9 games · updated July 2026

Best RPGs

Builds, loot and character systems worth theorycrafting.

What separates an RPG from a game with an XP bar is whether your choices compound. The entries here all have character systems deep enough that two players at the same level can be playing meaningfully different games, and shallow enough at the start that you are not reading a wiki before you can move.

Several of these overlap with our MMORPG list. The difference is emphasis: these are picked for their build depth and loot design rather than for their worlds.

What to expect

Skill trees, gear systems and builds you will want to plan in advance.
Seasonal or league resets in several entries, a fresh start on a timer.
Co-op in most, solo-viable in nearly all.

Start here

Where to begin with RPGs

The entries we would hand someone new to the genre.

MMORPG

Old School RuneScape

A 2007 MMORPG that the players themselves refuse to let die.

9.4/10

MMORPG

Final Fantasy XIV

The MMORPG that was cancelled, rebuilt, and became the genre's high point.

9.3/10

Idle Games

Melvor Idle

RuneScape's skill list, rebuilt as an idle game, and better for it.

8.5/10

The ranking

All 9 RPGs

Ordered by our editors' score across the whole library, so positions here match the main ranking.

Old School RuneScape
9.4/10
MMORPGPCMobileFree to play2013
A restored 2007 build of RuneScape where every meaningful change is put to a player vote. Twenty-three skills, no classes, and the most open progression in the genre.
MMORPGRPGMultiplayer
Final Fantasy XIV
9.3/10
MMORPGPCConsoleSubscription2013
A subscription MMORPG where one character can hold every class in the game. Best-in-class story, and a free trial that runs to level 70.
MMORPGRPGAdventure
Path of Exile 2
9.1/10
Action RPGPCConsoleFree to play2024
A free action RPG with a passive tree the size of a wall chart and a support-gem system that turns builds into engineering.
RPGActionMultiplayer
Warframe
8.9/10
Co-op action RPGPCConsoleFree to play2013
The best movement system in any free game, attached to a decade of content.
Guild Wars 2
8.7/10
MMORPGPCBuy to play2012
Buy it once, own it forever, and never worry about gear again.
Melvor Idle
8.5/10
Idle RPGBrowserPCMobileBuy to play2021
RuneScape's skill list, rebuilt as an idle game, and better for it.
Genshin Impact
8.3/10
Open-world action RPGPCMobileConsoleFree to play2020
An open world built to a standard the free-to-play model does not usually reach.
World of Warcraft
8.2/10
MMORPGPCSubscription2004
The genre's centre of gravity, twenty years on and still setting the standard for raids.
RuneScape
7.9/10
MMORPGPCMobileFree to play2001
The modern branch of the same world, with the systems the old one voted down.