User blog comment:CleanSlate/Mystic Knight/@comment-24431732-20181101081536

3 weeks later, but here's what I have.

If I were going to make a tanky Mystic Knight, I'd make a few suggestions.

Build Personally, I'd use this build http://stackoverflow.github.io/dragons-dogma-stat-planner/#as360000000024000000003200000000320000 because it's easier to accomplish (less vocation switches) and because the build will give 52 more defense & 121 more health, at the cost of 13 STR 21 MAG and 15MAGDEF. Physical damage is far more common and difficult to reduce than magical damage, so it's generally to be prioritized if you're aiming to be tanky. It's also way easier to block spells than massive boss melee attacks, so that's helpful too.

Pawn If you're going for maximum tank, a support mage pawn makes you impossible to kill, basically. Make the pawn a mage, then give it Legion's Might. Make its inclinations Guardian Medicant or Utilitarian Medicant. A Guardian Medicant will basically focus on your well being as top priority, while a Utilitarian Medicant is more likely to attack and debuff enemies. Guardian pawns also ignore enemies that have not attacked you or them, so it's very easy for them to focus entirely on supporting you only. Mine regularly silences and blinds key targets I'm attacking while I'm the focus, or Grapnels larger bosses. Before every fight she buffs me, and during fights she is on point any time I'm debilitated or damaged. Best part about a support pawn is that you never have to worry about them or their vocation; they self revive and their stats are irrelevant. You only have to worry about your own stats and health. I recommend equipping them with anything which resists Blindness, Petrification, Possession, Silence, Skill Stifling, and Sleep. The Pawn will cure themselves of Torpor if inflicted using Halidom. Light Spells: Halidom, Anodyne, Spellscreen Dark Spells: Silentium, Blearing, Grapnel

Route I'd recommend storming Bitterblack Isle early after grabbing Caged Fury and swapping to sorcerer at level 10. This allows for massive XP gains in a very short amount of time, letting you get to your end-game character more quickly. You can buy and swap to warrior just to learn Bastion, and do the same for Mystic Knight and Fortitude, then swapping back until you're appropriately leveled. Once at level 46, head back to the mainland and grab Force Hatchet while swapping to the Fighter Vocation. Run around, do some cool quests, and if you have one, swap to a Bitterblack weapon (if you feel like it) around level 60. You can then swap to Strider at level 100, take it on your adventures to 150, and then round out with Mystic Knight as you tie up loose ends and finish the game's content.

Arisen Skill Recommendations Shield: Fire Enchanter/Trance, Holy Enchanter/Trance, Thunder Enchanter/Trance Staff: Frigor, Levin, Comestian Sword: Perlious/Ruinous Sigil, Compass/Full-Moon Slash, Magick/Great Cannon Augments (While Sorcerer): Awareness, Emphasis, Conservation, Gravitas, Acuity, Articulacy Augments (While Fighter): Awareness, Bastion, Fortitude, Vigilance, Sinew, Vehemence Augments (While Strider): Awareness, Bastion, Fortitude, Vehemence, Sinew/Arm-Strength, Sinew/Leg-Strength Augments (While Mystic Knight): Awareness, Bastion, Fortitude, Vehemence, Acuity, Articulacy

Bonus Augment If you're looking to min-max, you can kill Oxen outside Gran Soren for the most effective DCP gain per EXP and watch your EXP so you don't waste levels. This is a safe way to rank up vocations without gaining accidental unwanted levels. If you speedrun to get 2 Ring of Perseverance using the exploit, you can very easily level all your vocations extremely quickly in less than half the time it would take normally. Then you can replace Vehemence with Clout, granting more strength. Or just replace other Augments you feel you don't need. The same for Mage's Attunement if you really want to minmax your damage, though you'd have to sacrifice Fortitude for it which is a loss of 30 physical damage absorption (135 in hard mode and 67.5 on BBI) in exchange for 10% more Magick.