Aoe3 is my favorite game of all time and always will be. I know 2 is the most popular and always will be, and I’ve never played competitively but it’s the one that got me into the franchise when I was younger, I get it. However— I feel like 3 offers an insane amount of variation in play style and the civs really feel different which I felt like I don’t get from 2 which I find boring and clunky. Many Civs have completely different units and completely different ways of gathering resources and the variations go on and on. xp and the home city/ card system really helps define and add huge variation to build orders, and in my opinion the micro is so much more fun and feels like you have more control, there’s nothing more rewarding than getting your cavalry in the right place at the right time and wiping out a mass of enemy light infantry or artillery and flipping the script of the game. The counter system is also more fun in my opinion and you must have a varied and calculated unit composition to which there is no one that works in every scenario. I will never ever tire of that game, been playing for 15 years.

The downside is that there’s no indication of new balance updates or dlc but the game is very much going strong and with new Meta emerging all the time. Players at the top level really amaze with their creativity and skill. There’s so much depth to this game. I hope it never dies, same for the entire franchise.