When people say "dont make it too complicated", what they mean is actually "dont throw lots of indicators on your charts and think that this will provide you an edge". A bot can compensate to some extent with speed and larger resources, but the trading strategy will never be simple.

Well said. The goal is to find a specific edge you can exploit like in any strategic game.

I always like to bring in the analogy of the insect world (evolution) -- there are so many species of insects that have evolved to have a very specific advantage (edge) against another organism (counterparties) or in their particular environment (market). Bombardier Beatle is a good example; Endless examples in the parasite world.