1)do charms break?
technically, yes. when you upgrade a charm via chloe in port lux, its previous grade is one of the craft materials and the result will either be success or fail.
2)are effectors worth?
in your situation, not really. something to look for around end game or when you're done with gear. couldn't go wrong with a cheap one though
3)low def?
lol 1.2k def really is low. protip: invest in evasion&amp gear to make up for the defense loss. obviously won't help when you're doing a standing pvp. but in war when people are constantly in bm2/bm3, it can do wonders. funny how devauled evasion still is even though its been 1 year since the rising force update came out.