Idle Runner - AFK Defense RPG

BLACKBYTE

Contains adsIn-app purchases

About this game

Your hero holds the line. You build the machine that keeps it standing.

Idle Runner is an AFK defense RPG. Your hero stands its ground and fights on its own — firing at range, meleeing whatever gets close — while you decide where every coin goes.

IT REALLY RUNS WHILE YOU'RE GONE
Most idle games just estimate what you missed. Idle Runner keeps simulating. Close the app, lock your phone, walk away — waves keep coming, coins keep dropping, your build keeps earning. A notification tells you when your hero finally falls, so you know exactly when to come back.

8 WORLDS, ENDLESS WAVES
Enchanted Forest, Dark Cavern, Scorched Desert, Corrupted Forest, Volcanic Wastes, Void Realm, Celestial Spire and Frostbound Forest. Each brings its own enemies, its own look, and a boss every 10 waves. Goblins, trolls, knights, vampires and necromancers all behave differently — and punish different mistakes.

A BUILD WORTH OPTIMIZING
• Workshop — permanent upgrades that stack run after run
• Ascension — push past max level for bonuses that never reset
• 10 active powers — Fireball, Frost, Berserker, Timewarp, Shadow Clone, Fire Nova and more, each upgradeable
• Equipment — six rarities up to Mythic, with magical powers, sockets, merging and salvage
• Runes — offense, defense, economy and utility, with synergy sets
• Passive skills that unlock as you hit milestones

Maxing an upgrade doesn't finish it. Ascend it for bonuses that ignore the cap, then raise the ascension ceiling itself through Awakening — and go again. The waves never stop, and your coin counter stops fitting normal notation long before you run out of things to buy.

THE ENDGAME IS THE POINT
• Sanctum — long-form rituals that reshape how your run behaves
• Awakening — a deep node tree with real tier gates
• Artifacts — craft them, attune them, complete the set bonuses
• Jewelry — rings and amulets with procs that chain, burn and explode
• Forge — turn raw materials into the gear you actually wanted
• Trials — modifier runs for players who want the ceiling raised
• Dark spells — a separate resource with its own risk

COMPANIONS, SKINS, SEASONS
Animated companions fight beside you and level from every wave survived. Hero skins bring their own look and bonuses. A season pass runs free and premium tracks side by side, with daily and weekly quests, and War Banners that snowball the longer you last.

BUILT FAIR
No energy bar. No paywall. No timer telling you to stop. Diamonds come from playing — chests, quests, milestones and optional ads. Everything in the game is reachable without spending a thing.

BUILT TO LAST
Cloud save across devices. An in-game encyclopedia for when you want the actual numbers instead of a guess. Runs that take minutes, and a progression curve measured in months. Actively developed — new worlds, new systems and new seasons keep landing while you're still climbing the last one.

Hold the line.

Ratings and reviews

Over the past couple of recent updates, the "catching up" screen, upon loading the app, has slowed to a crawl. Takes 5+ minutes sometimes. Yet sometimes I only have 5 minutes to play/do upkeep, so is there any reason to open the app any longer? edit: thanks for the quick reply, dev.

awesome game. playing it every day. the longer you play, the more you unlock and the mechanics become really deep. everything is unlockable just by playing. love it

It seems really barebones and limited, I got bored waiting for enemies to require upgrades to beat them.

What’s new

• Merging now keeps your roll quality, and PERFECT rolls stay PERFECT
• Merged items keep their magical power instead of rolling a new one
• Battle Dwarf skin is back with redrawn art
• Support replies can include screenshots
• Fixed a rare data loss - the game now restores from the cloud
• Fixed the rewarded ad getting stuck on "Loading"
• Fixed earned passive skill tiers staying locked
• Leaf Furnace prices no longer reset after quitting a run
• Stability fixes