This isn't "click-and-hope" style combat, and it will always be impossible to "tank" level-appropriate mobs. If you have your combat set to Auto put it on Manual, and turn off the reserve attack feature in the game options. (It's on by default for some reason.) You need to know how to use your skills.
I'm not sure the "official" strategy guides really tell you what you need to know. Proper skill use is a matter of attention and timing, and of reading a mob's body language to tell you what skills it's preparing to use so that you can effectively act against them. (You can do this without a high ranked Sharp Mind skill by using the sharp mind between your own ears.) You do not, for instance, attack with straight melee or Smash a mob that has Counterattack prepared; and you don't Defend against a mob that's about to Smash you. And you never, ever, attack an alerted mob that's not stunned with straight melee because then it's a matter of chance who hits first.
This kind of thing is much easier to show than tell, so if you can't find anyone to demonstrate in-game, see what you can find on YouTube. A few Mabi players have posted some very helpful video guides.
As far as money goes, the best way at first is to collect Fomor scrolls when they drop. When you get a stack of 10 of the same kind, buy the corresponding quest scroll from Duncan and immediately complete the quest to be paid. For your level, the mimic scrolls you can get inside dungeons are the most profitable you can easily get, at 6k/stack, but others may be worth collecting until you can develop other regular income sources.
Sig art by Ryosuke01 . Avatar by Syncadia (Charly).
