ARPGs are incredibly popular nowadays, with many of the best games in the genre drawing in thousands, if not millions, of players every single month. However, there is a smaller section of the market that is entirely free-to-play, letting players experience a great gameplay loop, a compelling story, and even co-op, without ever needing to spend a single penny.
These games range from open-world epics to more focused, isometric adventures that let players truly take control over their character and the build they possess. Regardless of the setting and style of the world, the common thread remains that, despite some purchasable items and cosmetics, the core game can be accessed and played for dozens of hours, for the low price of $0.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Criteria Grid
Pick a tile to place a game.
Pick a game
Torchlight: Infinite
Endless Loot Without Entry Fees
Details:
- Full campaign and endgame
- Seasonal updates with new mechanics
Torchlight: Infinite adapts the beloved dungeon-crawling formula into a fully free-to-play live service experience built around seasonal resets and evolving endgame systems. Fast-paced combat, vibrant spell effects, and flexible hero traits define its structure, and rather than charging upfront, the game monetizes cosmetics and convenience while keeping its core campaign and endgame routes accessible to all players.
Seasonal mechanics rotate regularly, introducing new build possibilities without gating story progression or high-tier loot behind purchases. From a build perspective, the complex talent trees and legendary gear interactions reward experimentation, making theorycrafting central to long-term progress, and despite its live-service framework, meaningful power remains earnable entirely through gameplay alone.
Genshin Impact
Premium World At No Cost
Details:
- Massive free expansions
- Gacha system remains optional
Genshin Impact delivers a sprawling open world infused with elemental magic and character-driven storytelling. Its anime-styled presentation masks a surprisingly deep combat system built around spell interactions, party synergy, and exploration rewards, with entire regions and main story arc remaining accessible without mandatory purchases.
The Greatest Open-World RPGs Where Player Choice Truly Matters, Ranked
From gameplay to story choices, these open-world games take note of the path you take and deliver the consequences.
While characters are acquired through a gacha system, the game consistently provides free units and premium currency through events and exploration, meaning if players don't want to pull out their credit cards, then they are more than welcome to avoid it. Also, expansions introducing new nations arrive regularly at no cost, dramatically expanding the playable map, ensuring long-term accessibility even for non-spending players.
Path Of Exile
Unmatched System Depth
Details:
- Frequent updates and patches
- Deep build customization
Path of Exile stands as one of the most content-rich free action RPGs ever released. Built around a vast passive skill tree and intricate itemization systems, it offers near-unlimited build diversity and an ever-changing endgame loop that rivals premium competitors.
Expansions are released several times per year, each adding mechanics, bosses, and crafting layers without charging for access. The monetization focuses largely on cosmetic microtransactions and optional stash tabs, but the core power progression remains untouched by paywalls, preserving competitive integrity for F2P players and making it a great choice overall for virtually any RPG lover.
Where Winds Meet
Wuxia Freedom On Another Level
Details:
- Open areas with so much content
- Unlimited progression without payment
Where Winds Meet blends historical Wuxia storytelling with open-world action design that would feel right at home in a $60 game. Set in ancient China, it emphasizes martial arts mastery and fluid movement through the environment, and although it is still expanding post-launch, the existing content is more than impressive enough as is.
In terms of gameplay, the combat relies a lot on timing and skill, creating dynamic encounters that reward positioning and patience over raw stats, giving mechanically inclined players something to focus on outside of the exploration. There are cosmetics that can be purchased, but players can very easily explore and play for 100s of hours, without ever needing to consult their bank account.
Warframe
Liver-Service Done Right
Details:
- All expansions have been free since launch
- Premium currency is accessible through trading
Warframe fuses high-speed sci-fi action with deep RPG systems in a way that virtually no other game in the genre has come close to. Players unlock everything from weapons to companions through gameplay loops that reward persistence rather than payment, and there is a big emphasis on personal expression, with a lot of experimentation available in the build department.
7 Best Western RPGs That Let You Play Your Own Way
If freedom matters to you and you'd like your character to be exactly the way you want, these Western RPGs are the way to go.
Major cinematic expansions such as The New War and The Old Peace have released entirely free, and although there is a premium currency in the game, it can actually be traded between players, allowing dedicated users to access cosmetic items without spending money. Very few free-to-play games have managed to exist and evolve for as long as it has, and now is as good a time as any to jump in and see what the hype is really all about.
Dungeon Defenders II
A Different Kind Of Tower Defense
Details:
- Core campaign free-to-play
- Hyper TD and RPG systems
Dungeon Defenders merges third-person action combat with strategic tower defense mechanics to create a distinctive experience that stands out in what is a fairly crowded genre. Players can level up, collect gear, and specialize in distinct combat roles while defending objectives against escalating waves of enemies, all knowing that their wallets are 100% untouched.
Subscribe to the newsletter for F2P ARPG expertise
The progression revolves around loot upgrades and synergistic team compositions, and there are so many different maps and heroes to choose from that players will actually struggle to run out of things to do. While cosmetic DLC and optional expansions exist, the foundational gameplay loop remains fully playable without any purchases, and even all these years later, it remains a great F2P option for RPG fans who are looking for something slightly different.
Duet Night Abyss
Stylish Combat With Zero Barriers
Details:
- Free access to core content
- High-mobility, combo-driven gameplay
Duet Night Abyss combines dual-weapon combat with acrobatic traversal in a stylized fantasy setting that feels pretty distinctive even compared to its competition. The focus is on fluid combat chains and advanced movement combos that give players a lot of control over how fights play out and how they traverse the world around them.
The character acquisition follows a gacha framework, yet the rest of the core gameplay systems, like missions and exploration areas, never require a purchase, leaving the majority of the content out in the open for everyone to enjoy. As the constant updates roll out, new story chapters and playable characters expand the experience in basically every direction imaginable, and from a visual perspective alone, the game is more than impressive enough to consider trying, especially given the lack of price tag right from the get-go.
35 RPGs With The Most Romance Options
One of the standout features of an RPG is the option to do anything you want, even fall in love. These titles feature a wide array of romance options.