The weapon loadout that you've chosen is my very favorite: Combuster and Final Flourish/Barbarous Thorn Blade. Congratulations. It will serve you well for a long time. (Eventually you will want one or two more weapons for special situations.)

For shield, focus on either Barbarous Thorn Shield (if you want optimal offense) or Grey Owlite Shield (if you'd rather have more defense). If you want some cheap, general-purpose armor, then consider Divine Veil with Skolver Coat. If you want to plan farther ahead than that, replace the Divine Veil with Vog Cub; then you're closer to getting multiple specialized sets, which you'll want to do eventually.

The only drawback to these loadouts is that they're so popular. You might consider wearing some costume armor.

Finally, I want to encourage you to give guns and bombs a try, if only occasionally. Swords are my favorite, but I enjoy all ways of playing the game. And playing with other weapons gives you a greater understanding of the tactics employed by other people; you don't want to end up a narrow-minded sworder. Enjoy. :)

Personally I would opt out of the Elemental Hood and Solid Cobalt Armor for something that will be more effective in the future, such as Skolver or Vog.

On your weapons, I would continue to use your snarble barb, fireburst, and kilowatt. Ditch the autogun until you begin to fight Vana.

hybridization works best with careful research and learning how you like to play. I love swords due to the risk factor and bombs due to the huge explosions xD i balace my gear to get a ctr vh on the bombs, a damage bonus vh on my swords, and a dmg bonus high on my bomb while getting shadow, normal and elemental defences (the main 3)

go with how you enjoy playing and try for maybe a wolver/seerus combo but play how you enjoy playing not how people tell you too.

also try to balance your bonuses too.

Getting snarbie armour or helmet means you have to do a shadow lair

Shadow lairs are ridicolously expensive and too hard for now

If you want to go for a loadout that protects from all damage, you'll probably want a loadout that really does that. The dangerous status weakness of chaos will mostly be canceled out by the divine mantle.

Is there a reason you want to make a set that leaves out piercing? Or do you want more normal defence? There isn't a best set for everything at once. If you want to build it, go ahead.

In that case, why not a piece of gunsliner and a piece of swordsmen armour? Shadowsun head and vog body. That's shadow and elemental defence, with bonuses to your weapons.

I agree with you, Aquajag, but I'd just like to point out that your viewpoint is not different; it's what was said in post #1.

Yep, that's a very solid loadout. It will serve you extremely well for a long time.

Eventually you may wish to get either Blitz Needle or Shivermist Buster, to be more useful against Vanaduke. Eventually, once you have firmer opinions on your play style, you may want additional sworder armor, or gunner armor, or bomber armor. Enjoy. :)