Summoners War and Raid: Shadow Legends target the same type of audience, and present a similar game style to the world. However, Summoners War is on the market since 2014 and received numerous updates over the years, and still gets new content every month.
Raid: Shadow Legends, on the other hand, launched on the 29th of July in 2020, and is a relatively new game, compared to Com2us’ biggest mobile hit. So, which game should you play? The older Summoners War, or the newcomer, Raid: Shadow Legends.
Is Summoners War still good?
As SW launched back in 2014, many things got changed, introduced, and reworked. The game has a strong community, thanks to the overall game design, visuals, challenges, and amount of content. In the beginning, the player starts with weak monsters, and continue to challenge new content, like clearing the campaign, the Tower of Ascension, and numerous dungeons.
Besides regular dungeons and PvP battles, the game also offers unique dungeons like the Hall of Heroes, Angelmon-, and Secret Dungeons. By playing the game, the player can also complete challenges to obtain numerous crystals, scrolls, free skill-ups, and even more.
By summoning scrolls or participating in events that release every few weeks, it is possible to summon over 900 different monsters, ranging from 1-Star to 5-Stars. Each summoned monster can be used to battle in the Arena and Guild War/Sieg, to obtain some excellent rewards that help the player improve his monsters.
The battling system is well made, so most of the monsters can be used during a fight. Even 3-Star monsters can easily defeat one or multiple 5-Star monsters in certain situations, but everything comes down to preparation, runes, and strategy.
Note: Winning fights in the Arena and Guild content enables the player to obtain Glory Tokens and Guild Points, that can be used to buy additional structures, like Flags, which increase all ally monsters stats. So everyone should try to win as many fights as possible.
However, sooner or later, each player will hit an invisible wall, where fights get to hard to win. This is the point where farming runes and getting new monsters is essential to be able to improve again. Unfortunately, getting good runes and 4-Star or 5-Star monsters can take weeks or even months, which is not motivating at all.
Back in 2014 or 2015, it took too long to get new monsters. Luckily Com2us made it a lot easier for beginners to get some decent monsters.
There is a lot to do in the game, especially in the beginning, where only a fraction of content is unlocked for the player. What I really like about the game is that it has a fantastic community that is (most of the time) willed to help new players if they ask for.
Note: If you want to know if Summoners War is pay to win, make sure to check out this post, where I explain everything in detail.
When we take a look at the visual side of the game, we do not get disappointed either. Summoners War has a more cartoonish style, but it fits the game perfectly. Most of the monsters that we can summon through scrolls have excellent designs and great animations.
By using Shapeshifting Stones, players can also unlock unique skins for their favorite monsters.
However, visuals are not the only part that counts, as an RPG game also needs decent menu designs and good navigation. Com2us did an excellent job on this part. The monster gallery and storage give us a good overview of all collected monsters, which can be sorted by some filters as well. Thanks to the improved rune system, runes can be sold, changed, and equipped much more comfortable than before.
Is the game perfect? No, it is not, but it still makes fun to play, especially when we defeat a stronger player, or get too many additional turns. The game is very F2P friendly but offers some options to spend money on, like crystal packs, or summoning packs. I am a big fan of the game, and even after 1900 days, I have enough stuff to do.
How good is Raid: Shadow Legends?
If you were on the internet over the last few years, there is a good chance that you already saw an advertisement for this game. Summoners War has almost no presence in terms of ads, but Plarium Games, the developer of Raid, seems like one of the biggest sponsors on Youtube, as we can see their ads everywhere. Luckily, that does not mean anything, so how good is the game?
Like Summoners War, Raid; Shadow Legends is an RPG, which enables the player to summon numerous heroes, to fight with them in different battles. The visuals of the game are quite good, but the navigation and menu design needs a bit of improvement, in my opinion.
The gameplay is extremely similar to Summoners War, as every fight is turn-based. Also, every hero has different skills, which either inflict damage on an enemy, casts harmful effects, or buffs allies. If the player does not want to decide what each hero should do, there is the option to activate an “Auto-Battle” feature, which lets the AI decide what to do.
Note: Inside of a dungeon, the player can obtain gear, which gets better the more difficult a dungeon becomes.
The battling system does not seem to be as challenging and complete, as there is an easy way to win almost any fight: simply overpower the enemy. The entire campaign could be cleared in the auto-mode if a few of your heroes are strong enough.
Leveling is an essential aspect of an RPG mobile game, as a player gets new heroes all the time. In Raid, leveling takes a long time when someone is not strong enough to play on hard difficulty. Summoners War does a much better job on this, as every player can obtain XP boosters quite easily (and free), and can use befriended players monsters to clear a dungeon.
Besides a campaign mode, there are also dungeons, Faction wars, and an Arena, just like in Summoners War. When we compare the game to SW, we can see that Summoners War offers a lot more content to its players.
Note: Raid; Shadow Legends is also heavily monetized with annoying pop-ups and numerous packages, which are simply not worth the money. In Summoners War, we also have options to spend money, but the developer does not show us 10 pop-ups in a row, where they advertise their in-game packages. Ps: The game is not F2P friendly!
In the time when I jumped into the game for the first time, I was not very impressed with what my eyes saw. After I finished a bit of the campaign, it felt like I already played the whole game. Simple and short, I played the game only a few hours and de-installed after writing my review about it. You can check it out here if you want to read more about Raid; Shadow Legends.
The verdict:
When we take a closer look at both games, we can spot a lot of things that Raid adapted from other mobile RPG/Gatcha games like Summoners War. As a person who played SW for over 5 years, it looks like that Raid is just a bad copy, with some changes and additional content. In terms of visuals, it depends on your person, which art-style you like most.
What I do not like at Plarium’s strategy is that they try to get a lot of new players to the game, but don’t try to bring their game on the next level. Summoners War releases new content for beginners and late-game players consistently. Also, the video advertisements on Youtube are not correct at all.
They present us an excellent game with high-quality graphics, PvP, terrifying bosses, and a fantastic storyline. If I remember correctly, Plarium said that the graphics are so good that they can be compared to PC games.
Nah, I don’t believe that. There are a lot of PC games out there with outstanding visuals and details, where a mobile game simply can’t catch up with. The so-called PvP in-game is also not real PvP, as the World Arena in Summoners War, where players can battle each other in real-time. Players only attack defenses of a few champions, which are controlled by the AI.
To be honest, I can’t say anything about the storyline, as I simply skipped trough. RPGs do not need a storyline at all costs, which we can see in Summoners War.
To finish this Summoners War vs. Raid comparison, here is my recommendation for you. My personal winner is (without any doubt) Summoners War. If you are looking for a well done, strategic mobile PRG/Gatcha game, you should try it out.
FAQs
1. Beyond the gameplay, what makes Summoners War stand out?
Summoners War boasts a strong community and regular updates, keeping the game fresh and engaging for players.
2. How does the leveling system in Raid: Shadow Legends compare to that of Summoners War?
Leveling in Raid: Shadow Legends can be a lengthy process, especially for new players. On the other hand, Summoners War provides XP boosters and allows players to use befriended players’ monsters to clear a dungeon, making leveling more accessible.
3. What is the community like in both games?
Summoners War has a strong, supportive community that often helps new players. The community aspect of Raid: Shadow Legends is less emphasized in the article.
4. How often do both games receive updates?
Summoners War has been on the market since 2014 and receives new content every month. The frequency of updates for Raid: Shadow Legends is not specified in the article.
5. How beginner-friendly are both games?
Summoners War has made it easier for beginners to get decent monsters, and its community is known to be supportive of new players. Raid: Shadow Legends, on the other hand, can be challenging for beginners due to its leveling system and heavy monetization.
6. Are there any real-time PvP elements in both games?
Summoners War offers real-time PvP battles in the World Arena. In Raid: Shadow Legends, players only attack defenses of a few champions, which are controlled by the AI.
Conclusion:
In the grand scheme of mobile RPG/Gatcha games, both Summoners War and Raid: Shadow Legends offer unique experiences. Summoners War, with its strong community, regular updates, and strategic depth, seems to edge out Raid: Shadow Legends, which, despite its impressive visuals and widespread advertising, falls short in several areas.
However, the choice between the two ultimately boils down to personal preference. Whether you’re drawn to the cartoonish charm and strategic gameplay of Summoners War or the realistic graphics and widespread presence of Raid: Shadow Legends, there’s no denying that both games have carved out their own niches in the gaming world.
