Fell Seal Guide: Best Build Combos, Class Mastery and Advanced Combat Tactics

1. Game Overview

Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark is a tactical role playing game by indie studio 6 Eyes that released in 2019 on PC and consoles. Players take the role of Kyrie, an Arbiter Captain, as she and her companions uncover corruption within the ruling Council of Immortals while battling across isometric, grid-based maps. The game features over twenty classes, dual classing, active and passive skills, customizable characters, difficulty settings including permanent death, and a unique “injury” mechanic that penalizes characters rather than causing permanent death. It has been praised for its deep combat system, class flexibility, and solid homage to classics like Final Fantasy Tactics though some critics found its story and presentation less memorable.

• Developer: 6 Eyes Studio
• Publisher:  1C Entertainment
• Release Dates: April 30, 2019 (Windows, macOS, Linux, PS4, Xbox One); August 13, 2019 (Nintendo Switch)
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
• Genre: Tactical role playing game (turn based tactics RPG)
• Core Loop: Build/customize party → Equip & assign classes and abilities → Fight tactical grid based battles → Manage roster, gear and return to preparing for next encounter

2. Story & Objective

Kyrie is a captain in the order of Arbiters who serve the Immortal Council, guardians of peace in the land of Teora. When a corrupt noble is mysteriously exonerated despite what Kyrie believes is clear guilt she embarks on the Marked Pilgrimage, a quest to visit five ancient temples and claim relics that may expose corruption and restore justice. Along the way, she uncovers betrayal within the Immortals and must confront threats that could destabilize the world if left unchecked

• Role: Lead a squad of Arbiters and recruited units through story missions and optional side missions.
• Focus: Tactical turn based battles, deep character progression and flexible recruitment (including monster allies with DLC) rather than open world exploration or sandbox mechanics.

Tip: Ensure every party member contributes to combat actions (even support heals or condition clears) so EXP is distributed, and weaker units do not lag behind.

3. Class System & Customization

The game makes classes central: each character picks a primary class, which determines what equipment they can use and how their stats grow when they level up. The game lets you use sub class abilities by spending AP in unlocked classes so you can add active, passive, or counter skills from non primary roles. You unlock extra classes through DLC, guild missions, badge, story conditions, etc., and when you learn every ability in a class the game grants a Mastery Bonus that adds a permanent stat boost even if you switch classes.

Aspect	Key points
Primary class	Decides equipment access and drives stat growth on level up
Subclass	Lets you use abilities from other classes by spending AP in those classes
Mastery	Gives permanent bonuses when you unlock every ability in a class
Class count	Offers 20+ base classes plus classes from DLC, badge, and story unlocks

• Practical planning: Choose a primary class for desired stat growth (for example Knight for HP/defense) and acquire subclass AP through class switching or deploying units of other classes to fill gaps in weaknesses or add movement and support tools.

4. Core Combat Systems

Combat uses a grid based, turn based system and emphasizes positioning, initiative, counters, terrain elevation, and action economy. Characters trigger counters or reactions via certain abilities and deal experience primarily by contributing: dealing damage, healing, applying/removing status conditions, or finishing foes rather than simply moving.

Element	Effect
Initiative/turn order	Determines action sequence; altering it is tactically valuable
Terrain/elevation	Height and cover affect accuracy, range, and defensibility; you exploit these with ranged or teleporting abilities
Counters	You equip some abilities with counter reactions that trigger when enemies attack you; you also plan around enemy counters by using counter-breaking skills
EXP sources	You earn EXP through damage dealt, healing done, applying or removing conditions, and delivering killing blows

5. Progression: EXP, AP, Mastery

The game uses three interlocking progression systems: EXP to increase level, AP to unlock class abilities, and Mastery bonuses when you fully learn a class. You earn EXP by actively contributing in combat: dealing damage, healing, applying/removing conditions, or landing finishing blows. The game awards AP after battles based on deployed characters, encounter difficulty, and modifiers such as story missions or bonus conditions; you gain AP in each class separately. When you unlock every ability in a class, the system grants a Mastery bonus that permanently boosts stats and remains even if you respec or switch classes.

1. EXP: You gain EXP through active contributions: damage, healing, applying or removing conditions, finishing enemies.
2. AP:  The game gives AP after every deployed encounter; story missions offer more base AP, bosses / higher enemy level give increased AP; bonus AP applies for special actions (e.g. keeping Kyrie alive, killing “Zotzits”, MVP awards)
3. Mastery:  You earn Mastery once you unlock every ability in a class; Mastery grants small permanent bonuses, and you retain these bonuses despite resetting class levels

6. Difficulty Modes, Permadeath & Checkpoints

Fell Seal offers multiple difficulty settings; the highest setting activates permanent death via the injury system once a character takes enough injuries. The game lets you reset character levels at any guild (for a gold cost) though you cannot reset ability progression inside a class. The game saves automatically between battles, at mission start, completion and at major interactions but does not let you save during combat mid‐battle.

• Difficulty choice: Enable permanent death only if you want permanent roster consequences via injuries; choose lower settings to reduce or eliminate those penalties.
• Guild respec (level reset): Visit a guild, pay gold, and choose “Reset Level” to drop a character back to level 1 in their current class; this resets their stat growth from level increases but keeps class unlocks and Mastery progress
• Checkpoints: The system saves your progress outside of combat, after missions, at key UI or story transitions; it does not allow saving in the middle of battles.

7. Boss Tactics & Encounter Flow

Boss fights challenge you to observe enemy tells and attack patterns, use interrupts and counters, and manage your resources because some enemies hit much harder in later turns. You shouldn’t burn all your powerful cooldowns immediately; instead use early turns to scout, position, and weaken the field. Equip or unlock counters to block or react to major enemy abilities or add spawns. You hold powerful consumables or heals until the fight’s damage ramps up or the boss uses more lethal scripted moves.

1. Phase observation: Use opening turns to identify boss tells, safe punish windows, and avoid being caught off-guard by scripted hits.
2. Interrupts & counters: Learn or equip skills that let you interrupt major enemy abilities, counter dangerous attacks, or weaken enemy reinforcements.
3. Consumable timing: Save high impact consumables, resistance items, and big heals for when boss attacks escalate rather than using them early

8. Builds, Equipment & Advanced Strategies

You start builds by choosing a primary class to steer your stat growth when you level up, then spend AP in other classes to pick up sub class abilities that plug weak spots. You tune your loadout (weapons, armor, accessories) to emphasize the stats your build needs; when you master a class fully you earn a permanent bonus to those core stats. Community guides and the official wiki document many viable strategies, including AP farming routes, hybrid healer tank builds, crit stacking, and elemental specialty builds.

Step	Action
1	Choose primary class to control stat growth on level up (tank, healer, DPS, caster)
2	Pick subclass to cover mobility/support gaps and plan AP path to core abilities
3	Select gear that complements the role (boots for speed, rings for accuracy, talismans for elements)
4	Pursue mastery bonuses and use guild level resets when you experiment later in the game

• AP-farming tip: Play higher level maps where AP rewards scale better, and avoid grinding trivial content because returns diminish.
• Level reset tactic: Level a character in a class with favorable growth first, then switch to another class to unlock its abilities and reset at guilds to preserve those mastery gains.

9. Conclusion

By understanding and leveraging the game’s core systems, i.e. EXP, AP, Mastery, class flexibility, and tactical combat, you’ll turn ordinary squads into specialists and make every battle count. With careful build choices, smart use of sub classes and equipment, and disciplined resource management, you’ll resist even the toughest bosses and permanent death settings. Keep refining strategies to suit your play style, experiment safely using level resets and lower difficulties, and you’ll turn your command into mastery in Fell Seal.