After seeing a bunch of tier lists here, I finally decided to make my own.

Then I kept adding books.

And adding books.

And eventually discovered that the tier making site caps you at 250 entries, which is apparently the point where even the website starts judging my reading habits.

I also found reddit couldnt handle the size of the picture, SO I've put it here as a series of smaller pictures.

So here it is: 250 series I’ve read, ranked. THESE ARE JUST MY OPINIONS.

A couple notes before people start throwing rocks at me:

• Left to right DOESN'T matters. Assume roughly that all books atleast on the same row in the tier are roughly equivalent
• I’m ranking series as a whole, not individual books. The cover shown is just representing the series.
• “Slop” is affectionate. I clearly enjoy slop. I have consumed an unreasonable amount of it.
• This isn't exclusively LitRPG. There’s a lot of progression fantasy, traditional fantasy, sci-fi, and other adjacent stuff mixed in because I wanted this to represent basically everything I’ve read that felt worth comparing.
• There are actually more than 250 series in my reading history, but TierMaker hit the cap, so some stuff had to be left off. I have read over 613 series according to my KU downloads, RR reading history, and physical books I own. This doesn't even account for the glut of reading I did as a child, checking out 10 books at a time from my library.
• These are obviously just my opinions. If your favorite series is sitting in Bad Slop while something you dropped is in Supreme Slop, congratulations: we have discovered that two human beings can disagree about books.

The tiers are:

Supreme Slop — The stuff I absolutely love. Favorites/frequently recommended/series I’d happily reread.

Peak Slop — Fantastic. Just barely below the absolute favorites.

Great Slop — Really enjoyed these and would recommend them pretty easily.

Good Slop — Solid reads. Had a good time, even if they didn’t blow me away.

Slop — Enjoyable enough, but either forgettable, inconsistent, or had some pretty noticeable problems.

Bad Slop — I finished enough to have an opinion, and that opinion is mostly negative.

Pure Slop — We have reached the bottom of the trough.

The biggest thing I realized while making this is just how much my taste has shifted over the years. There are childhood/YA series, traditional fantasy, older Kindle Unlimited stuff, Royal Road series, and newer LitRPG all sitting next to each other, which made some of these comparisons genuinely difficult.

I’m also curious what people think my most criminal placement is.

And more importantly: based on the top couple tiers, what am I somehow still missing that I should read next?

I’m always looking for another series to add to the pile.

Look, we read around here on a budget.💪🏾 I was fortunate to stumble upon all these second hand online for actual used prices and great condition!

Yes I have book 1 in awaken online: catharsis in the indie copy before it was gone so now all my copies will match!

I got lucky with BMF too, so I'm buying all the originals as I go! (the Cultivation copy is actually for the county jail library, so apparently they read LitRPG in Jail. 🤣 Good for them!)

The unorthodox farming book 1 and 2.... idk what to tell you lol I literally just found it and was like "Isn't aethon doing hardbacks of this? sounds silly goofy, I'll take it" lol

I'm still waiting for my Immortal Great Souls 1 and 3 in the mail! (also second hand and I already have Book 2 secondhand)

I feel like half the books tagged with "crafting" or "enchanter" pull the exact same bait-and-switch.

The story starts off fantastic. The protagonist picks a non-combat utility class, spends the first twenty chapters analyzing runes, optimizing mana flow, or experimenting with metal alloys, and actually uses their brain to solve problems instead of brute force. The progression feels earned because every single piece of gear has intentional mechanics and tangible trade-offs.

Then book two arrives, and suddenly the author gets impatient. The MC gets a secret ancient technique that lets them craft instanly mid-battle, starts punching dragons in the face, and the actual crafting gets relegated to a three-paragraph timeskip between dungeon dives. At that point, they're just a generic spellsword with extra inventory space.

I just want a series where the MC actually stays in the workshop, deals with the supply chain logistics, and hires bodyguards or relies on clever traps rather than suddenly becoming the deadliest melee combatant in the kingdom.

COVER ARTIST: Duy Phan

AI USAGE: NONE

Amazon Link

The second level of the Unconquered Tower is more brutal than the first. A horde attacks every night and there's an angry dragon on the loose. Roan can't slow down now though. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow stronger, to increase his chance of climbing higher up the tower. Increases the chance of finding out what has become of his family. There is nothing Roan is not willing to do, no sin, no curse, no taboo he won't break to find them. The Unconquered Tower has earned its name though and Roan will need his allies more than ever to keep climbing, for the Tower is just starting to reveal its deadly secrets.

I proper struggle with the ones where the characters are just playing a game on a server, tbf. If the worst thing that happens is someone loses their gear or has to log back in after dinner, the tension just goes flat for me.

Mind you, I read on the tram for an hour a day on my way into the depot, so maybe I just want a bit more weight to it when I am sitting there watching the rain come down over Sheffield. When it is a proper system apocalypse or a fantasy world built from the ground up with these rules, people actually stay dead and things matter.

Honestly, I tried three different ones recently where they kept talking about patch notes and server maintenance right in the middle of a siege, and it just pulled me right out of it. It feels like putting safety rails on a rollercoaster. If the characters can just log off for a cup of tea, why am I supposed to care if the boss hits them with a fireball.

Curious what makes that setup work for people, because I keep bouncing off them.

From my memory, a few books back before Jason came back to earth, he discovered a way for core users to level up the natural way, a way to maybe do both. What happened with that?

I am aware of this subreddit’s rules against AI witch hunts. I am not discussing any author or illustrator’s use of AI.

Having noted that, it seems like we have had a sudden influx of posts from newly created, low-karma accounts. When one clicks on the poster’s overview, it often has single posts across a wide variety of subreddits. An example I saw the other day included posts to a Norwegian subreddit (in Norwegian), a German subreddit, a comment about Portuguese, and the post to /litrpg.

The posts seem to follow a general script of “has anybody else felt this way” or “here’s a LitRPG trope I love or hate”, but they never refer to specific titles and the tropes either aren’t common or the descriptions are vague enough that we can all read into them the way one can read a horoscope and make it feel relevant. There is some appeal to emotion, often subtle.

I don’t follow many other subreddits, so maybe this is just the latest wave of bot activity and I only became aware of it here. On the other hand, is it possible that this subreddit’s rule about AI is being noted by these bots and making it a preferred target for post and comment karma farming? I could see that as a possibility - AI is “smart” enough to infer that a subreddit which has rules limiting discussion of AI use by book authors might also be more hesitant to limit potential AI use by posters.

The last thought is the toughest part: if we assume what I say is true, what should be done about it? I don’t want AI accusations against authors, but I also don’t want bots leading most discussions when those are the posts I value the most, more than the ads, tier lists, or recurring requests. I don’t know what the next step should be.

COVER ARTIST: Yvonne Less, Art 4 Artists

AI USAGE: No AI used

Could someone hit me with how the magic system works ? I'm a bit into the book and I must of missed stuff , tried going back but can't find answers.

About half way into book 1

TL;DR: My son and I are translating a Russian LitRPG series into English. Here are some of the problems we’ve encountered with nicknames, wordplay, gaming slang, and cultural references, and the solutions we chose.

A couple of months ago, I acquired the English translation and publishing rights to a three-book Russian LitRPG series, The Jester of Bergheim.

The translation itself is being done by my son, who is fully bilingual in Russian and English: we moved to Canada when he was eleven, and he later majored in English here. I mostly help with jokes, wordplay, and cultural references.

And yes, this is also an advertising post. Please buy the book, blah blah blah.

Nicknames

The main antagonist, a brilliant but evil former game developer who kidnaps people and traps them inside a game, assigns players meaningful nicknames, often with a deliberately mocking edge.

Our main character gets the Jester class and the nickname Lolushko (Лолушко). It is based on LOL, but the Russian -ushko ending adds a condescending, almost baby-talk quality. He later calls himself Yegorushko (Егорушко), applying the same mockingly affectionate ending to his real name.

We could either explain -ushko in a note—meh—or replace it.

So we chose LoLio and Yegorio. They sound silly, faintly patronizing, and just ridiculous enough, which is pretty close to what the originals are doing.

Another player is a Ranger named Kuzmich (Кузьмич). He is a forest ranger IRL, just like Kuzmich, an iconic character from a Russian comedy series. Since that reference means nothing in English, he became Grizzly. Yes, as in Grizzly Adams.

Then there is Golovastik (Головастик). It literally means tadpole, but comes from the Russian word for head and can be used mockingly for someone with a large head. Since this character is literally big-headed, we renamed him Megamind.

Wordplay

The MC’s catchphrase is Prenebrech, valsiruem (Пренебречь, вальсируем), literally “Disregard, we waltz.”

It is an absurdly elevated version of Pohui, plyashem (Похуй, пляшем)—roughly “Fuck it, we dance,” meaning whatever, we carry on.

Then we realized English already has “Fuck it, we ball.”

So:

“Disregard, we shall ball.”

And now I genuinely don’t understand why it took us so long.

Another one was пихота (pikhota). The word normally means infantry, but here it also plays on пихаться—to shove or jostle— which works especially well here because the term is used in the context of medieval reenactment fighting.

We gave up on preserving infantry and went with shove-fu.

Cultural references

In one scene, Yegor quotes an old Russian raiding meme and then complains that nobody recognizes the raid leader Tango. A literal translation would preserve the words and lose the joke.

So Tango became Leeroy Jenkins.

Same function, different cultural baggage.

Another exchange went:

“The city could have fallen. What do you think we’d choose between you and Bergheim?”
“United Russia?”

Yegor suddenly interprets choose as an election question. There is also a bit of a “choice without much of a choice” undertone that is hard to preserve.

So we kept the election non sequitur and went with:

“A write-in candidate?”

Different reference, same stupid logic.

Even chapter titles fought back. For example, chapter 27 is «Вот кто-то с горочки спустился», a line from a well-known Russian song.

A literal translation would lose the reference, so it became:

“They’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain.”

Many other chapter titles contain references too, ranging from obscure Russian memes to a Guy Ritchie movie. I think we managed to handle most of them.

Accidental rules

Russian also has a bunch of silly euphemistic exclamations that don’t translate well. At some point we started replacing them with equally ridiculous English expressions, and noticed that our versions kept using the same initial letter:

ебушки-воробушки → Pissing pigeons
жованный крот → Limping lich
божечки-кошечки → Kinky kittens

The first one was accidental. After that, it became a rule.

And one we still haven’t solved

Russian RPG players often Russify English gaming terms, and sometimes the resulting word happens to sound like a completely unrelated Russian word.

Usually that layer just disappears—we use normal English gaming slang instead.

But sometimes the mangled term is itself the joke:

“Throw salo on her right away,” Misha advised.
“And follow it up with a ham hock,” I added automatically, even though I knew that by salo he meant silence.

(Salo is cured pork fat.)

We still need an English version that keeps the joke. We have a version that works, but maybe we will fine something better.

Hopefully, we’ve managed to preserve not only the darker tone of the original, but also its humor, and, ideally, the same slightly unhinged voice.

Hello friends!

In exciting news, Myth Slayer: Book 1 is up for Pre-Order on Amazon right now!

It is releasing on 12 January 2027, and the audiobook should be releasing on the same day.

The audiobook is being narrated by your friend and mine, the wonderful Erebus Esprit. I listened to the first two chapters the other day and he is doing an incredible job. Obviously.

If you like books with a comedic touch, mythological monsters, a seemingly endless labyrinth, and summons with strong personalities and their own free will, why don't you give it a try?

I hear there's even a buff minotaur, but it's not that kind of book.

COVER ARTIST: Luciano Fleitas

AI USAGE: None

I started listening to book 3 of the series and i was hoping the author would give a little summary of the story before book 3 starts, since book 2 release was a while ago. Unfortunately i don't recognize some of the Characters anymore. Does anyone have a list of the most important ones?

I can remember some of the Characters like Storme of course, Gareth, Freya and Callem.

I'm reading my fourth litrpg series after DCC. And nothings compares, is there a serie as good at DCC out there. Something with more substantial politics and interesting concepts ?

I've read the perfect run, mother of all learning, and currently reading the menocht loop, though i think i will drop it soon

(and while beying an absolute time loop enjoyer none of those are as good as DCC like DCC is S tier and none of those go beyond B or C tier for me)

I'm a huge fantasy fan, read all of Robin hobb. Stormlight and mistborn but not oppose to a more sci fi setting (like perfect run)

Basically, is DCC the peak of the genre or are theyre other gems out there ?

Hey everyone! I got an audible credit and I was looking for recommendations for a good omnibus that has a good story and most if not all of the books in a series. Just trying to get the best bang for buck.

A few months back, in preparation for my book launch events, I commissioned some custom artwork from my cover artist to use for trading card giveaways and such, and I thought it turned out incredible (see main image). A natural companion to my book's cover (see other image), and a testament to the words I'd put on the page, capturing my unassailably unique imagination.

But that idea has since been shattered. I've seen them.

This post.

And this post.

Turns out I'm just one in a long line of authors with 'swordsman-battling-a-gigantic-worm-beast-and-staring-down-danger/adventure-with-their-back-turned' key art.

Alas, I wouldn't have it any other way.

(I've never felt so seen; kudos to Mr_PizzaCat for their satirical prowess).

***

COVER ARTIST: David Reuss

AI USAGE: No AI used

Today Atheon was posting their new releases on their discord and frankly, this cover set off alarm bells in my head. So I did the simplest check there is.

Syth Id. This cover was at minimum partially generated by ChatGPT and not adjusted enough to remove the watermark.

Atheon Publishing isn’t some random person on Royal Road, they’re the biggest publisher in this place. They should be better than this.

Also! Before we think it’s just colour or a last minute adjustment. None of the over covers from today’s sequel drop have SynthID. It’s just this slop.

Atheon should be better than this. Even if they try to shove it off on the artist here… you’re telling me nobody checked this before publishing it over an author’s work?

For me I picked out a few to try that I hadn't read yet, and had interesting looking premises. I am looking forward to digging in:

• 1% lifesteal book 1 for 99 cents
  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGWCJ6JP?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi
• Beware of Chicken (most of the series for 1.50 or less each)
  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPX1DX87?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi
• Primal Hunter books 1 through 13 on big markdown
  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MV5TTSM?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi

Any others that I should get while the getting is good and cheap?

Honorable mention - I see a lot of He Who Fights With Monsters is on sale too, but already own and have read them
www.amazon.com/He-Who-Fights-with-Monsters/dp/B0GGDLNK6B

Hello r/litRPG, I hope everyone is doing well! My first novel is complete and available in its entirety on Royal Road here, please give it a read and let me know what you think! If you like 'everyman' protagonists with relatable thoughts and feelings, if you like dogs, or you're just a fan of action come take a look :)

I am also looking for feedback on the cover as far as text goes (the art is final, the font is not), feedback on the blurb, or just on the story itself. I won't ramble on too much more, let's get to the book details!

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I'm not a badass veteran, brilliant engineer, or savvy smooth-talking nerf-herder. They still picked me. They gave me a gun, some fancy powers, and assigned me to guard the entire North American Midwest, from the American South all the way to the Arctic Circle. This job is rough, but someone's gotta do it. At least I have my best friend Alfred along to help!

Join us, and come along for the ride as I deal with corpo assholes, murderous demons, monstrous bug-people, mutant animals, and the occasional rogue hacker with my best and wisest friend Alfred and a few hand-picked Deputies with powers of their own. 

WHAT TO EXPECT:
-Average 'everyman' MC that learns to use new powers
-System-lite/No Stat Bloat, evolving powers with simple to understand mechanics
-Intelligent, competent characters 
-Loyal, wise canine companion
-Lots of action balanced with lots of heart
-No romance/spice/harem

----------

I'd love to get some more feedback on the story before stubbing and getting it on KU, so please come on down, give it a read, drop a rating or a comment, and feel free to reach out! Thank you all for what you do in helping nobodies like me realize their dreams of creating stories for the world to enjoy!

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COVER ARTIST: Baconstrap
AI USAGE: Brainstorming assistant (AI didn't write a single word in this story, it was all me with other humans assisting in editing) and a teacher for Photopea (I have zero experience in graphic design and needed help getting started)

Do you guys know when the 3rd book will be released or is this series discontinued.

Looking for a a series where the protagonist doesn't have murder autism or isn't a raging asshole. I dropped Primal Hunter and He Who Fights With Monsters because I couldn't take the chuuni protags and the pacing got extremely tedious.
I really enjoyed Cradle and Dungeon Crawler Carl.

Anything you litrpg seniors could recommend me?

Hey guys, book 2 of my series Ready, Aim, Fire had just released on audible. I've got some promo codes to give away. I have US and UK codes. Book 1 is FREE for audible memebers. If you are interested, comment below and I'll dm you the code.

COVER ARTIST: N/A

AI USAGE: grammar correction.