One of the big questions for an algorithm is - when do you recalculate the path? A real "human" doesn't recalculate until they receive information that the chosen bath is blocked/changed (they see the road closed sign, etc).
But many games recalculate distance to target (one ping only) over and over again each step, so moving a single block half a map away causes an entire army to repath immediately.
Real humans also don't have perfect knowledge of the map and have additional concerns besides the path length so A* should only be part of the whole solution if you want realistic movement.
But many games recalculate distance to target (one ping only) over and over again each step, so moving a single block half a map away causes an entire army to repath immediately.