(a) learning maton buffs
1. the only place to get them for now is nashau, from yoyoroon near exit. buy every single one
2. talk to the NPC in whitegate puppet guild, and trade him each one you bought. youll get a message "you can now use this improvement" and the item you bought will disappear. you have learned this buff
(b) equipping buffs
go to equipment menu, choose automaton. you have 12 slots, and 8 gauges (1 per element) that say 0/3 for each element (0/2 for light and dark). now choose a slot and hit enter to pick the buff. youll see 3 things for each buff: title, description, and element cost (some are 1, some are 2). here's the list of buffs
fire
inhibitor (1) - store TP, use TP efficiently
tension spring (2) - enhances attack
earth
shock absorber (1) - use stoneskin
armor plate (2) - enhances defense
ice, thunder, etc. etc. 2 per element. most are 1 weak (costs 1) and 1 strong (costs 2) so you can equip both and use up your 3/3 elemtal limit. but some are 2+2 so you can only choose one buff of that element. and light and dark are limited to 2, so you can only have 1 each of those.
(c) using buffs
once youve set up all your slots/elemental limits, call your dude out and hit ctrl-B for pet menu. you can use any of the maneuvers, and up the 3 are active at a time. i haven't actually xp'd on it yet so i cant tell you how well they work.