- What's your preferred starting level and armor?
I start with Cielom (bottom left), then Dezant (top left), Bosque (bottom right), Helado (bottom), Llmarada (right) and last Auzal (top). It honestly hardly matters. You'll max out your power and life bar within any stage you play first. My reason for Cielom is that it has a very nice flow and you don't require multiple bombs (which you don't have at this point).
- Do you change armor per-level a lot, or is there a go-to "favorite" that works best across most/all levels?
Water for all stages except the last boss. Here Fire or earth. Fire is considerably stronger than Water (regular fire shot has the power of the sword attack with Water), but then again Water is really relaxing, since you basically cover the whole screen with your shots anyway. On the boss you need fire or earth to kill the 2nd phase with a single bomb and the stronger attack level makes the 3rd phase a much quicker affair.
- It feels like "Power" is the best thing to invest in early on. Is that correct?
It gives you a slight boost at the very beginning of the first stage, but after that you'll be maxed out anyway, so all you really need is to restock on bombs and your shield (if you need it).
Buying the elixir (if needed, depending on your skills) is essential. You'll usually max out your credits (10,000) in the fifth stage, if make sure to buy the elixir before this point in the game or you you'll collect gems for nothing.