That's reallygood to know, thank you!
derp i totally forgot, petite tail noodles give +20 to luk for like 5ish minutes. They're also dirt cheap, so there is really no reason not to use them if you have more than a few million zeny. Luk gives a bonus to a ton of things so its applicable for all classes.
You can make up for a lot of damage/performance through consumables. Dex and agi food is pretty expensive though, but i'm sure if you talk to a few venders you can work out a deal with them if you want to buy in bulk.
To bad you missed the takoyaki event. They are pretty amazing.
Even with all the extra levels, you'll find that you'll be wanting to squeeze out as much stats as you can later on, so cheap consumables can give you that extra kick you need to hit certain thresholds.
As for when the 'grind' starts, its typically at level 141+. I wouldn't waste your time with high TI at 141+ when you can do the mora bounty boards. Eclage tower with the bounty boards give you pretty decent exp/hr and a you can get some zeny out of it if you get lucky with card drops. As a ranger, i would not waste your time with bio4 until you're at least 160, you won't have enough HP to not get 1 shotted by fireballs until then. Don't be your average 1 vit dummy, you'll want at least 90 vit. You won't regret it.