Hero Siege Beginner Guide: Everything New and Returning Players Need (2026)

What Is Hero Siege, and What Are You Getting Into?

Hero Siege is a fast-paced hack-and-slash action RPG with roguelike and dungeon-crawling elements, developed by Panic Art Studio. You battle waves of demons across the world of Tarethiel, loot gear of escalating rarity, and build a character around deep skill trees. You can play solo or in online and local co-op, and the game is structured around seasonal leagues — roughly comparable to seasons in Diablo or Path of Exile — that refresh the meta and add new systems.

The single most important thing to understand as a beginner: your first character is a learning character, not a trophy. The campaign teaches you the game; the endgame is where the real loop lives. Do not agonize over your first class pick.

Which Class Should a Beginner Pick?

Hero Siege offers many classes, each with its own skill tree and playstyles, and Season 10’s patch reworked several of them. The honest beginner advice:

1. Pick a melee or straightforward ranged class first. Melee classes like the Viking forgive positioning mistakes because they are durable; simple projectile classes let you learn bullet patterns from a safe distance.
2. Follow the leveling flow, not a “best” tier list. Tier lists rank optimized endgame power, not beginner-friendliness. Our Season 10 class tier list explains the current meta, and our league starter builds highlight classes that are both strong and easy to pilot.
3. Do not buy DLC classes for your first run. The base roster is more than enough to learn every system.

The First Playthrough: Campaign to Level 100

Your first hours follow the story acts. As of Season 10 there are nine acts, each with its own zone theme, enemy sets, and a boss fight at the end. The campaign exists to teach you the core verbs of the game: dodge, kite, pile on damage, and loot everything.

Practical rules for the campaign:

• Talk to every NPC and do side quests as you go. Quests unlock systems, stash space, and progression options you will want later.
• Loot and equip freely while leveling. Gear has random affixes; while leveling, almost any upgrade is a real upgrade. The nuance of unique items and rune words matters at endgame, not at level 20.
• Learn your dodge and movement tools early. Hero Siege is far more survivable when you treat movement as a skill, not an afterthought.
• Push into each difficulty when the current one stops challenging you. The game’s difficulty ladder (Normal, Nightmare, Hell, Inferno) is where character power is truly tested.

What Are Seasons, and Should You Care?

Each season is a fresh competitive league with a new theme, balance changes, and often a new progression system. Season 9 introduced the massive Incarnation passive tree; Season 10 added Act 9, new Uber bosses, and a bigger Ether Tree. Seasons are the reason much of the internet’s Hero Siege advice is stale — a guide from Season 5 may describe mechanics that no longer exist.

For a beginner, the practical takeaway: start your first real character in the current season. Seasonal characters play together, the economy is freshest, and all the current guides — including ours — apply to you. Our Season 10 guide covers what this season specifically changes.

Your First Week: a Simple Plan

1. Days 1–2: Clear the campaign on Normal. Do not skip cutscenes you care about, but do not grind either — the campaign is a corridor, not a sandbox.
2. Days 2–4: Push difficulties with your campaign character. Follow our leveling and progression route to keep damage competitive.
3. Days 4–7: Hit level 100, unlock endgame systems, and start your first wormhole runs — infinitely scaling dungeons that are the heart of endgame.
4. Along the way: Start earning gold with safe early farming methods so you can afford the market’s starter gear.

Mistakes Every Beginner Makes (and How to Skip Them)

• Hoarding low-tier gear. Vendor or break down everything that is not a clear upgrade; inventory space is a resource.
• Ignoring the seasonal system. Seasonal currencies and trees (like the Ether Tree) are where most of your power comes from each league.
• Spending gold early. You will want it at level 100. See our gold and market guide before your first big purchase.
• Reading outdated wikis. Much of the existing Hero Siege documentation stopped updating years ago. Check the version a guide targets before trusting its numbers.

FAQ

Is Hero Siege pay-to-win or does it need DLC? No. The base game contains the full campaign and endgame. DLC adds extra classes and cosmetics-style content, not required power.

Is there multiplayer? Yes — online co-op and local co-op are both supported.

How long is the campaign? Most players reach the end of the acts and level 100 within their first week of casual play. Endgame progression is effectively endless.

Do I need to know the lore? No. The story gives structure to the nine acts, but all systems are learnable without it.

Where do I redeem gift codes? In-game: open chat and type # to open the redeem window. See our codes page for known codes and history.