Asheras wrote on Jul 4
th, 2016 at 8:04pm:
The cove is stale AF for most end gamers. I'm sure there are newer/more casual players who appreciate it though.
Cove is ok. I enjoy Challenges, which is pretty much all Cove is but just not on all the time. The Cannith Challenges offer just as good or better gear in some cases, and yet for some reason it's fairly difficult to find a group willing to run Challenges. Except Eveningstar Challenges, those bring a nice load of XP so you'll not have issues finding people to run them, once.
Most of the Cove gear is outdated by either new random loot or dungeon drops. The ones with some life left in them are:
1) Glass Cannon - Only for the double dipping of rune arm imbues
2) Swashbuckler - For Guardbreaking. Just as good as deception for CC. Mobs that are dazed don't cast on you, and have their attacks interrupted. Kinda limited to Swashbuckler builds though since it's a buckler. Despite the nice CC you'll be swapping it in and out on any class that can use a large or tower shield, and that can be annoying.
3) Cavalry Plate - Has some dual build usage. Full plate builds can use it until 12th level for the decent Lifeshield, False Life, and Resistance. After that it's picks up Mithril and is only good for medium armor wearers because Turbine broke mithril armors by making them not just lighter in weight but actually counting as lighter armor. So you're fucked for PRR while wearing medium armor if you have the heavy armor feat. The level 16+ versions are still a decent option for a Barb until the demonweb armors become available.
4) Duelist's Leathers - Decent for the high dex bonus granted by the free Mobility feat and Superior Nimbleness. I often find my rogues bumping up against the max dex bonus of their armor. The thing is, I play Mechanics, so I really don't care much about AC. So good for some builds I guess.
5) Treasure Hunter's Spyglass - Decent from 16+ for Spot, Search, UMD, and True Seeing. Before that Cannith Crafting can make fairly good swap gear for rogues. Has some Insight Intelligence, good for a Mechanic. If you invest the grind into a tier 3 level 20 or 24 you get a green aug slot which I park The Master's Gift in and call it a day.