Time for new armor units?

[Mega Ultra Chicken]

Currently, my 46 FI/42 TE is equipped with Spike armor units, each with a Vol Soul on them. This gives me 110 S-ATK and 110 HP, and 0 extra PP. For some reason, I feel like I'm doing it wrong. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be wearing a rare set and using a matching rare weapon, or if I need to be doing ability transfers that I can't afford. My Mag is 72 S-ATK/50 ABI/10 S-DEF, so the only rare sets I can really equip are the Fang set (which can't hold a Vol/Gwana/Quartz Soul without a risky transfer,) the Dark Wing set (which is insanely expensive. Even a 0 affix wing unit is out of my reach at 1.6 million,) and the Ancient set (which doesn't have any FI weapons to go with it.) Should I just keep using spiky units, or should I be moving on to rare sets at this point?

[Lumpen Thingy]

fight ragnes+getting his armor=free good armor

[Shinmarizu]

fight ragnes+getting his armor=free good armor

I agree with the previous poster, provided you can equip them (489 S-DEF requirement), and that they drop. If you can, the set bonus for equipping them will benefit both your S-ATK and your T-ATK by 45, which complements your current class. Also, if you're not a fan of affixing, the units can drop with Ragne Soul, which can help even further.

IMO, if money is the biggest issue for you right now, then stick to the Fang set until you find the Ragne units; those should be cheap, plentiful, and easier to work with.

As for the other armor sets, the Ancient (Fan) set is a real good Fighter / Hunter (and even Techer) set since it focuses on S-DEF. However, it has one piece that is overpriced (the arm I believe), and the set bonus is best with the Ancient weapons (more useful if you use the Hunter class IMO.) The black wings are expensive as hell but they are some of the best armor available (for T-DEF and PP especially) if you want to dodge the defense requirements for the other sets.

It really depends on what you want, really. Is this armor something you want to use for multiple classes? Or is FI/TE your main that you will stick to? Those factors can help ease the burden on your wallet depending on what you want to do.