I'm a fan of starting on the larger maps at the lowest tech level, it's harder to get overwhelmed at the start I find when your purchasing options are more limited. It is what keeps me engaged with the game. Coming from a more Starcraft style background, what makes RaW my favourite is that units die quickly, but have great potential when controlled properly. Some people prefer one style, others prefer the second. Units have a lot of firepower and can be killed off very quickly. RaW is far more like Starcraft in that sense. In Starcraft you look away from your army at the wrong moment and it is gone in a few seconds. In CoH units take a long time to die unless getting really focussed, like in EaW. It is like the design difference between an rts like company of heroes and starcraft. You cannot do this in RaW, you have to be active, microing units (particularly fighter squadrons) and constantly analysing the battlefield. In the base game, at least in campaign/GC battles you can mostly just deploy a fleet, attack move forward, go make a cup of tea and come back 10 minutes later to find you've won.
You have to be far more involved in the game to get results.
RaW is designed differently to the base game, and most EaW mods.
