I think I'm just very bad at this game. After several hours, I finally got a win by spamming Ninja's two turn bind. I also had the Archer's 10 damage to first enemy in each row skill and I do way better in runs where I have that.
Some of the skills seem very useless (Archer's ability to do max damage to all zones or apply poison to arrows) just because they cost a turn. So far, the new skills and spells I was able to unlock after a clear don't seem too helpful compared to the starting pool. Basically, if I don't get several multi-damage skills to start, I just get overrun eventually and that's pretty frustrating and doesn't inspire me to get more clears.
I gotchu fam.
If you want to try again I've been writing-
Some quick strategy tips:
1. Keep enemies out of the zone of their color and most will be unable to hurt you.
2. Most skills do full damage, even if you target enemies outside of the heroine's preferred zone.
3. Get F*cked more. A heroine will recieve a temporary x2 damage buff if you destroy the enemy she's having sex with. Keeping enemies alive in their zones with low health is a great way to farm the buff and turn the tides in your favor.
4. Keep an eye on your HP bars to stay on top. If possible try to not have all 3 Heroines have low SR at the same time. Don't be low on Stamina if you've got lots of enemies in their zones.
5. Planning your route. If you've started a round with skills you aren't very good at using. Try your best to make it to a shop or if you don't think you'll make enough money, go to a treasure chest so that you can aquire more skills. If you feel pretty confident with your starting skills, challenge a mini boss to get some stat upgrades. If not, you should probably take a different path. If you think you know who the final boss will be, purchase items you can use to keep yourself on top during the final showdown.
6. Basic attack combo: Your heroines deal their full damage inside their own zone, so if possible try using one heroine's attack in her zone to transfer an enemy into another zone so the next heroine can finish her off. The basic attack combo can deal 25-30 damage to a single unit with no cost to your stamina. (pull enemy from blue into red, push enemy from red back into blue, shoot enemy with archer)
7. Crash damage. Using skills that push or pull your enemies farther will add bonus damage for every space traveled if you can crash them into another enemy. Crashing occurs if the struck enemy would have travelled further if not blocked by another enemy. The longer the distance travelled, the more crash damage is applied to both enemies.
Probably the most important:
8. Maximize your damage output. When using basic attacks, try to do so when it will deal more damage OR when it will finish off an enemy. The less enemies there are, the less damage you'll take during the enemy turn. When using your skills, it's better to use them in situations where you are fully maximizing their potential output since they cost your own resources to use. For example; Finishing off enemies with the poison kunai attack will waste all the damage that the poison effect would have done. So clear the low hp units with your basic attacks first, then throw the kunai at the healthier enemies to maximize your damage output.
Using skills puts you at a higher risk of defeat, so make sure you get the most out of them when using them.
Let me know if these tips help you win some more of your runs.