head to head
vs
Star Wars: Empire at WarvsStronghold 3
Star Wars: Empire at War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Stronghold 3 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Star Wars: Empire at WarStronghold 3
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 2
Star Wars: Empire at War leans harder on execution: Some battle micro, but APM never dominates outcomes
Reads5 vs 4
Star Wars: Empire at War leans harder on reads: Multiplayer galactic feints and fleet composition mind-games matter
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 8
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.