I completely agree with the op, there has been a lack of quality gear added that can be purchased from the AH for quite some time. But if your looking for a better weapon have you tried Skirmish? It's very casual friendly and some of the weapons are pretty decent (especially if your lucky enough to get a good augment on them). Only real issue is getting the items needed to make the KI to enter. Sometimes it hit or miss on them at the AH. And I'm not sure if there's a good way to farm them other than spamming Reives.