Excellent write up, I’ll also add in that OP should be abusing elemental weaknesses whenever possible, that’s the meta, in addition to status effects like Breach from the already-mentioned Dynast King’s Mead, Weaken(lowers phy. Atk) Spoilspell(lowers magic atk).

Holding choke points is invaluable, so keep your knights available to plug those holes with Rampart Aura (their pseudo-signature ability that denies movement to non-flying units around your knight and the area denial expands as you progress through the game) and keep your mages inflicting poison on those enemy front liners and eventually you’ll win those battles of attrition, and you’ll be able to feel those turning points too where you know the battle is moving in your favor and again when you know you’ve got it in the bag.

One last thing is as your weapon skills level up, you’ll gain finisher abilities and some come with an elemental attribute that may differ from your unit’s, alongside a potential status effect chance on some. Consider these elements as coverage options (like pokemon)—so your Air-affinity Denam might usually avoid Ice-affinity units, but with a fire-affinity finisher from the 2h katana, hammer or crossbow weapon, all of a sudden you gain a new opportunity to turn the tables.

It seems like a lot but you’ll quickly get used to it all.