I mostly agree with the OP in that I agree that the combat sucks, but I don't see how completely skipping combat can possibly work. Most of the combat encounters are integral to the main story or to side quests, so how will that work?
What is possible is for there to be a story mode of some kind where combat is super-easy. This is exactly what I am hoping for, and why wanting to see the details of the game's difficulty settings and optional toggles is at the very top of my list of reveals I am waiting for.
