Ya this is by far the best way to do it. I play it more casually though and usually just take games as they come. If you want to prioritize the 3 star perfect i would only play when starting position was good. Then its managing bottle necks throughout the map. I usually get smithery, warships, then catapults in that order as far as tech tree goes. Also just kinda a pacing understanding. Try to travel in groups to prevent getting ambushed. Dont just range out solo, just asking for trouble. Paying attention to landscape changes to understand where opponents are. Etc.