Interesting comments! When I started playing the impression I had was choice of being more of a trader or more military. I am(was/depends on game) a player who does not like the combat games, esp against other players. Just me!
Well, there have been many changes in the game since late fall of 2016 & early 2017 I joined fellowships in the 2 worlds I play. I was lucky to have wonderful fellow members who asked why I didn't fight; & explained how things worked, where to find info, and guided me to do enough to benefit me without major difficulty! Have also found that even the minimum of military is helpful to my game & growth & love the tourneys!
I had overscouted so haven't won many battles in provinces, & am waiting to let myself catch up before trying to do these right now. BUT in the mean time I do the tourneys every week, only auto-play, & (until recently) would check the websites that let you know enemies, best troops to use, & goods that may be needed for that weeks tourney! These help a lot along with tips & other help info! I feel though much improvement is still needed, I have learned & improved since I first began doing the 'troops' and that when ready I will be able to fight more in the clearing of provinces, too!
Learning that a good mix of all the things involved in the game is helpful. Mykan's Guide is a great resource, Gems of Knowledge, CrazyWizard if still around, & members of your fellowship -- these are just a few! I don't remember the difficulty of fighting in the beginning because I pretty much just catered back then. But I understand the difficulty & am so glad those members were so patient with me so that I got through the difficulties/problems understanding how to/etc..can be hard at any time & still is. There is more to learn, too, so I just take it in bits & pieces, experiment when time, and just keep trying!
Thank you for this thread, fighting is not the easiest area for me still but a good part of the game to know. I also think it's not just hard for the 'noobs' but can be for anyone at any point in the game depending on how they played, learned, & more! (I still want to learn how to manually do battles--in the future!)
Have fun & keep smilin! =)