Ara Fell Enhanced Edition is not a particularly challenging game, even at Expert difficulty.

Yet I find entertainment in optimizing for it, and there doesn't seem to be a guide on how to build your characters in the Enhanced Edition version of the game, so here's how I did it at expert difficulty from start to end without using potions.

The game is sufficiently balanced & relaxed such that you don't have to follow a rigid guide to complete it; a little grinding can make up for any sub-optimal build. But this document hopes to make it less grindy.

Expect minor spoilers, especially if you've not unlocked all the characters.

I played the enhanced edition of the game, so this might be helpful for players who are playing that version as well.

This guide is a little messy, so use the table of contents on the right side to look at what interests you and jump to that section.

First, ensure your "basic necessities" are taken care of:
1. Ensure your characters have enough speed to outspeed the mobs in the area. This will usually guarantee that they will outspeed the bosses as well.

2. Ensure your characters have enough HP to soak at least 1 or 2 hits from the bosses. You'll get a feel for it; if you are overkilling the enemies in the area, it might mean you should put some points into defence (you don't need a lot; even by the end of the game, your characters shouldn't need more than 220-270 HP). Make sure to also improve your characters' equipment. You don't have to allocate points to defence until around chapter 2.

3. Putting points into wisdom for MP is not recommended; if Lita needs MP, just buffer with elven power / scout / basic attack. Adrian's whirlwind (after he unlocks his paladin class) usually regenerates more than enough MP for the team if you built his damage properly.

Once you have points to spare for damage, you want to optimize your remaining stats for damage:

Optimizing for damage is simple but tedious: the bulk of our damage can have a critical hit (except for damage over time effects), we can observe that our effective power is equivalent to PWR when we don't land a critical hit + PWR when we land a crit, coming up with the formula:

PWR x (1 - CRIT_RATE) + PWR x CRIT_RATE x CRIT_DMG

PWR refers to the power stat you see on the level up page. Crit Rate refers to the probability (CRIT_RATE < 1) of landing a critical hit, and CRIT_DAMAGE refers to the multiplier you see on the level up page.

Given this formula, how then do we choose whether to allocate points into PWR, AGI, WIS to maximize our damage?

1. We take our current stats, then we calculate the effective power we would have if we added 1 point into PWR/AGI/WIS. This will allow us to determine which of the 3 stats is the best option to allocate the point to, based on our current stats.

2. We then add that 1 point into the stat that gives us the best damage improvement.

3. We repeat steps 1 and 2 until we don't have any more points to allocate.

This can get tedious, so I automated this process using a script. You can find and execute it here: https://www.online-python.com/zfqk5hDjYX

You'll usually allocate these points to PWR for at least the first 20 or so levels until you reach a threshold where allocating points to AGI / WIS is more beneficial in terms of damage.

Don't forget that equipment and enchantments can change your stats, so you might need to reallocate points in the future.

In addition, Lita's Elven Power buffs her PWR by 20 points (before upgrading her skill). This can be checked during battle using the status option. You may want to also include that in your calculations if you want to shift some points from PWR to AGI/WIS to give her more dodge / MP.

PS: Should the online-python website ever go down, here is the python script in its entirety:

The list can be found here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/284257-ara-fell-enhanced-edition/faqs/78292/enchantments

1. I recommend equipping Deadly Strikes I, Deadly Strikes II for everyone as soon as possible. The crit chance significantly improves your damage, and they are also the most worthwhile enchantments at those tiers.

2. Give Greed to 1 or 2 characters for the mid-game to build up wealth to buy materials and potions.

3. Impenetrability II could be useful for Adrian in the mid-game, where his equipment doesn't give him enough block chance. Anticipation is also pretty good in the mid-game if your AGI is not high enough to outspeed enemies yet.

4. For end-game enchantments, aim for Deadly Strikes I, Deadly Strikes II, Invulnerability II/Knowledge II, Divine Blessing for all characters. If you want 100% block chance with Adrian, you might want to swap his tier 3 enhancement for Impenetrability II.

I choose Divine Blessing as it is worth 60 stat points. Deadly Strikes III is worth 50, so it's objectively worse. Power II is slightly better in terms of offensive power, but I like the additional bonuses that Divine Blessings provide (e.g. speed, dodge, MP).

Occultist Doren's AOE holy blast cannot crit, so you may want to build him differently by focusing on stats only and ignoring the crit focused build.

General tips and tricks
1. Don't grind too much; EXP in this game increases very quickly, and enemies in the next area tend to give significantly larger EXP gains than the previous. Just grind enough to get through one area to move on to the next.

2. The maximum stacks you can hold per item is 99. Sell some before it caps out.

3. Always try to maintain enough agility to outspeed your opponents.

4. Don't worry about spending money.

5. The travelling merchant's inventory is restocked with every new area, but her prices are double than usual.

6. Don't be lazy about investigating ripples of water. I once picked up an ingot of silver from such a ripple in orchards (although the majority of it were coins)

Chapter 1
1. Focus on firepower, not defence (yes, even Adrian). Your equipment should be enough to take care of your health needs until later in the game.

2. Lita will have to focus on Rapid Fire. Her Charged shot is her strongest ability, but too expensive to sustain.

3. Adrian doesn't need to invest into defence in the early-game. His whirlwind is a strong AOE ability that Lita doesn't have at this point, and it makes grinding faster.

4. Try to unlock Talani's Store and her teleport portal (she has a permanent shop in starway where she sells things at normal prices at her house). Her shop will be very helpful as she will consistently sell materials that aren't available to you at your stage of the game, allowing you to upgrade your equipment earlier and stay well-equipped.

Chapter 2
1. Talani's store will still be open, so you can teleport to it if you need to buy materials.

2. You'll be running without Adrian, so your characters will likely need more HP to make up for it. Put some points into def.

3. Try to procure Lita's Feather Vest II for better protection. You will need to buy the materials from Talani's store (west of starway), cotton in particular. Heavy Hide is quite easy to farm.

4. Seri doesn't get a lot of defence from her equipment, so put some def on her.

5. Play it safe against the bosses; make sure you have enough MP for first aid and don't use rapid fire frequently.

Chapter 2 (with the full team)
1. It's not explicitly stated, but you'll be expected to go around completing Lita's and her companions' quests to unlock their 2nd classes. The order isn't too important.

2. Lita's 2nd class brings about the largest DPS increase, since it unlocks Lita's AOE potential. Use Seri's elemental burst and AOE abilities to wipe the enemy team.

3. Seri's 2nd class is the most exploration reliant, and is probably the easiest (in terms of combat) to obtain. Use a guide to finish it.

4. Adrian's 2nd class is probably the most useful, allowing his whirlwind to regenerate MP for teammates.

5. Doren's 2nd class is the most defensive, allowing him to not only buff def with alter time, but also increase chance to dodge.

6. I recommend clearing Lita's quest first, then Seri's, then Adrian's before finally Doren's, but it's not really a big deal.

7. The way I cleared it was Lita, Seri, Doren and Adrian.

8. Unlock tier 3 enchantments and put Greed on one of your characters to earn money.

9. Once you have everyone's second class, you can start fighting the goblins at Seramai plains (the red enemies quest the ancient necklace quest) and use Talani to restore any injuries. One or two members in your team will keep dying to the goblin spearman (preferrably Lita should have the lowest HP in the team), but it's faster than grinding other enemies, and you'll get some rare hide for tier 3 equipment. You can actually take out the boss at this area by using Adrian's reflect ability, and unlock the necklace relic early on. This is not really necessary, but it's nice to have.

10. Proceed to the castle once you're ready (level 24-25 is good).

After you defeat Maranda's abyss form, you've pretty much grasped how to play the game, and you've already unlocked all you need to sweep the remaining areas.

The general rule of thumb is to prioritize eliminating groups of enemies. The faster you are at killing groups of enemies:
1. The faster you can kill generic mobs to level up
2. The faster you can improve your strength and equipment
3. The faster you can focus fire on the boss in a boss battle

Upgrade their skills in this order:

Lita:
Rapid Fire
Elven Focus
Scout
Charged Shot
First Aid

Adrian:
Whirlwind
Mark
Taunt
Power Attack
Reflect

Seri:
Fire
Ice
Channel
Lightning
Earth

Doren:
Alter Time (it can stack with itself)
Holy Blast
Heal (if occultist, otherwise revive)
Revive
Regen

The game is sufficiently balanced to make a good deal of these choices up to personal preference. Below is simply a combination of classes and augmentation choices that I find comfortable to use.

You can see the list of skills for each class here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/284257-ara-fell-enhanced-edition/faqs/78292/skills-and-classes

The augmentations are ranked using "IMPORTANT", "GOOD", "TRIVIAL" and "USELESS", so that you can see what to prioritize across characters.

Justification:
1. In terms of skill augmentation, the Valkyrie skills are a tiny bit better.
2. But the Ranger class gets +5% Crit chance and +25% crit damage, which is worth roughly 41 stat points. That alone makes the ranger outclass valkyrie.
3. Ranger also gets +20 Speed, so Lita will pretty much outspeed almost everything in the game.

Prioritize her skill augmentation in this order:

Charged Shot: Ricochet - Shrapnel hits other enemies with +10 potency
IMPORTANT
This resolves Lita's lack of AOE. Very important, it will significantly speed up killing groups of enemies.

Rapid Fire: Arterial Shots
GOOD
This is personal preference in my opinion, because both options are very good. Disabling shots is better if you're underlevelled, Arterial shots are better in general.

Elven Focus: Holy Strength - Increases all damage dealt by 10%
GOOD
Lita doesn't need more speed, and more damage is always good.

Sunlight Fury: Blinding Arrows - Stuns the target for 1 turn.
GOOD
Stunning the enemy means your whole team gets a free turn to gang up on the boss, more useful than potency. Not bad as an opener.

Scout: Expose Weakness - Lowers enemy defense by 5%
TRIVIAL
Both are kind of similar in benefit, but defence shred benefits damage over time too.

First Aid: Healing Mastery - Restores a small amount of HP to target for 2 turns.
USELESS
Lita's Ranger class doesn't do much for her First Aid skill, so I decided to just let her provide some regen. I almost never use her first aid skill as a ranger.

Justification
1. His class choice is a choice of personal preference, but making Adrian a berserker will require a fundamental change in the team and the way he's played. Personally I prefer to keep Adrian as the support and Lita as the damage dealer.
2. Making Adrian a berserker will diminish his ability to support the team and protect himself. Best left to the lower difficulties.
3. I personally prefer making Adrian a Paladin as it makes him much tankier and makes him an incredible MP battery which is very useful in the midgame.

Augment his skills in this order:
Whirlwind: Refreshing Aura - Restores MP to allies.
IMPORTANT
His ability to give his teammates mana is immensely helpful. The more damage he deals, the more he regens, which is great. He removes all your MP concerns.

Taunt: Intuition - Block rate increased by 50% for 2 turns.
IMPORTANT
This makes him much beefier. We want to increase block rate to deal with multiple hits.

Last Stand: Aether Surge - Increases Ultimate charge by 10% per turn.
GOOD
Adrian can survive most attacks with his shield up, so invulnerability is not necessary. Increasing ultimate charge is better in my opinion.

Mark: Life Tap - Damage to target restores 10% of damage dealt to the attacker as HP.
GOOD
In the mid/end-game, 10% damage dealt can translate to healing 100-200 HP per turn, which is very strong and allows Doren to do other stuff apart from healing.

Power Attack: Life Leech - Restores 25% of the damage dealt as HP.
GOOD
In the end-game, this is pretty much a full heal for Adrian.

Reflect: No upgrade
You can upgrade it to get the achievement, but reflecting the enemy's attack is sometimes valuable than the other effects, and we don't need the other buffs. One example of this is the cursed spirit boss (ancient necklace), you can reflect his curse back at him to reduce his health to 1.

Justification
1. Seri's class is a choice of personal preference imo. Both are good in their own ways.
2. The Elementalist is better as an ultimate support (a fully upgraded Channel can charge Doren's ultimate in 1 turn). Her MP regen is also very good for early-mid game.
3. The Elementalist is somewhat better against multiple targets.
4. The Battle Mage is significantly better against single targets.
5. However, the battle mage is also more complicated to play. The elementalist can just alternate between fire/lightning and ice every turn, but the battle mage has to choose their debuff before exploding it with a basic attack.
6. I had grown accustomed to having my ultimate ready whenever I want it after my first run, which is why I made Seri an elementalist.

Augment her skills in this order:
Ice: Ice Attunement - Increases the damage reduction by enemies hit to 20%.
IMPORTANT
Immediately reducing all enemy damage by 20% on the first turn is very good.

Channel: Aether Tap - Increases the amount of Ultimate charge by 1% per 5 MP.
IMPORTANT
This makes Seri a very good Ultimate charge battery for Song of The Elves. In the mid-game, she'll also do more damage by charging ultimate for Lita's sunfire fury.

Fire: Fire Attunement - Increases the potency of Immolation effect to 10 per turn.
GOOD
Seri's initial damage is divided across all enemies, so buffing her damage over time will be better against groups of enemies.

Lightning: Lightning Attunement - Increases the number of amplified hits on targets to 3.
GOOD
Improves team damage.

Elemental Burst: Elemental Overload - Applies every elemental status effect to every enemy.
TRIVIAL
Makes her a strong debuffer even when using her burst.

Earth: Earth Attunement - Each target will have its speed reduced for 2 turns.
TRIVIAL
Earth is not very useful for Elementalist. Your speed should always be invested into such that you outspeed your enemies.

Justification:
1. Doren's class is personal preference. Both are viable. I went with cleric because I want to clear the game faster.

2. Cleric is better in the early-game because you immediately get +15 potency to healing, which means full heals for the team right from the start (in the end-game this doesn't matter since your PWR will be high enough to full heal without the potency bonus). Your AOE holy blasts also cause the daze effect which is good for when you've not properly built your characters' AGI yet.

3. Cleric also clears the game faster because you don't have to wait until it's the enemy's turn to proc the Holy Blast damage, and because the damage can crit (damage over time effects cannot crit). Clerics thus deal higher personal damage. This allows you to kill mobs faster.

4. However, Occultist's Alter Time is much more powerful, because the buff/debuff effect can stack. They are better supports in boss fights, since dodge isn't as useful as damage debuffs/buffs. This is the reason why Doren's class is a matter of personal preference. In theory, Occultist is probably better, but in practice, I just like the Cleric more.

Augment his skills in this order:

Cleric:
Holy Blast: Concussive Blast - Hits all enemies with +20 potency (+30 with upgrade) and dazes them.
IMPORTANT
AOE is always good, and Doren carries the hardest hitting AOE ability in the game; Seri's damage is split amongst enemies, Lita's ranger charged shot doesn't deal the same damage to everyone, Adrian's whirlwind doesn't hit as hard.

Heal: Healing Surge - Increases heal potency by 15.
IMPORTANT
Ensures Doren heals everyone back to full HP every time, very useful early on and in the mid-game. Not very useful by the late-game since you'll overheal quite a bit, but the 5% damage bonus isn't that useful either anyway.

Alter Time: Time Bubble - Increases dodge rate of allies by 10%.
IMPORTANT
You don't need speed buffs if you're building your characters agility properly. Even if you aren't, tier 3 Anticipation enchantment makes this speed buff useless.

Song of The Elves: Song of Wisdom - Allies gain +10% PWR and defense.
GOOD
Buffing allies is better than the small 5% ultimate charge (the 5% ultimate charge regen does not stack with itself on multiple casts).

Regen: Refresh - Restores MP as well as HP.
USELESS
Restoring MP is more important than restoring double HP. I don't use regen very often though.

Revive: Healing Mastery - Removes all injury status effects when reviving an ally.
USELESS
If you have the time to cast re-raise, you have the time to do other stuff like buff or attack. I'd rather make my revive remove injury status effects instead, but I've honestly never needed to use his revive ability.

If building him as an Occultist:
Holy Blast: Unleash Abyss. No longer deals initial damage. Inflicts all enemies with 15 potency (20 if upgraded) of damage per turn for 2 turns.
IMPORTANT
AOE is always good.

Alter Time: Decrepify - Also reduces the defense of all enemies by 15%.
IMPORTANT
Makes your team kill enemies faster. Doesn't work as well as the crit buff against summoned enemies, but summoned enemies usually have low health anyway.

Heal: Sap - Use a random enemy's strength to power the spell, reducing its damage by 5% for 2 turns.
GOOD
Debuff is more important than damage, since the damage isn't a lot.

Song of The Elves: Song of Siphoning - Reduces the damage of all enemies by 10%. Party gains +5% PWR for each enemy affected for 2 turns.
GOOD
Equivalent to the Cleric's Song of Wisdom, which is good for debuffing enemies and buffing allies.

Regen: Boon of the Abyss - Additionally adds 5% PWR each turn.
TRIVIAL
Reducing DEF on higher difficulties is not recommended, but at the same time, if the effect is not good enough, you might as well just use alter time. Hard to say which is better.

Revive: Soul Eater - Grants Doren +10% PWR for the rest of the battle.
USELESS
You shouldn't need to use Revive on a frequent basis to be honest, so upgrading this is a low priority.

Early-game:
Lita
1. Conserve Lita's MP for first-aid if you don't have Doren.
2. Use scout / elven power as buffer turns to regen your MP (e.g. Use rapid fire / charged shot on your first turn then on your second turn, use elven power / scout to regenerate MP).

Mid/late-game:
For clearing mobs:
1. Lita charged shot
2. Doren Holy Blast
3. Seri Fire (all)
4. Adrian Whirlwind

Usually, all enemies will be dead before they can attack.

Boss battles:
1. Try to begin boss battles with your ultimate fully charged.

2. Depending on the number of enemies, you may want to open with either Seri's elemental burst (to wipe all enemies) or Adrian's Last Stand (to proc the +10 ultimate regen). You can also open with Lita's sunlight fury so that you start with a free turn, then regen the ultimate charge using Seri's channel.

3. Seri should alternate between ice and lightning/fire. Fire if there are multiple enemies, lightning if there's only the boss.

4. Lita should open with elven power, scout, then spam rapid fire. If the battle begins with a crowd of enemies, she should use charged shot to clear the enemies.

5. Adrian should do whatever he needs to do. Keep the boss taunted, mark the boss if possible (so that everyone can heal themselves by attacking the boss), whirlwind if the team needs MP, or use reflect if you think the boss is going to attack with a killer move.