I've started the game recently and I play casually, with little regard for competitive or endgame content, only to see the story. Yet I like the combat system so I want to engage with it in more details.
My problem is that while I presume to understand in-combat tactics, I have trouble with character building. I do not understand why some of my characters are much more powerful than others while on the same level of character, skills and weapon.
As far as I can see currently, those are the places where you affect your stats:
Character level and awakening
Weapon choice, level and awakening (forgot the word)
Persona skill levels
Revelation cards
Mindspace/Schema for Wonder
Personas for Wonder
1, 2 and 5 are straightforward more=better. You can decide on what to prioritize but, with exception of Wonder's weapon choice, it is mostly a matter of putting more resources into a single character.
3 is similar but allows to choose which skill to prioritize, with different skills having different implicit importance.
6 is pretty straightforward and akin to mainline Persona (mostly 5) games: you choose what you need right now based on available actions and passives.
Thus, as I see it, the main "building" occurs in 4, when choosing revelation cards for characters, as all the other moving parts are pretty linear.
Example from my current situation:
Any character beside Akechi, Ann, Wonder, Joker and Shun deals around 1k damage with skill
Joker deals around 2k damage, let's say 5k for extra turn.
Wonder and Shun deal around 3k damage
Akechi and Ann deal 4k damage with basic skill use and 15k when using their "strong" turn (3rd ability for Akechi and stacking damage boosts for Ann) or Follow-Up Attack
This is a trend preserved through several stages of different level comparisons and before and after Revelation Cards unlock. All the "better" DD characters are A0 while many other DDs are not.
Let's compare my Joker, Ann and Akechi.
Joker deals damage, gets will of rebellion which increases his damage, then gets additional turn for even more damage buffs.
Ann deals damage, gets La Vie En Rose for additional damage and does Burn that we do not count for now. Her 5* weapon in best case doubles her damage due to in-build buff and buffs for Burns.
Akechi deals damage, decreases enemy defence, increases his own attack, gets buffs from enemy defence decrease. Mastermind gives him additional damage for 3rd ability, but I find that it matters little: Wonder, Joker, Ann and even Fleuret and Closer as Masterminds result in similar Akechi damage. His 4* weapon gives him additional buff to damage.
All three operate under maximum level flames of desire. All three have no external buffs and no Mindscape upgrades. Akechi and Ann have good card sets, Joker has quick-equipped one.
My intention is not to buff Joker specifically, but to understand which parts of character building are more and most important so I could engage with it.
Do I focus on Revelation Cards? As far as I can see, their effects are quite good, both for individual cards and for sets.
Is it a matter of inherently better character/awakening/weapon which I can only solve using gacha?
Is it because of my misunderstanding of combat tactics, where e.g. Joker requires some specific support to deal good damage?
Overall, I would like to hear what experienced players have to say about it. What are your fundamental advices on character building and tactics not for endgame content and meta-chasing, but for understanding the system.