head to head
vs
Ancestors LegacyvsRome: Total War
Ancestors Legacy leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Rome: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Ancestors LegacyRome: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Ancestors Legacy leans harder on execution: unit control and positioning under time pressure
Reads3 vs 2
Ancestors Legacy leans harder on reads: human opponents shift strategy somewhat
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.