A few Story skills make John's priorities easier to understand. Shield of Thorns punishes melee attackers when he blocks. Grit and Might expands his stamina capacity. Heaven's G…

A few Story skills make John's priorities easier to understand. Shield of Thorns punishes melee attackers when he blocks. Grit and Might expands his stamina capacity. Heaven's Grace can reset Heaven's Strike through primary attacks. Those are different directions: retaliation, a larger defensive resource, and more opportunities for the sword-rain attack. In ElCid's community guide, damage from Heaven's Strike and the shield-related skills receive substantial early attention. That's one player's suggested order, not a requirement. The useful question for your own run is what is actually failing. One concrete Story route to try is Heaven's Strike for reliable access to area damage, Shield of Thorns for a block-focused approach, then Grit and Might when available if stamina is limiting you. Add Shield Slam for disruption before investing everything in higher damage ranks. Heaven's Grace is an offensive follow-up once you're regularly landing primary attacks. That is a proposed priority based on the interactions, not a universal leveling order. If the shield keeps running dry, more stamina can be relevant, but first check whether you're blocking hits you could simply avoid. If enemies survive long enough to surround you, another defensive point alone may not fix the problem. If you seldom use Heaven's Strike, improving it without changing that habit won't do much either. John's Story family traits also give a reason to develop him even when someone else becomes your regular choice. His family benefits include additional maximum health and later protective or restorative effects. Rotating characters can therefore help your preferred character indirectly. For temporary run pickups, look at the gap in the current kit. A useful damage option may complement a defensive character; recovery can help a run already losing health between encounters. Don't discard a practical survival improvement merely because a guide's ideal damage combination sounds more exciting. The ideal combination isn't useful if the pieces haven't appeared.