पुराणे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Rule-based warfare

There seems to be a curious inversion where the Mahābhārata in a setting of declining righteousness has stylized, set-piece, rule-bound(even if in the breach) warfare, while the Rāmāyaṇa in a setting of exacting righteousness has mostly melee warfare(with night-time arson too!).

My interpretation of that was that the former (rAmAyaNa) was modeled on the invasion of non-Arya domain, wherein victory was the bottom-line. The latter (mahAbhArata) was a fight between related Arya-s for shravas through display of kShatradharma. Persisted in rAjpUt-s.