Which ARPG Season Should You Play? — A Choice Guide by Playstyle

'I want to try an ARPG, but which one should I start with?' is the question newcomers ask most. But there is no single 'best ARPG.' Each game aims at something different, and what fits depends on the player's tastes. Rather than declaring one game the correct answer, this guide offers a decision framework for 'understanding your own tastes along a few axes and picking a game that matches them.'

Four Axes That Drive the Choice

There are four especially useful axes when choosing an ARPG. The first is 'system depth.' The more complex the skill trees, items, and crafting, the more there is to dig into — but the steeper the learning curve. The second is 'accessibility.' The lower the barrier to entry and the more intuitive the game, the more comfortably you can start.

The third is 'time investment.' Some games reward digging deep into a single season, while others are easy to enjoy casually and set aside. The fourth is 'competitive vs. cooperative leaning.' Whether you enjoy ladder competition and a trading economy, or prefer to progress at your own pace without interference, changes which game fits. Understanding yourself along these four axes first makes the choice far clearer.

Playstyle → Recommended Direction Matrix

The table below is a decision matrix mapping playstyles to the kind of ARPG that suits them. Rather than forcing a single 'correct' game, use it to narrow the field to candidates that fit your tastes.

If This Is You → Start Here

Here the tastes are narrowed into a few situations, paired with each game's confirmed traits. The facts below are things each studio has stated officially, so you can use them as grounds for narrowing your candidates.

If you want to dig all the way into complex systems → Path of Exile. Its vast passive tree and crafting give you enormous depth, and it is free-to-play, so you can test your tastes with no upfront cost (source: Grinding Gear Games).

If you want an intuitive, flashy action start with no pressure → Diablo IV. It is the latest entry with polished controls and friendly onboarding, and it supports cross-play between PC and console, making it easy to start alongside friends (source: Blizzard).

If you want a balance of depth and accessibility without being tied to an online connection → Last Epoch. On top of medium-complexity skill and item systems, it supports offline play as well as online (source: Eleventh Hour Games).

If you want a classic, hardcore feel and a runeword economy → Diablo II: Resurrected. It is a modern remaster of the original 2000 Diablo II, and its traditional ladder competition and item-trading culture remain intact (source: Blizzard).

Once You've Chosen a Taste, All That's Left Is 'When'

Going in the order of understanding your tastes (what) → narrowing game candidates (which game) → setting your start timing (when) turns a vague choice into a concrete plan. Whichever game you pick, the best moment for a newcomer to start is 'right after a new season, league, or cycle has just begun.' At that point everyone is on the same starting line, information is abundant, community starter-build guides are refreshed, and the economy is in an early state, so entry pressure is low. For reference, the median cycle length ARPG Seasons has tracked varies by game — from the shorter end like PoE at about 98 days (41 leagues) and Diablo IV at about 84 days (14 seasons) to the longer end like Last Epoch at about 178 days (5 cycles) (many end dates are algorithmic estimates, so read these as approximate medians). The shorter the cycle, the more often you meet a 'next season,' so keep it in mind when choosing your start timing.

If you are weighing several games, the practical way to decide is to line up your candidates' next season start dates and hop onto the 'nearest season.' Check the time remaining until each game's next season on its detail page and compare candidates on one screen. If the genre itself is new to you, learn the basics with the beginner guide first, and if the difference between seasons and leagues confuses you, start with the concept guide.