head to head
vs
Elite DangerousvsMount & Blade
Elite Dangerous leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Mount & Blade leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Elite DangerousMount & Blade
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads2 vs 1
Elite Dangerous leans harder on reads: Light PvP reads, mostly PvE
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Elite Dangerous leans harder on optimization: Ship build, trade routes, engineering grind
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.