How much +MP for Elvaan post-Refresh?

[Armando]

I'm currently a level 45 Elvaan PLD who used to chug Pineapple Juices 24/7 (I have my girlfriend to thank for that) and swapped RSE pieces in and out for a temporarily larger MP pool. Right now my gear is Honor Sword, Jennet Shield, I.M. Armet, Earth Doublet, Kampfhentzes, Kampfdiechlings, Kampfschuhs, Spike Necklace, Brave Belt, Earth Mantle, Buckler Earring, Mercenary's Earring, Verve Rings, and Happy Egg. I use Shallops Tropicale now for a +20 MP boost, and have Magna Gauntlets/M Chausses/Ledelsens and Electrum Hairpin and Rings available to me for another +121 MP. My base MP is 143. Basically, I swap out +MP gear as I lose MP, but with all MP gear I lose 40 Defense and 15 VIT (the def lost from VIT is already factored in) which is comparable to what I gain from Defense food. My question is: how big a role does max MP play now that Refresh is available? I have a high-level WHM friend (Lionx) who personally doesn't like low-MP PLDs as much as he likes mid to high-MP PLDs because it helps him not blow all his MP altogether. What do you think? If anything, I could go with a +MP setup that isn't so defense-reducing (for example, not using RSE but keeping the Electrum Rings gives me back 18 defense and 7 VIT; the armet is a heavy loss but irrelevant, because I can switch back to it right after the initial Flash.)

[JeanRC]

Re: How much +MP for Elvaan post-Refresh?

if you want to boost mp and also have some good def, the best way is dont replace eq that has good def like body armor, pants, helm, and maybe boot n shield.
so what u can do is get ether ring, astral ring to add mp to it.

If you think hard, during the start of a fight, u can use some mp eq like ether ring n astral ring to boost it provided your mp is full and then switch to def eq after you had use up your mp for flash and cure. this is a advance way of making the best use of mp and def etc in and out of battle or even during battle.