as I said with a Knight, which is the class that can equip ragnarok/excalibur, which you will want, I typically put two shields on him. If I know monsters only attack physically in an area, I leave my other 3 characters always in yellow. He defends everyturn in the BACKROW. He covers the other three and takes no more than like, 10 damage. Basically making your party invincible against any physical attacks, though magic would kill everyone.

Knight is one of the best classes in the game

idk what this "samurai" is, there is no samurai in this game.

Equip the best weapons at the time, though be aware some weapons have elements which even though are weaker ATP wise, will do more damage against certain enemies. And with my thief, sometimes I leave two long range weapons on him so he can stay in the back row, even if they aren't his strongest weapons. Mages, just use the magic casting rods every turn.

My final party will probably be, Knight, Ninja, Devout, Summoner. Black magic pales in comparison to summons at the end, and Devout is the best healer without a doubt. Knight and Ninja can equip the 4 best weapons in the game, plus Ninja can throw shurikens for massive damage.

THE JACKEL