8 Best AFK Arena Alternatives for Idle RPG Fans in 2026

Idle RPGs have a way of taking over your phone. You check in for five minutes, tweak a formation, collect some rewards, and suddenly you’re researching tier lists at 2am. If AFK Arena started that obsession, there’s plenty more where that came from.

We put together eight games like AFK Arena for when you want another roster to build. Some go full idle, others mix in hands-on tactical combat, and a few take the hero-collecting concept in unexpected directions.

RAID: Shadow Legends leads this list with 900+ champions across 15 factions. You’ll spend hours testing faction synergies, tweaking gear sets, and finding team comps that punch above their weight.

At a Glance: 8 Best Games Like AFK Arena

Game	Best For	Platforms
1. RAID: Shadow Legends	Players who want endless team-building possibilities and deep strategy	iOS, Android, PC (Windows), Mac
2. Hero Wars	Busy gamers who want idle progression that runs itself	iOS, Android, Facebook/Web Browser
3. King Arthur: Legends Rise	Fans of dark fantasy and Arthurian mythology	PC (Steam), iOS, Android
4. Watcher of Realms	Tactical minds who enjoy tower defense mixed with hero collection	iOS, Android
5. AFK Journey	Fans of storybook art and simplified idle mechanics	Windows, Android, iOS
6. Marvel Puzzle Quest	Match-3 fans who want team building with their puzzles	iOS, Android, Steam, PlayStation, Xbox
7. Honkai: Star Rail	JRPG enthusiasts who want polished turn-based combat	Windows, iOS, Android, PlayStation 5
8. Genshin Impact	Open-world fans looking for gacha collection on the side	PC, PlayStation 4/5, iOS, Android, Xbox Series X/S

How We Chose the Best AFK Arena Alternatives

We’ve logged serious hours in these games and combined that with what the community says about each one. The goal was finding RPGs that deliver hero collection and auto-battle without feeling like a downgrade from AFK Arena.

Here’s what mattered:

• Can you auto-battle? Does the game let you progress while doing other things?
• How big is the roster? Are there enough heroes to keep team building interesting long-term?
• Is free-to-play viable? Can you enjoy the game without spending, or do paying players dominate?
• What’s the time commitment? Does it fit casual sessions or demand hours daily?
• How’s the endgame? Is there content to push once you’ve cleared the story?
• Does the community like it? Are players sticking around or jumping ship?

The 8 Best AFK Arena Alternatives for Idle RPG Fans

1. RAID: Shadow Legends: The Best AFK Arena Alternative for Champion Collectors

RAID: Shadow Legends Features

• Multi-battle farming lets you queue dungeon runs and step away while loot accumulates
• Doom Tower offers rotating boss challenges with exclusive champion and gear rewards
• Artifact system adds gear optimization on top of champion selection for min-maxers
• Fusion events let you earn specific Legendary champions through gameplay milestones
• Hydra Clan Boss introduces multi-headed mechanics requiring coordinated guild strategies
• Live tournaments and limited-time events keep the weekly rotation unpredictable

RAID: Shadow Legends Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Detailed 3D champion models with smooth battle animations
• Ten different game modes prevent burnout from repetitive grinding
• Clan system creates genuine community around shared boss fights

Cons:

• Energy system gates how much you can play in one sitting
• UI has many nested menus that take time to learn
• Late-game progression slows without spending

RAID: Shadow Legends gives you 900+ champions to collect across 15 factions. That’s not a typo. Each champion has unique abilities, and figuring out how they work together is where the game gets addictive. You’ll spend hours theory-crafting teams for different content, then watch your builds crush dungeons on auto.

The turn-based combat lets you play hands-off when you want to farm. Set up your team, hit auto, and let them grind while you handle real life. But when you’re tackling Clan Boss or pushing Arena rankings, manual play rewards careful timing and ability sequencing.

Six rarity tiers from Common to Mythical give you clear goals to chase. Pulling a Legendary feels like an event because those champions can carry entire teams. The 12-location campaign with 300+ champion backstories adds weight to your collection beyond just stats on a screen.

2. Hero Wars: True Idle Progression for Busy Schedules

Hero Wars Features

• Offline resource collection rewards you for time away from the game
• VIP system offers time-saving features for players who want faster progress
• Guild system supports up to 30 members working toward shared goals

Hero Wars Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Quick daily check-ins keep you progressing without time commitment
• Events rotate regularly with different reward structures
• Free-to-play path works for casual players

Cons:

• Competitive tiers require heavy spending to keep up
• Gameplay loop stays the same from early to late game
• Server separation means you can’t team up with friends who started elsewhere

Hero Wars leans hard into idle mechanics. Close the app, come back tomorrow, and your heroes have been busy. Resources stack up, progress happens, and you just need to check in to collect and spend. The 80+ heroes across 6 factions give you enough team building options to stay interesting.

Guild Wars add multiplayer stakes if you want them. Join an active guild and you’ll coordinate attacks, share strategies, and compete against other groups. It’s optional, but having teammates to compare progress with makes the grind more engaging.

3. King Arthur: Legends Rise: Dark Fantasy with Tactical Combat

King Arthur: Legends Rise Features

• Adventure Mode offers repeatable challenges for resource farming between story chapters
• Colosseum PvP tests your squad against other players in ranked matches
• Guild system lets you coordinate with other players for shared progression goals

King Arthur: Legends Rise Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Narrative quality stands out in the genre
• Strategic positioning rewards thoughtful play
• Free-to-play balance stays fair in the early game

Cons:

• Loading times test your patience
• Steam reviews mention optimization problems
• Endgame content runs thin quickly

King Arthur: Legends Rise takes Arthurian mythology and makes it grim. Ancient gods and monsters threaten Camelot, and the story leans into horror elements you don’t usually see in mobile RPGs. Six RPG classes let you mix tanks, rogues, mages, and support into your team composition, and Unreal Engine 5 makes it all look cinematic.

Environmental mechanics add tactical layers to every fight. You can push enemies off ledges, use terrain for cover, and set up positioning combos with your squad. Brute-forcing battles with high-level characters won’t get you far here—you need to think about where everyone stands.

4. Watcher of Realms: Tower Defense Meets Hero Collection

Watcher of Realms Features

• Voice acting brings hero personalities to life during story and combat sequences
• Detailed hero backstories and lore entries flesh out the world of Tya
• Faction synergy bonuses reward building specialized teams from the same faction

Watcher of Realms Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Visual quality holds up against bigger-budget titles
• Dark realistic art style stands out from typical anime aesthetics
• Tower defense mechanics add variety to the hero collector formula

Cons:

• 5-star hero drop rates make pulling top-tier characters rare
• Monetization gets aggressive once the early freebies run out
• Story missions stop after the tutorial chapters

Watcher of Realms blends tower defense with gacha collection. Instead of just watching your team fight, you’re placing heroes on the battlefield to intercept waves of enemies. Where you position each hero changes everything. A tank in the wrong spot means your backline gets shredded.

The dark realistic art style sets it apart from typical anime gacha games. Moonton went for a grittier Western fantasy look, and it shows in the detailed 3D hero models and environments. The visual tone matches the gameplay—this isn’t a casual auto-battler where you zone out.

5. AFK Journey: The Storybook-Style Sequel to AFK Arena

AFK Journey Features

• Open world exploration includes puzzles, hidden treasures, and fast travel waypoints
• Seasonal events rotate with limited-time rewards and story content
• Guild system provides collaborative goals and shared progression with your group

AFK Journey Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Art direction creates a distinct visual identity
• Progression systems cut the grind compared to the original
• Cross-platform sync lets you switch between PC and mobile without losing progress

Cons:

• Requires more active attention than true idle games
• Low drop rates mean you might not get the characters you want without spending
• Some mechanics are simpler than AFK Arena veterans might want

AFK Journey comes from the same team that made AFK Arena, and it shows. The canvas art style makes everything look like a storybook, and the idle mechanics carry over with some modern touches. Your heroes level up together now, so you’re not stuck grinding the same character forever.

Tile-based combat adds environmental traps and positioning to battles. You’ll dodge flame vents, push enemies into hazards, and think about where your heroes stand. It’s more hands-on than the original, though you can still auto through easier content when you just want to collect rewards.

6. Marvel Puzzle Quest: Match-3 Combat with 250+ Heroes

Marvel Puzzle Quest Features

• Cover system lets you upgrade specific abilities on each character
• Alliance teams collaborate on limited-time events for shared rewards
• True cross-platform play includes consoles alongside mobile and PC

Marvel Puzzle Quest Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Years of updates added a large content library
• Team synergies add strategy to the match-3 format
• Free-to-play players can progress without spending

Cons:

• Recent updates introduced performance problems
• Roster slots pressure you toward spending
• Multiple versions of the same character clutter the roster

Marvel Puzzle Quest turns match-3 into something more tactical. Each of your 250+ Marvel characters has abilities tied to specific colors, so matching those colors fuels their attacks. That means team composition matters. You’re picking three heroes whose abilities actually work together, not just your three strongest.

Alliance events add a multiplayer layer if you want it. You join a group, coordinate on shared objectives, and earn rewards together. PvP tournaments work the same way, letting you test your team builds against other players to see how your roster stacks up.

7. Honkai: Star Rail: Polished Turn-Based Combat from HoYoverse

Honkai: Star Rail Features

• Simulated Universe mode offers roguelike runs with stackable random buffs
• Support system lets you bring a friend’s character into battle as a guest
• Regular story updates expand the narrative with new worlds to visit

Honkai: Star Rail Pros and Cons

Pros:

• High production values in visuals and audio
• Story campaign has more narrative than typical gacha games
• Turn-based pacing works well for mobile sessions

Cons:

• Character banners can get expensive chasing specific pulls
• Less exploration than open-world alternatives
• Stamina system limits daily grinding

Honkai: Star Rail is HoYoverse’s turn-based RPG set across multiple worlds. You travel on the Astral Express, collecting characters and battling through a story campaign. Seven elemental types create a rock-paper-scissors layer to team building, so you’re thinking about enemy weaknesses when you pick your squad.

The Path system and Light Cone equipment give theory-crafters plenty to optimize. Each character has builds to experiment with, and figuring out the right ability order against specific enemies adds a puzzle element to harder fights. You can auto through daily farming, but the endgame wants you to pay attention.

8. Genshin Impact: Open-World Exploration Between Idle Sessions

Genshin Impact Features

• Spiral Abyss challenges test your roster depth with rotating enemy lineups every cycle
• Limited-time events introduce unique minigames, rewards, and story content
• Full voice acting and orchestral soundtrack deliver production quality across 40+ hours

Genshin Impact Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Seven nations with different environments and storylines
• Regular updates add new regions and characters
• Elemental combat system rewards team synergy

Cons:

• Low drop rates mean you might spend a lot before getting the character you want
• Stamina refills slowly, limiting how much you can farm each day
• Storage requirements exceed 100GB on some platforms

Genshin Impact is an open-world action RPG with gacha character collection. The world of Teyvat spans seven nations, each with distinct cultures, enemies, and elemental Archons. Combat uses elemental reactions, so you swap between characters mid-fight to trigger combo effects.

Daily commissions take maybe 15 minutes, but there are hundreds of hours of exploration if you want it. Four-player co-op lets friends join your world to tackle domains and bosses together, regardless of what platform they’re on.

How Does RAID: Shadow Legends Compare to AFK Arena?

Both games are about collecting heroes and building teams, but RAID has a bigger roster to pull from. AFK Arena caps around 200 heroes. RAID has 900+ champions, each with their own abilities and gear slots. More options means more ways to build your squads.

Farming works similarly in both. You queue up dungeon runs, let them repeat while you do other stuff, and come back to rewards. But when you’re in the mood to actually play, RAID has Clan Boss fights, Arena matches, and Doom Tower floors where your decisions matter and the wins feel earned.

Faction Wars is another layer. You need strong teams from multiple factions, not just one stacked squad. If you got bored in AFK Arena because you only needed five good heroes, RAID gives you reasons to keep building.

How Does Auto-Battle Work in RAID: Shadow Legends?

You pick your team, choose a dungeon, and tell the game how many times to run it. Then you walk away. Your champions fight on their own, using abilities based on priority settings you can tweak. Want your healer to focus on whoever’s lowest? You can set that up.

Multi-battle is where it gets hands-off. Set 20 runs, hit start, go do something else. Energy is the main thing limiting how much you can farm, same as stamina in other games. You can refill if you want longer sessions.

RAID’s hardest content is where the real fun is. Auto-battle handles daily tasks, but climbing Arena or taking down new Doom Tower bosses lets you get hands-on and test what your teams can do.

Why RAID: Shadow Legends Is the Best AFK Arena Alternative in 2026

RAID gives you the hero-collecting loop you liked in AFK Arena, just with a lot more to dig into. 900+ champions means you’ll keep finding new teams to build long after you’ve figured out your first squad. Auto-battle handles the farming, so you can grind while doing other things.

The clan stuff is where it gets social. Coordinating Clan Boss attacks with your group, sharing champion builds, and seeing how your roster stacks up against clanmates gives you reasons to check in every day.

If you’re ready for something new, give RAID a shot. There’s plenty to keep you busy.

FAQs About Games Like AFK Arena

What’s the best idle RPG for mobile in 2026?

RAID: Shadow Legends combines idle farming with strategic depth better than most alternatives. You can auto-battle through dungeons while handling other things, then switch to manual play when content demands it. The 900+ champion roster means you won’t run out of team combinations to experiment with, and cross-platform sync lets you manage everything from mobile or PC.

What idle RPGs have the best auto-battle systems?

RAID: Shadow Legends gives you granular control over auto-battle behavior. You can prioritize which abilities fire first, set multi-battle to chain dungeon runs, and configure your team to handle specific content without babysitting every fight.

What’s a good idle game with more active gameplay options?

RAID: Shadow Legends balances both modes well. Auto-battle handles daily farming, but Clan Boss fights, Doom Tower floors, and Arena matches reward manual control. Timing your abilities and controlling turn order makes your decisions matter.

Which idle RPGs have the best guild content?

RAID: Shadow Legends builds its endgame around clan activity. Clan Boss battles happen daily, and your group’s combined damage determines reward tiers. Coordinating attack teams, sharing strategies, and pushing for higher chests gives you a reason to stick with an active group.

Is RAID: Shadow Legends an idle game?

RAID has idle elements but isn’t purely idle. You can auto-battle through most farming content and let multi-battle chain runs together. Resources accumulate from dungeon drops while you’re hands-off. The difference is RAID also offers challenging content that rewards active play. Clan Boss, Arena, and Doom Tower push you to manually control ability timing for better results.

Can you auto-battle in RAID: Shadow Legends?

Yes, auto-battle is built into every combat mode. Tap the auto button and your champions use abilities based on configurable AI priorities. Multi-battle lets you queue up to 50 runs in certain dungeons, so you can start a farming session and come back when it’s complete. Energy limits how much you can auto in one sitting, but that’s standard for the genre.

How much time do you need to play RAID: Shadow Legends daily?

You can clear daily tasks in 15-30 minutes if you’re efficient. Login for rewards, run multi-battle on a dungeon, burn Arena tokens, hit Clan Boss. That baseline keeps you progressing. If you want to push rankings, optimize builds, or clear new content, you can sink hours into theory-crafting and manual runs. The game expands to fill whatever time you give it.