Azteca does have pretty bad gear, i will admit, However there is stronger gear too!
This cool little guide is going to cover the specific type of build you can salvage from the moderately sad stats of the gear.
Resist: Resist builds are often useful, letting you tank more hits before getting KO'ed by that one storm guy (Seriously, Its always a storm) My recommended build is (Your Preferred resist hat) Hot Breath Of Death Robes +11% All Round (Jaguar Prince Leapers/ Big Sky Striders) Any Resist Gems/Athanes/Amulets/Rings
Damage: Believe it or not the lower level build (Lvl 55 area) Has pretty high damage gear for all schools My recommendation: Any lvl 55-80 hat, robe, boot Any Athane you want (same as gems, rings etc.) Wand: Sword Of kings
Critical: The criticals are not GREAT in azteca due to the amazingly high crit block of the enemies you encounter. (Shame, 20 levels that we can enjoy crits and KI rips it from our hands)
Wand:Eye of the Soothsayer LVL 80-90 Hat (Any lvl 80-90+ hat for your school Robes (Same as hats) Boots (Same as hats/robes) Misc: Anything you'd like
Being that this is my first build post for any world feel free to give feedback