I see what you did there. But what exactly did you mean by there being more math exposed? Do you mean that there should be information on each skill's power within the game itself?
As minimum. Ideally, each skill should have in description:
- How it's power is calculated, which stats you should invest to get it more effective. If there are several, which gives more.
- Which stats and statuses can provide defense from this skill.
- It's actual current power for current character (to straightforwardly compare with other skills).
- If skill has special effects, describe them (how long they 'll last, what exactly they do for not obvious cases, chance to inflict them, how your/target stats can alter effect).
There already are... How much, 30 skills and spells? And each job adds more. It isn't good, since you'll likely use no more than 2-6 of them (single attack, aoe attack, few control skills, few support skills). The other skills would be either obsolete after obtaining more strong skills of the same type or from "weird" cathegory of skills which are good on paper but never worth to be actually used. Let's look into magic:
Surge (Cost: 5SP , Cast time: instant): Weak non-elemental magic, single target.
Fireball (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: 75): Fire magic, single target.
Freeze (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: 70): Ice magic, single target.
Bolt (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: 60): Thunder magic, single target.
Eruption (Cost: 30SP , Cast time: 110): Fire magic, targets all enemies.
Thorn (Cost: 15SP , Cast time: 75): Nature magic, single target.
Spray (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: 50): Water magic, single target.
Spire (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: 70): Bashing earth magic, single target.
Gust (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: 50): Slashing wind magic, single target.
Venom (Cost: 15SP , Cast time: 50): Poisons single target.
Stalagmite (Cost: 30SP , Cast time: 120): Earth magic, single target.
So, we have Surge as obvious replacement of basic attack (yet costing sp and being weak), one AoE skill (Eruption) and 9 (nine) skills of the same type - single-target direct damage. Which one to use? Why the hell we need 9 skills? Is nature magic and poison magic same or different? Is water magic and ice magic different? What is difference between Spire and Stalagmite? What is "cast time", how it would affect move order? Are magic skills affected by equipment? We can only guess.
Physical is a bit better... A bit. They actually have effect description, but...
Bash (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: instant): Stun effect, low accuracy.
Pierce (Cost: 10SP , Cast time: instant): Bypass defenses.
D.Attack (Cost: 25SP , Cast time: instant): Perform two low accuracy hits.
Provoke (Cost: 15SP , Cast time: instant): Try to provoke the enemy to focus on you. Single target.
T.Attack (Cost: 60SP , Cast time: instant): Perform three low accuracy hits.
Crushing.S (Cost: 25HP 10SP , Cast time: instant): Crushing strike that deals massive damage, with high chance of stunning. Slight recoil effect.
Focus strike (Cost: 50SP , Cast time: instant): Bypass defenses.
Ensnare (Cost: 20SP , Cast time: instant): Slows down an enemy by throwing a net at them.
Hamstring (Cost: 20SP , Cast time: instant): Nicks the target, making a lingering wound.
Set trap (Cost: 50SP , Cast time: 100): Sets a trap for an enemy.
Swift (Cost: 25SP , Cast time: instant): Briefly boosts the caster's speed.
Grand Slam (Cost: 50SP , Cast time: instant): Stun effect, low accuracy to multiple targets.
Ok, Grand Slam is straightforward AoE. The only question - is is better or worse than Eruption? More SP cost, but instant and stunning... Can only guess. Pierce and Focus strike - they have exactly same description. Set trap - wtf is it? Swift - how much is it boosted, what does it means by speed? Act more frequently, dodge attacks bonus, or something else? What is "briefly"? Hamstring - what is "lingering wound", damage over time, stats debuff or something else? How heavy is it? Are physical skills affected by equipment? Again, we can only guess.
When we are attacking, we have no idea if we used right type of attack. There should be some sort of "sense" to approximate target's resistances, or at least some hint about how effective attack was - did we hit weak spot, or tried something target especially protected from?