In fact, things like strength were required, but soft skills like this that were inbuilt into your body were much more substantial later on.
In the early phases of battling, you can get by just by pushing forward with brute strength and beginner's luck, like in a game.
However, in the later phases, internal and external mechanics that stemmed from your body and the surroundings came into play, making you not able to ignore everything else and just use forceful methods anymore.
The snake that Alena faced was a good way of initializing her to mental attacks like taunting.
Taunting was a skill that did not harm, and put the caster at risk. However, when used in a crafty way, and by utilizing traps, you could manufacture a great strategy.
Of course, several factors would have to come in play at the same time, such as your opponent having lesser strength than you in order for it to be effective.
