pacman is pretty amazing package manager - I would be curious to know more about your dependency issues.
I suppose it could have been a temporary bug in Manjaro (which started as an Arch derivative but turned into a separate distro with links to Arch - the repositories are different).
I would recommend following the wiki and installing Arch Linux (I know, no UI) over Manjaro to have a true Arch experience.
That said, AUR is the reason I use arch linux, because there are scripts to install pretty much anything in a frictionless way.
When installing esoteric stuff the dpkg / apt repositories dance gets old pretty quickly on debian derivates. Often I would just install things on the system instead of creating my own deb. On Arch Linux I can often find a package in AUR (or quickly write a PKGBUILD).
Upgrading the system every few months and breaking a lot of things all at once (making a reinstall the easiest option) is also not very appealing in my book.
I prefer the rolling release model which gives me the latest update immediately and let me fix things once at a time.
That said, anyone has its own preferences, no need to bad mouth distros.
I would recommend following the wiki and installing Arch Linux (I know, no UI) over Manjaro to have a true Arch experience.
That said, AUR is the reason I use arch linux, because there are scripts to install pretty much anything in a frictionless way.
When installing esoteric stuff the dpkg / apt repositories dance gets old pretty quickly on debian derivates. Often I would just install things on the system instead of creating my own deb. On Arch Linux I can often find a package in AUR (or quickly write a PKGBUILD).
Upgrading the system every few months and breaking a lot of things all at once (making a reinstall the easiest option) is also not very appealing in my book. I prefer the rolling release model which gives me the latest update immediately and let me fix things once at a time.
That said, anyone has its own preferences, no need to bad mouth distros.