On the topic of the Mechanics, holy fucking shit is the protagonist fucking jacked once you get his pathways unlocked. Thing is, I've noticed that balancing your stats is probably the best way to go overall. Though this is made harder by the fact that other party members can't level up as efficiently as you do since you start with three and get a fourth very quickly. Granted, the ultimate challenge at the moment appears to be plant wolf with him having some of the highest stats I'm aware of. Haven't gotten to fang yet.