I'm starting Innocent Sin, can anyone give me some general tips to do or look out for?
How much time should I spend fighting vs conversing with personas?
It's more important to get them interested vs happy? How do I get new personas?
Looks like mp regains fairly quickly after battles so I shouldn't use physical attacks unless it's a weakness, in that case how important is buying weapons? Shouldn't I prioritize armor then?
How should I allocate stats on level-up?
I played Eternal Punishment a long time ago but I was a kid back then and just brute forced my way as much as I could before I couldn't progress further so I never understood how the game worked.
Look for contacts that make them joyful and interested, which doesn't lead to dialogues(which always have random outcomes).
Then finish it off with an interest once they're at level 2. Negotiation is VERY important, since you need their tarots to summon new personas. It's not as tough as EP, but don't take it lightly.
Weapons are largely unimportant, focus your money on armor, and spread rumors that have good gear at high prices.
Focus on MAG and VIT. You could do a strength build too, but MAG is broken.