head to head
vs
Elite DangerousvsTarisland
Elite Dangerous leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Tarisland leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Elite DangerousTarisland
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 5
Elite Dangerous leans harder on execution: Flight controls, docking, combat aim
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
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.