be really good if it rolls with the proper affixes... the problem is, the Prowler Cuirass doesn't drop often. We'll see what happens.



This post was edited by KillingIsMyBusiness on Oct 25 2020 12:43pm

This could have been my death here... an enemy Battle Standard forced me to retreat to this corner. I was lucky to get out of there alive



On run 5 i get this armor from the prowlers.... It has more elemental resist for the Typhon fight, but i'd rather keep my piercing resist for the prowlers - stashed.



Finally! It took 8 runs to get my first one... and it's a shitty one. The strength is the only affix, the rest is always there. Still, it's better than what i have.

I get +25 DPS, but my attack speed jumps to 194% (the cap is 222%). Faster attack means more shield attacks triggered = even more damage!



I was so pissed off right here! Just a second aftere i get the Sabertooth, a throwing weapon drops with some insane affixes - if only these rolled on the Sabretooth...



But then this happens on the next run... So i forgive the game



This post was edited by KillingIsMyBusiness on Oct 25 2020 02:05pm

Damn! I forgot it requires a complete Valor Achiles relic and the only one i have i cannot spare... I have one Achiles shard in my stash, so i have to go back in act 1 and farm 2 more... but not yet, not until i'm done with the tiger farm. So much preparations... like i didn't enough on my table already.



Level 31 - all points in the Warfare tree

I'm tired of these tigermen. They can be super danhegrous at times. Just now i barely survived an encounter with a hero, had to exit at 117 health, almost shat my pants. There's another spot to farm the Sabretooth, on the other side of the city, so i'll leave that for later.



Terra Cotta Soldiers - a real nightmare for piece focused build, they're extremely resistant to arrows, but no problem for me



Bandari - the Trrra Cotta Sorcerer. He's quite dangerous in later difficulties, but with my resistances i can tank him in peace. His quest rewards 2 attribute points

He also drops me a nice piece of armor - i'll use it



At the moment my elemental resistances are good enough for Typhon, all i need is The Shroud and a Hallowed Helm to raise my vitality resistance... I decided to run the Gorgons/Nessus/Cyclops route for the Achiles shards.



An unexpected drop from the Gorgon Queens, a bit too late, i'm not swapping charms for a bit of extra health