>>60366012I refuse to play 2 over 3 because the pace of 2, especially siege, kind of infuriates me. Lord knows how much more reliving it is when all your artillery (except Gatling Guns, Organ Guns, Chinese Flamethrowers, and Tanks) are reasonably efficient at taking down buildings.
3 has gotten so much better with the addition of new civs, fleshing out decks, and what not. The only trash faction right now is Japanese, but six months ago they were top dogs because of stupid hero tricks that understandably got nerfed.
I also love shipments, batch training, asymmetry, and the gunpowder warfare aspect. There's a reason I'm an Americans main, they seriously emphasize the hallmarks of AoE3 more than all the other civs do--no melee infantry (unless you wanna pay out the nose in Exploration Age for the ability to pop a squad of really efficient Consulate Pikemen every 3 minutes), extreme emphasis on sensible deck construction, and strong native or mercenary play.
For AoE2 enjoyers, you still have Aztecs and Inca who normally have no gunpowder. Or Maltese if you like tower and keep-focused strategies. Or British who can do well with Longbow+Walls.