Skill bonuses in combat have gone awry, they need to be redesigned but there are other elements of combat that need attention.
This is my interpretation of how combat was envisioned:
Battles are fought with heat.
Principles define the rules of combat.
Creatures are the conduits for a player's will and experiences in battle.
With those core elements one can see where combat may be lacking.
These are some aspect of the game that may yet - and I feel should - be included in combat:
-Group/team combat - more than 2 players taking part in a battle (perhaps someone can find Mur's post about the next combat level from a few years ago?)
-Species - creatures have an affinity to certain other creatures.
-Land loyalty - the incorporation of land relations and allegiance to lands.
Interesting discussion so far. There will be plenty of food for thought.
@apophys: Indeed it's a much better scaling version. I don't know what possessed me to exclude logarithms