Arcane Legends Vs. Taichi Panda: A Comparative Analysis

Still considered as a newbie, I think that it's too early for me to make a comparative analysis between Arcane Legends and Taichi Panda but my siblings were relentless in their efforts to make me quit Taichi Panda. XD When I said 'no' for, probably, the millionth time, they'd follow up with questions like, "Can you enumerate the reasons why you're enjoying Taichi Panda more than Arcane Legends? Surely, it's not all about the Panda," or "Ok, we will also play TP but first, can you prove to us that it's worth it?"  As I've told you in my last post, Taichi Panda has become my main course of the day so it's no wonder that I've been subtly nagging my siblings to try it out but considering that they've got more sense of loyalty than me, they were rather vocal in voicing out that I'm such a traitor to Arcane Legends especially that I was the one who introduced the game to them.   And every time we have the said discussion, I'd always end up answering them with "Look, its an amazing game... it's you know... you just don't understand." Que the boos and the mocking laughter. >.<

It's not that I'm starting to get bored with Arcane Legends but Taichi Panda's features feel so novel to me that it's hard not to keep playing.  Meanwhile, Arcane Legends is akin to a familiar toy that it's okay not to play with it all the time. But hey, this post is not about promoting Taichi Panda and slamming down Arcane Legends but more of an objective comparative analysis between the two games. Siblings,  you better read this! And of course, to those who are planning to play either Taichi Panda and Arcane Legends but torn as to which game to choose, then, this could probably help you.

Do note that while I try to be as insightful with my analysis, I'm relatively a newbie player in both Taichi Panda and Arcane Legends having played them for only a few months (AL: ~2 months and TP: ~1.5 months).  And since I can't promise to be unbiased with this analysis, I will include a rating for personal enjoyment.

Arcane Legends	Game Aspects	Taichi Panda
At only 70+ MB, even a low-end smartphone can handle it. 5/5	Accessibility (specs)	It's really heavy like 500-600 MB. And you have to make sure that you have around more than 3 GB of free storage space. 3/5
A straightfoward, old school RPG. You only need 30 minutes or so to figure out the general flow of the game. 4/5	Game Navigation	Though there's an in-game tutorial, the newbie player still needs to visit and scour the forums for remedial reading. The refinement system alone is a headache. 3/5
It's all about the goblins threatening the land of Arlor. Note: Wish it has a more Norsey feel since most of the features of the game are so reminiscent of Norse mythology. 2/5	Storyline	It's about a dark greedy prince bidding to destroy Avzar. Note: Would have been cooler if they based the storyline from any Chinese lore. 2/5
There are a lot of quests that you need to do to unlock maps or other important quests. Hack and slash is the way to go! 4/5	Gameplay	Like Arcane Legends, this is also quest based in order to progress in the game. But there's a twist to it and depending from your POV, it can either be bad or good. While you want to play continuously and unlock as many dungeons as possible, you'll find yourself stumped at some point since every time you enter a dungeon, you will be asked to pay 8 constitution. If constitution seems unfamiliar to you, think of it as an energy bar. Once you run out of it, you can't enter the dungeon. It's either you wait for it to regenerate (1 point per 8 mins) or buy constitution pills in exchange for diamonds. But there's so many interesting stuff to do to make up for the above. But still... 2/5
There are only three classes in the game (Warrior, Rogue, Sorcerer) which I think is limited and unimaginative.  2/5	Character Classes	There are six heroes to choose from and guess what, one of them is a werefox. I don't know about you but for me, that's already a winner. And if you're not satisfied with the class that you chose later in the game, you can always change it easily without starting from scratch.  5/5
Graphics' a hit or miss for me The earth colors gave the game a dark and gritty feel.  4/5	Graphics	Vibrant, cartoonish, and cute. 5/5
Passable. There's a good chance that you'd look different from the rest of your kin.  3/5	Character Customization	Non-existent so better say goodbye to individuality. >,> 0/5
Kind of easy with hard work and consistency. Although I am not at that point yet, I know that even f2p players can earn their millions in a reasonable amount of time and complete their end game gears without compromising their health and other IRL part of their lives. Ha! 5/5	Resource Accumulation	I am a free to play player and although I'm still new to the game, I've already deduced that it's going to be a very bumpy road ahead.  There's no trading system in the game which is a double edged sword. On one hand, it prevents hacking but on the other, you're stuck with items that you don't need and you can't even buy the items that you do need. Basically, the devs of the game doesn't have an idea about "merchanting." So,better steer clear, merchants! 2/5
Everything's good except for the absence of world chat. 4/5	Communications	Taichi Panda has the suckiest communications system in Gameville. Yes, there's a world chat, a private chat, and a guild chat but you have to open a window to do any of these and once that window is open, you can't do anything else besides chatting.  And worst, you can only do this when you're in the city. Meaning, if you're doing dungeon runs or co-op, there's absolutely no way to communicate with your partymates, friends or acquaintances.  And to think that there are so many team instances in the game that needs communication with the rest of your team for tactical planning and what-nots (I'm looking at you, Battle Royale, Events Instances, and Battlefield) 0/5
Pets are indispensable as they will aid your character every step of the way. They're invincible (they don't die wohoo but they do get hungry) and  also act as looters (as long as they're fed). And depending on your playstyle, you can also combine two pets for a more powerful companion.  3/5	Pet System	Taichi Panda's pets don't feel like pets at all. They're more like your sidekick buddies accompanying you on your journey. They need a lot of care attention (surging, evolutioning, awakening) so they'd be the perfect killing or support machines that they're supposed to be. Not to mention that you also have to equip them and upgrade said equipment. Caring for the pets is really a tedious task because at the early levels, you have to maintain four of them and upon reaching level 60s, then you need to maintain 6 of them.  Though there's a lot of hard and complicated work involved in raising pets, I can't deny that it provided a whole new feel to the game. Suffice to say that I really enjoy raising my pets in this game because it made me feel more connected to them although as I've said, it can be really frustrating.  (Snail, when are you going to stop milking so much money from players?) 4/5
I am not really a PVP person so what I can only tell you is that there's a duelling system,  a PVP map wherein you can participate in Capture-the-Flag or Deathmatch events, and a PVP arena (3 v 3).   The thing is, with CTF and DM and even PVP arena, you have to schedule it with your enemies first before going in. Otherwise, the map would be pretty much empty. What I mean is that, if you're going to these maps randomly, chances are, you'll find yourself alone.  3/5	PVP system	One word: AMAZING! As I've said, I'm not a PVP person but this game will make a PVP person out of you. There are so many PVP events that you can participate in that it never gets boring. Additionally, there are amazing rewards that await you whenever you complete each event, win or lose. And these rewards are essential to the development of your character.  But there are downsides:  the matching system needs an overhaul because there are times that it matches a level 25 player to a level 80. >,>  Battlefields should have 4 or 5 schedules a day, not the shitty twice a day schedule because what about those living in other time zones?) 4/5
You can party-up  everywhere and whenever.  5/5	Co-op	Co-op during normal dungeon runs is non-existent. You have to do it solo so if you have a hard time defeating a boss, then, good luck, you'd be stuck in there until such time your might is adequate enough.  On the brighter side, there are various co-op events/ team instances that you can do daily but some of them are only accessible at a scheduled time of the day which is pretty shitty by the way. 4/5
Very easy and if you are committed, you can actually reach level cap (level 56 atm) in less than 2 months or so.  5/5	Levelling	Here's one of the most important rules in Taichi Panda: Might > Level Levelling is actually easy in Taichi Panda because exp cards are always available in the Activity Store, Guild Bazaar, and Diamond Store but what good is level if your might is very low?  Personally, I'm not in a rush to level up since that would mean another 24/7 of farming for surge pills so that the level of my pets can keep up with mine.  4/5
The pay-to-win and free-to-play aspects of the game are almost balanced. I am an F2P player and after a month of playing, I have already managed to buy a lepre pendant and a mythic armor set. Had I been actively farming, I know that getting that coveted arcane daggers, ring, pendant, and Nekro wouldn't be far off.  4/5	How free is free?	Starting at level 1, you will immediately realize that you'll never be able to complete the set of your character without spending $$$.  Unlike in Arcane Legends wherein wings are only used as a vanity object, wings in Taichi Panda can affect your might as well as your health.  Without spending $$$, you'll always see that gaping square of blackness in your armor slot.  2/5
Well-organized and alive.  And there are so many people willing to discuss just about anything under the sun.   And the devs and the mods are pretty much approachable as you can always interact with them in the forums.  5/5	Forums	There's a semblance of organization but a newbie can get lost in there since the guides aren't stickied.  And of course, there are mods and other staff but the way they reply to your concerns, they're more like robots programmed to type up a pre-formatted answer whenever a thread is posted. It's no wonder that the forum feels dead. 2/5
Running for almost 4 years now, who would ever doubt Arcane Legends ability to withstand all tests?  5/5	Game Stability	This is still a new game having been just released in 2015 so it's still early to pass judgment. But if they continue ripping people off their money then there's a big chance that this game's going to go downhill in just a few years.

VERDICT: As you can see, Arcane Legends wins considering the set of criteria enumerated above.  If you are looking for something easy, simple, stable, and with a large community of players then, Arcane Legends is  perfect for you.  Don't mind me because I'm always the black sheep. I know that my addiction to Taichi Panda  is a kind of perverted fascination because it's not only time-consuming but resource gathering (for F2P players) is as slow as fuck and yet, I'm spending most of my leisure hours playing the game. Maybe I need a lobotomy. >,>