I'm pretty confused on whether there are any other special abilities a Sylesti can use in battle. I know there's a focused attack, quick attack, finisher, block, and mend and then the abilities from proficiencies, but is that all? I feel like I'm missing something since so many enemies seem to have special abilities none of my party has and it has made some battles extremely difficult.

There aren't any other special abilities, but what battles are you having trouble with? And how did you distribute your proficiency points? Besides the arena in the 3rd zone and the dungeon bosses, all battles should go smoothly.

Edit: I looked at your battle pets, and at first glance they seemed set up well, but then I realized you don't have a 'tank' pet. Generally when battling, the sylesti in the center takes all the damage, so usually one of your 3 sylestis will be set to specialize in health. Here's a link to a simple explanation.

Thanks for the reply, and since posting I had found a post in the Battle Discussions looking for help with the troll battle in the grotto and one of the replies had links to 2 different topics to help build a team. It really helped me get a better grip on stats and gear for my team. So now I have my tank that's 50/50 health and agility with earth proficiency since bash can give taunted, then I have 2 magic attackers, both are 50/50 health and intelligence with one light proficiency and the other one fire.