Building comparison
head to head
Age of Empires II: HD EditionvsGuild Wars
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Age of Empires II: HD Edition
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A real-time strategy game where mastering build orders and economy management decides most matches.
Guild Wars
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Instanced online RPG where deck-like eight-skill builds decide battles before they begin.
Age of Empires II: HD Edition leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Guild Wars leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Age of Empires II: HD EditionGuild Wars
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 4
Age of Empires II: HD Edition leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Age of Empires II: HD Edition
click speed and micro help but secondary
Guild Wars
Interrupt timing and kiting in skirmishes
Reads4 vs 5
Guild Wars leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Age of Empires II: HD Edition
predicting human opponent strategy and timing
Guild Wars
GvG and arena metagame against adapting humans
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Age of Empires II: HD Edition
minor map and resource randomness
Guild Wars
Modest drop and spawn randomness
Optimization9 vs 8
Age of Empires II: HD Edition leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Age of Empires II: HD Edition
build orders and economy are near-solvable
Guild Wars
Eight-skill build construction is the game's soul
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.