I thought the best combo was knife and best ability was reflect. Sword, axe and spear didn't do much for me, felt like I was struggling to him enemies with them. Cast was the second most useful ability followed by Dash and Block being in last place. I'm assuming this is intended for strategy purposes (pick best options first and struggle later vs. struggle early on to be able to have a better chance later on).
I would have like to have felt more of a precision for when I'm swinging at an enemy. There were a handful of times it looked to me like I hit them when the game decided I didn't actually.
Though ya when it came to using the knife, cast, and reflect I was actually having a good time. Overall a pretty decent idea.