head to head
vs
Ancient EnemyvsBaldur's Gate
Ancient Enemy leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Baldur's Gate leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Ancient EnemyBaldur's Gate
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Baldur's Gate leans harder on execution: Pause-and-play needs minimal dexterity.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance5 vs 5
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization7 vs 8
Baldur's Gate leans harder on optimization: Party builds and encounter prep solvable.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.