Best RTS Games With No Grinding

For many players, their available gaming time is limited due to other interests or responsibilities, so for them, it’s almost always better to get straight to the good stuff, skipping all the busy work along the way that can bog down a game. This is doubly true for strategy games.

Whether it be games that are focused on fresh instances of gameplay with little progression systems or RTS games that challenge the speed and split-second decision-making of the player, there’s a wealth of incredible games out there for gamers looking to skip the grind.

5 Steel Division 2

Blitzkrieg To Victory In This World War 2 Strategy Game

As probably the most popular and faithful attempt to simulate large-scale WW2 battles where the player can make microscopic command decisions on the fly, Steel Division 2 deserves to be commended for just how much it commits to the simulation while sporting an innovative morale system.

With battles that can feature over 1000 individual units, an incredibly in-depth strategic layer, and stunning historical accuracy, WW2 simulation doesn’t get much better than Steel Division 2. Best of all? There’s no grinding in sight.

4 Company Of Heroes 3

Stategize Your Way Out Of Hell

Though it got off to a bit of a rocky start, Company of Heroes 3 is fast becoming a fantastic redemption story by delivering some of the best squad-based tactical gameplay on the market. The revered franchise lets the player take control of a WW2 squad tasked with various missions across the many fronts of the war, utilizing even more interesting factions.

As one of the most modern strategy games with little to no grinding, Company of Heroes 3 builds off all its predecessors and delivers a graphical delight. This one is perfect for long-time fans of the strategy genre, or those looking to get their feet wet but unsure where to jump in.

3 Age Of Mythology

Make The Battle Epic With Creatures From Myth & Legend

While Age of Mythology has enjoyed a recent remake in Age of Mythology: Retold, its controversial design decisions mean that it’s probably best to stick with the original, even though it was released all the way back in 2002. Still, it holds up beautifully as a strategy game that is all about in-the-moment decision-making with zero grinding.

Age of Mythology innovated upon its historical predecessors and decided to infuse the RTS genre with mythological creatures and boons. Playing as the Norse, Greek, or Egyptians, players can build a fighting force filled with strange creatures and abilities powered by a selection of gods, making for a fascinating and novel experience when those forces crash into each other on the field.

2 Warcraft 3: Reign Of Chaos

The Best Story In All Of RTS

Widely considered to be one of the best RTS games ever made, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos took everything the RTS genre had done by 2002 and perfected it, resulting in an amazing gameplay loop set over an infamous campaign that sees the birth of one of the most prolific MMOs of all time, World of Warcraft.

While its gameplay is strong, it’s hard to overstate just how brilliant a story the fall of Arthas is, leading into the rise of the Lich King. Any gamer fans of epic fantasy stories, even those who aren’t into the World of Warcraft MMO, should definitely give Warcraft 3 a shot for its campaign, if nothing else. While the recent remaster has made solid strides to recover from its terrible launch, playing a pre-Reforged patch still offers the best experience.

1 Age Of Empires 2

The Greatest Of All Time

Nothing beats the original. While far from the first RTS, Age of Empires 2 perfected the RTS genre to such an extent in 1999 that it is still being being played to this day, partially due to a fantastic 2019 remaster that was extremely faithful to the source and worked perfectly on release.

Players take control of a variety of historical civilizations and are placed on an even wider variety of large-scale maps on which to duke it out — not to mention the game’s brutally challenging campaign mode. With a plethora of game modes, even more ways to strategize, and a still vibrant multiplayer community, Age of Empires 2 is the platonic ideal of a strategy game that requires zero grinding that still holds up to this day.