Building comparison
head to head
Empire: Total WarvsEndless Legend
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Empire: Total War
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Gunpowder-era Total War blending empire management with line battles.
Endless Legend
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Fantasy 4X with strong asymmetric factions and quest paths.
Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Endless Legend leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Empire: Total WarEndless Legend
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Empire: Total War leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Empire: Total War
Real-time battle micro is modest
Endless Legend
turn-based
Reads3 vs 3
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Empire: Total War
Multiplayer line-battle feints exist
Endless Legend
scripted AI, limited MP
Variance3 vs 4
Endless Legend leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Empire: Total War
Campaign AI and battle dice noise
Endless Legend
quest and tech rolls
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Empire: Total War
Campaign economy and line-infantry tactics are mappable
Endless Legend
faction-specific yield optimization
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.