Building comparison
head to head
Empire: Total WarvsWar Selection
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.
War Selection
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A survival strategy game about building a civilization while battling other players.
Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); War Selection leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Empire: Total WarWar Selection
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
War Selection leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Empire: Total War
Real-time battle micro is modest
War Selection
Some real-time control but not twitch-focused.
Reads3 vs 4
War Selection leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Empire: Total War
Multiplayer line-battle feints exist
War Selection
Human opponents in multiplayer require some prediction.
Variance3 vs 3
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Empire: Total War
Campaign AI and battle dice noise
War Selection
Resource spawns and combat rolls add unpredictability.
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
War Selection
Base-building and civilization strategy are deeply solvable.
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.