Once out in Cyrodiil's wilderness, these persuasion skills become much less relevant. You'll instead need to rely heavily on your combat skills. One criticism of The Elder Scrolls since its beginnings has been awkward combat, and that remains true here. Oblivion's fighting mechanics are much improved and interactive over previous versions, but still not perfect. You're able to block and swing with separate buttons and have another for casting spells. Blocking can knock enemies off balance for free swings, but also do the same to you, so the fighting is no longer a mindless procedure of hitting attack ad nauseum; you'll actually need to pay attention and properly time your swings, blocks and casts. In one-on-one situations, these controls function well but run into problems in confined areas or in group battles.