I was never able to get the BP but I had all the other rubicite pieces. Had a low level rogue in full rubicite with a mithril bp, felt like a raid boss running around in that shit.
The dark elf mask is how I met my guild leader. I was sitting in Mistmoore looking for a group and this high elf zones in and then turns into a dark elf. I had never seen someone do that before so messaged him and asked him how he did that. “Mask from a mob in guk.” “What’s a mob?” Lol. I pestered this guy about everything under the sun. Wound up befriending him, getting to max level and joining his guild, Cohort Chalybeius. Got into raiding and the rest is history. My dark elf mask and my primal velium war lance were my most prized possessions.
As for this game - stats are so low baseline that adding 3 makes a big difference. Shaman buffs are amazing.
As for armor or AC making a difference, can’t really say. My brother is our dire lord tank but he’s still wearing the same leather shit I am on my shaman. We do alright