head to head
vs
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsvsWarcraft III: Reforged
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings leans Optimization (Grand Arena); Warcraft III: Reforged leans Reads (Grand Arena).
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsWarcraft III: Reforged
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 7
Warcraft III: Reforged leans harder on execution: Hero micro and creep-juke timing are mechanically demanding
Reads7 vs 8
Warcraft III: Reforged leans harder on reads: Human opponents adapt hero combos and harassment patterns constantly
Variance4 vs 3
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings leans harder on variance: Fog, map gen, civ matchups
Optimization8 vs 7
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings leans harder on optimization: Build orders refined over two decades
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.