head to head
vs
Rise of Nations: Rise of LegendsvsWarcraft: Orcs & Humans
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Warcraft: Orcs & Humans leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Rise of Nations: Rise of LegendsWarcraft: Orcs & Humans
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads4 vs 4
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 3
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans leans harder on variance: Fog of war hides enemy composition
Optimization8 vs 7
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends leans harder on optimization: Asymmetric faction trees and expansion timing reward deep study
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.