head to head
vs
Sea of ThievesvsThe Cycle
Sea of Thieves leans Reads (Competitive PvP); The Cycle leans Execution (Competitive PvP).
Sea of ThievesThe Cycle
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 7
The Cycle leans harder on execution: Gunfights against contesting players demand real aim
Reads7 vs 6
Sea of Thieves leans harder on reads: PvP ship fights are pure mind games
Variance5 vs 5
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 5
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.