Shantotto equipment - 2 hairpins or the staff?

Solution 1:

TL;DR; pick the Hairpin over the Rod

As a suggestion, because this is purely opinion. I would suggest the Hairpin, because the +10% hp, +10% mp, and +20% mag is a much better benefit to Shantotto.

There are not many accessories that would boost her damage, as well as her HP and MP (without work on a TMR). However, on the other hand, her rod can be replaced pretty easily. Most of the replacements will be from a TMR or event item, but the next closest replacement would be the Wizard Rod, gained by the Surging Menace trial Surging Menace.

The only bonus her rod gives is auto-regen, and honestly that isn't as big of a benefit compared to her accessory. There are not many comparable accessories that are not Event or TMR rewards off the top of my head, but the Earring would be the next replacement i can think of. Those cost 50 Star Quartz each, which to me is worth a lot more than the hairpins. That is considering the only reliable way to get star quartz daily is the 1 you get for doing the Arena 3 times (once per day).