My Bard and Gadgeteer are going to try to get endgame swords. Good early game swords are Mercucio's Blade (Bard only), Diamond Epee, Bloodlust. The Demonsbane sword from the Demon Weapons sidequest is unusable by my party, as is the Ivory Blade crafted by Ferro. Fang is a good endgame sword, but it comes only after a very difficult fight that I don't usually do until after level 30 or so. By then, my party should have 4 expert skills unlocked each (Powerstrike, Reflextion, Snake Speed, and Eagle Eye for the Bard and Gadgeteer; Powercast, Iron Will, Snake Speed, and Eagle Eye for the casters). This usually means that the *Light Sword(s)* and *Light Shield(s)* could be obtained before the SE Wilderness temple battle (and Fang).
According to tribal knowledge, and Flamestryke's site, Jan-Ette has a fair chance of dropping the *Light Shield* before dying. This would certainly be easier than grinding the Buccaneer Ghosts. There is a very special chest in Bayjin that could contain either the *Light Sword* or *Light Shield*, or both, but that is almost impossible to grind, as chest contents are set the first time you enter the map.
It looks like knocking the Buccaneer Ghosts down to a few HPs each, freezing them, then running away, saving, grinding, reloading, etc. is the way to go to get the 2 *Light Swords* for the Bard and Gadgeteer, and 2 *Light Shields* for the Bard, Gadgeteer, and Priest (since Jan-Ette should already have dropped one by then). I have never before had either of these two, so it would be exciting to have them. I wonder how long I can put up with it, or if it's worth it?