Nah, the combat in Power was a journey whereas in Conquest it is a destination. In Power, I got to choose my battles, had to really because stamina was a factor. In Power it really felt like I was exploring far off places in order to acquire rare items and exotic slaves, whereas in Conquest it's just the most efficient way of getting income from mining resources.
Fair enough, I do agree the number of individual battles is likely way too high.
But the combat mechanics are superior in every way, at least in my view.
If so, how? I played for two hours and I couldn't find such an option anywhere.
Go to slave market, use the "Factor Upgrade" button. You need to have (in your Mansion, I believe) a captive that has higher attribute potential than the one you want raised (so, if someone's Average in whatnot, you need another character that's Good or higher in it).
It consumes the second character. The price depends primarily on the level/attributes of the character being improved (technically their "value," but that's what affects it most), so it can be order of magnitude cheaper to get whomever you want to keep maxed out on potential BEFORE you do anything with them.