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Author: 0xAkina
Gm onchain gamers!
A few months back, we looked at Tarochi, an onchain RPG built by Paima Studios using their Paima Engine.
Tarochi is similar to Pokemon; you can capture monsters, explore, complete quests, and fight in turn-based battles.
When I wrote that piece, Tarochi had just wrapped up Season 0, a multi-week public playtest held on the XAI testnet.
The game has evolved (pun intended) considerably since then, as Paima released Tarochi Season 1 on XAI mainnet on February 15.
Season 1 comes with a host of new features and an overhaul of the game’s economy.
By onchain gaming standards, its been a smash hit, having already seen 8500 unique players in under a week since going live.
This begs the question…does it live up to the hype?
Today, we’ll find out by revisiting Tarochi and diving into all things Season 1.
Let’s get into it!
To get caught up on the basics of Tarochi, be sure to check my previous piece on it here!
Before diving into today’s piece, I wanted to let you all know that WASD received 139.74 OP in Optimism’s Airdrop to Superchain creators!
I want to thank the Optimism Collective and, of course, all of our incredible collectors for their support!
This would not have been possible without you all minting our articles over the past 6+ months.
I truly appreciate it, and I’m very excited to put these funds to good use to help grow WASD! :)
What’s New in Season 1
To start, let’s take a look at what’s new in Season 1.
This section will focus primarily on gameplay and UX additions.
In the following one, I’ll explore the changes to Tarochi’s economy!
PVP and The Arena
A major change in Season 1 is the introduction of PVP combat.
Previously, battles in Tarochi consisted of turn-based PVE encounters.
Now, players can face off against each other with their monsters in a section of the map known as “The Arena.”
Tradable In-Game Monsters and Whitelist Capture Cards
Whereas they previously could not have been bought or sold, monsters in Tarochi are now tradable on secondary marketplaces.
Monsters can also be captured by “whitelist capture cards.”
Capture cards are an in-game item that is used to (as the name suggests) capture monsters.
There are (now) two broad categories of them:
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Common Capture Cards, which are free to purchase but are not guaranteed to capture a monster.
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Whitelist Cards (of which there are three types) that can now be purchased using Tarochi Gold and are guaranteed to capture a monster.
Mobile Support
Like most onchain games, Tarochi is browser-based.
Now, rather than just support desktop gaming, Paima also added support for mobile browsers, so you can play on the go or anywhere you’d like from your phone.
However, it’s worth noting that you still cannot play through a traditional app.
Governance
Although not quite a gameplay addition, Paima has begun taking the first steps towards implementing decentralized governance for Tarochi.
Holders of the Season Pass NFT (A free-to-mint SBT that gives you early access to new features) can now join a governance channel in the Paima Discord to share their input on different facets of the game.
Tarochinomics
Now that we have a sense of the changes to gameplay, let’s set our sites on the economy.
As previously mentioned, the Tarochi economy has been dramatically overhauled in now plays a far bigger role in the game.
Let’s go through each of the main components found in Season 1.
Tarochi Gold
Tarochi’s primary in-game currency is Tarochi Gold (TGOLD).
A tradable ERC-20 token, TGOLD is used to purchase the aforementioned whitelist capture cards.
You can earn TGOLD while playing from “competitive actions” like battling other players in the aren, and the supply of the token is intended to grow slowly over time.
Tarochi Silver
Tarochi Silver is the game’s second currency.
Silver is used to purchase consumable in-game items like potions and can be earned through basic activities such as logging in daily, completing quests, and participating in various portions of the game.
Similar to real life, Tarochi Silver is highly inflationary and far less scarce than Tarochi Gold.
Tarochi Monsters
Monsters in Tarochi are now represented by tradable, stateful NFTs whose metadata updates over time based on a player's in-game activity.
Monsters have different attacks, rarities, respawn times, and a “soft level cap,” or a maximum level that they can be upgraded too.
This level cap is based on their rarity (scarcer ones have a higher cap), and the only way to exceed it is by “fusing” your monster with copies of the same one.
Genesis Trainers
A final addition to Tarochi’s economy in Season 1 are Genesis Trainer NFTs.
A 10,000 item collection, Trainers offer several key perks to its holders, including:
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The ability to earn XP and capture monsters at a faster rate
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Whitelisted access for catching rare, limited-edition monsters
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Loyalty rewards, which provide you with legendary whitelist capture cards if you don’t sell your trainer for the 120 days after launch
Genesis Trainers minted for $20 USDC a piece Season 1, and sold out within 3 days of the mint going live.
They currently trade on secondary markets for ~0.015 ETH.
Paima has also confirmed on their official site that they will release an ecosystem token, though we don’t have any concrete details on it yet!
Early Impressions
Now that we’ve gone through everything new in Season 1, let’s get to the fun part…my thoughts on the game itself!
Overall, Tarochi’s gameplay is noticeably improved in Season 1.
For starters, battles are far more balanced and refined.
I’m a big fan of the ability to attack using monsters that aren’t positioned in front while dealing reduced damage, as this adds strategic depth to the game.
PVP battles in The Arena also help make these fights more exciting and fun, as now you can fight against other players rather than an AI.
Another element of Season 1 that I like is the scarcity of monsters.
The degree of difficulty for capturing a monster is well calibrated – It’s very hard to snag legendary ones, which helps keep you engaged as you work towards a difficult goal.
It also takes far longer to gain enough XP to level up a monster, which helps with pacing as it means you can’t just speed through the game.
Tarochi has also stepped up its game in Season 1 when it comes to UX.
In my previous piece, I mentioned that Season 0 was plagued with long transaction times.
This has thankfully been addressed, as transactions are now confirmed at a far faster rate, albeit still with some room for improvement.
UX is further improved through the use of account abstraction and burner wallets, providing wallet-less onboarding and signature-free gameplay.
Tarochi’s quest system also helps with onboarding, although it could benefit from a more formal tutorial to ease players into the game.
While Season 1’s gameplay and UX are noticeably improved relative to Season 0, I’m still not a fan of the music (aside from combat), which is loud, repetitive, and impossible to mute.
The game’s lore is also not underdeveloped, as there is no real story or way to form an attachment to your character.
Finally, while there are of course constraints with a centralized mobile App Stores, it would be nice if you could play through an app, as it would create a smoother experience than a browser.
Bullish Tarochi
As you can see, Tarochi has made significant strides in Season 1.
There are a host of new features in this iteration of the game, whether it be PVP, mobile support, or all the new currencies and assets.
Furthermore, gameplay and UX have both leveled up considerably relative to Season 0 and provide a fun experience that can appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers.
While there is still some room for improvement, I’m very bullish on the future of Tarochi and excited to keep playing.
See you in the arena! 🫡
Disclosure: Akina holds Genesis Trainer NFTs.
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