Hero (Age of Mythology)

This article is about the hero units in Age of Mythology. For hero units in other games of the series, see Hero.

Arkantos and Amanra, two hero protagonists in Age of Mythology campaign.

• Retold
• Before Retold

“	Heroes are typically elite human soldiers that are powerful in combat, and may have special abilities as well Their training location depends on the civilization. Atlantean heroes are created from Atlantean human units, including Citizens, Oracles, and soldiers. Heroes are more expensive than human soldiers, but are cost-effective at defeating myth units. Greek heroes are limited in number, but more powerful than other heroes. If a Greek hero dies, it can be retrained for the same price. Egyptian heroes are the Pharaoh and Priest. You may have one Pharaoh (two, if Osiris' New Kingdom is researched and as many Priests as you can afford. Norse heroes are Hersirs and Godis. You can train as many of them as you can afford. Atlantean heroes can be promoted from any Atlantean human unit, and you can have as many as you can afford. Age of Mythology campaign heroes can rise again if they fall in battle.	”
—In-game compendium section

“	Heroes are typically elite human soldiers that are powerful in combat, and may have special abilities as well. They are trained from the Town Center, Temple or Fortress. Atlantean Heroes are created from Atlantean human units, including Citizens, Oracles, and Soldiers. Heroes are more expensive than human soldiers, but are cost-effective at defeating myth units.	”
—In-game help section

Heroes are one of the three basic unit types in Age of Mythology, alongside human units and myth units. They share two core characteristics: they are powerful against myth units and they (except The Argo and Regent) can pick up Relics and store them in Temples. In accordance with the rock-paper-scissors combat system, heroes are indifferent against human soldiers and can be beaten by them, especially when at a numerical disadvantage. Heroes can be easily identified by the golden glow (white before Retold) surrounding them. Each of the game's civilizations has heroes with quite different characteristics, with varying stats, procurement method, and build limits.

Heroes are typically not classified as infantry, ranged soldier, or cavalry units, and do not benefit from bonuses and upgrades which benefit those human soldier types. Due to this, a mounted melee hero is no different from a dismounted one except for its higher movement speed. There are exception to this, as Hersirs are also infantry, and Godis are also archers. Similarly, Atlantean human soldiers upgraded to heroes, which continue to be classified as their original unit type classes and affected by Relic bonuses which affected their human forms, with yet another exception being that none of the infantry heroes are affected by Gaia's Book of Knowledge anymore.

In the campaign, unique heroes have both the glow as well as a glowing ring surrounding them. When they are killed, their corpse loses the glow and a glowing silhouette rises up from their lifeless body, followed by Athena announcing "A hero has fallen..." if the hero is an essential character.

Before Retold, heroes also had a separate attack bonuses against Animals of Set, as the latter were not classified as myth units.

The Regent is a standard hero not associated to or trainable by a particular civilization. Each player starts with a Regent in the Regicide game-mode (Regicide map before Retold), and must keep him alive to prevent being defeated. The Regent cannot pick up Relics, and does not have a hero glow.

Greeks

All Greek heroes

Greek players can train heroes at the Town Center once they have built a Temple, and at the Fortress from the Heroic Age. Each Greek major god has individual, named heroes, all of which are famous figures in Greek mythology.

A new hero becomes available at the start of each Age. This means that Greek players are limited to a maximum of four heroes (or five for worshipers of Aphrodite who has a unique naval hero). However, Greek heroes are far stronger than those of the other four civilizations. They can slay myth units with ease and can hold their own against human soldiers, so long as they are not numerically overwhelmed. The three Greek heroes of a given Age are very similar to each other up to the Mythic Age. The Heroes in the Mythic Age vary more and each has its own special attack. In the Extended Edition from patch 2.8, all gods also have access to Hippocrates in the Classical Age.

Zeus	Poseidon	Hades	Aphrodite
Jason Heracles Odysseus Bellerophon	Theseus Atalanta Hippolyta Polyphemus	Ajax Achilles Chiron Perseus	The Argo

Age advance bonuses

Age advancement grants Greek heroes the following improvements:

• +10% hit points, +10% attack

Retold

In Retold, Hippocrates was removed and the heroes in the Classical and Heroic Ages were swapped. Also, The Argo is no longer Poseidon exclusive. He is only available from the minor god Aphrodite through researching the "Argonauts" technology.

Egyptians

All Egyptians heroes: Both Pharaohs, the Priest, and the Son of Osiris

Pharaohs and Priests are the standard heroes of the Egyptians. The Egyptian player starts the game with a Pharaoh, who does not occupy any population slots. The Pharaoh can empower buildings, improving all of the building's functions, and heal allied units. He is not particularly strong, but he does gain 20% attack per Age advance. If killed, he soon rises again at the Town Center.

The Mythic Age minor god Osiris has a god power that transforms Pharaoh into the Son of Osiris. The strongest hero in the game by far, the Son of Osiris has dramatically increased hit points and a deadly chain lightning attack which can attack up to four units. Osiris also grants New Kingdom, which gives the player a second Pharaoh (who can stay at home while the Son of Osiris fights).

The Priest is similar to the Pharaoh. They are weaker but can be mass-produced. Egyptian players start with one Priest and more can be trained once a Temple from the Archaic Age. Like the Pharaoh, Priests can heal units, and can build Obelisks, which help with scouting by providing a continuous Line of Sight. Priests are very weak against human units, but very good against myth units when massed, especially the slower ones.

Age advance bonuses

Age advancement grants Egyptian heroes the following improvements:

• Pharaoh: +10% hit points, +20% attack, +9/+6/+2 Line of Sight (Classical/Heroic/Mythic Age)
• Son of Osiris: +10% hit points (added to a base of 420 hit points, making a total of 546 hit points)
• Priest: +10% hit points, +10% attack, +8/+6/+2 Line of Sight (Classical/Heroic/Mythic Age)

Norse

All Norse heroes (the Hero of Ragnarok has three variants, one variant of Gullinbursti is shown)

The main Norse heroes are the Hersirs, the captains of the Viking army, and the Godis, a type of religious and political leaders in ancient Scandinavia. Hersirs can be trained at the Temple in the Archaic Age and at the Longhouse in the Classical Age. They are formidable against myth units but are otherwise average melee fighters and not cost-effective against human soldiers. They are also infantry and are countered by anti-infantry units. Godis can be trained from the Heroic Age onward at the Great Hall, and are ranged javelin-wielding archers. They can counter ranged enemy myth units better than Hersirs, and are the only counter to flying myth units.

The other type of Norse hero cannot be trained. Mythic Age players who worship Baldr can use the Ragnarok god power, which instantly transforms all the player's Gatherers and Dwarves into Heroes of Ragnarok. These heroes are similar to Hersirs, but are faster, have better armor, and a stronger basic attack. However, they are not quite as good against myth units.

Both types of Norse hero are similar to infantry units, though, as usual with heroes, they do not benefit from upgrades and bonuses affecting infantry. Nevertheless, they are susceptible to counter-infantry units such as the Hypaspist, and, like other Norse foot soldiers (except Bogsveigar), they can build and repair buildings. Since they are also melee units dealing hack damage, the Norse do not have any dedicated hero unit to counter flying myth units or fast ranged myth units. They instead have human units with increased bonus attack for such purposes. Throwing Axemen (with Axe of Muspell) and Bogsveigir can counter flying myth units. Jarls can catch up and deal great damage to fast land myth units.

Age advance bonuses

Age advancement grants Norse heroes the following improvements:

• +10% hit points, +10% attack

Retold

In Retold, the Godi was added and is available from the Heroic Age. Furthermore, the player can no longer train the Hersirs in the Longhouse, and the Gatherers are transformed into the male and female Hero of Ragnarok, while the Dwarves are transformed into the Dwarf Hero of Ragnarok. The Dwarf Hero of Ragnarok is now a separate unit to the other two versions, but the three versions are still selected together when double-clicking.

Another hero called Gullinbursti is added in the New Gods Pack: Freyr. The Gullinbursti has four different versions of himself, all of which are separate. The appearance and size are also different for the versions. Just like the Heroes of Ragnarok, the hero unit is only available through a god power, from the main god Freyr. Depending on the age, a version will spawn when the god power is used, i.e. for the Archaic Age version 1, etc. The Gullinbursti automatically dies at the end of its lifespan. The first two versions have the same lifespan, the Heroic Age version lives longer, and the Mythic Age version longer still.

Atlanteans

All Atlantean heroes (the Citizen has a male and a female variant)

The Atlanteans do not train their heroes, but rather create them from regular human units. These transformations cost on average around 120% of the unit's original cost plus a small amount of favor. The transformation takes several seconds so should be timed properly in advance, and can be risky to do while already under attack. Units that can be transformed are the Citizen, Oracle, Murmillo, Katapeltes, Turma, Arcus, Contarius, Cheiroballista, Destroyer, and Fanatic. All these specially created hero units gain a large bonus against myth units, and Oracle Heroes generate favor faster than Oracles. They retain the multipliers they had before and the characteristics. For example, the Katapeltes Hero is similar to its human counterpart and retains its large bonus against cavalry. Atlantean Heroes have better base stats (see below) than their human unit counterparts, though their other upgrades (e.g. Medium Infantry) are lost. On the other hand, their Age advance bonus is greatest in the Classical Age, giving them an early boost. They also get more armor from Armory technologies.

Turning ordinary units into heroes is expensive early on and increases the number of population slots the unit occupies, which may push a player over the population limit. This prevents the training of units to replace them. To help combat this, Prometheus grants the player the Heart of the Titans technology which decreases the cost of turning human units into heroes, plus the Valor god power which transforms a small group of human units for free.

Hero stat bonuses

Upgrading a unit to a Hero grants it the following improvements:

• Oracle: +10 hit points, +0.5 speed, +2 Line of Sight, enables melee attack (6), +100% Line of Sight growth rate
• Citizen: +20 hit points, +0.2 speed, +2 Line of Sight, +1 range (15)
• Turma and Arcus: +10 hit points, +0.3 speed, +2 Line of Sight
• Murmillo, Katapeltes, Contarius, Destroyer, Fanatic: +15 hit points, +0.3 speed, +2 Line of Sight

Age advance bonuses

Age advancement grants Atlantean heroes the following improvements:

• Classical Age: +20% hit points, +20% attack
• Heroic Age: +10% hit points, +10% attack
• Mythic Age: +5% hit points, +5% attack

Retold

In Retold, Cheiroballistas can now also be converted into heroes. The Oracle is the only hero who is not listed as an "Idle Hero". He is not even listed as an "Idle Military Unit". Heroes only gain the "Sacred Hands" ability, allowing them to pick up Relics, after at least one Temple has been built. Furthermore, Hyperion's Sons of the Sun technology instantly and permanently converts all existing and future Oracles into heroes.

Gaia grants Hero Citizens instead of the usual Citizens at the start of each game.

Chinese

All Chinese heroes: The Monk, the Immortal, and the Servant Chinese

Monks and Immortals are the two varieties of Chinese heroes. Monks are capable of melee combat, healing other units, and converting human units; the monks of Shennong can also convert non-Titan myth units. Immortals are multi-range heroes, fighting ground targets in melee while shooting down aerial targets with bows. There can be a maximum of eight Immortals at one time, keeping with the Eight Immortals of Chinese lore. With the exception of Fu Xi, who can acquire all eight from the beginning, the Immortals become available in increments of two per Age advancement.

There is another variant of Immortals called "Servant Chinese". In the game he has the appearance of an immortal, but in cutscenes he has the appearance of an old man. Unlike the Immortal, this one doesn't make any sounds. In addition, he only has 130 hit points and has 9 Hack Attack in the Archaic Age. All other attributes of an Immortal remain the same.

Age advance bonuses

Age advancement grants Chinese heroes the following improvements:

• +10% hit points, +10% attack
• Immortals gain +1 range per age (after patch 2.8)

Campaigns

“	Heroes in the Age of Mythology campaign, as agents of their respective gods, are difficult to kill. A hero reduced to one hitpoint will fall in battle. When this happens, you will hear the voice of Athena announce "A hero has fallen." However, the hero is not dead, and as such you will rarely lose a scenario because a hero has been lost. Instead, the hero falls unconscious, but will stand up and regain hitpoints as soon as all dangerous enemy units or buildings have been cleared out of the area. The hero may risk falling in battle again until they are healed or their hitpoints return to a reasonable level.	”
—In-game help section for "Fallen Heroes"

These are heroes that are exclusive to the campaigns:

Fall of the Trident

All heroes from the Fall of the Trident campaign

• Arkantos
• Ajax (SPC)
• Agamemnon
• Odysseus (SPC)
• Chiron (SPC)
• Amanra
• Setna
• Kamos
• Kemsyt *
• Gargarensis
• Boar (Arkantos)
• Boar (Ajax)
• Brokk
• Eitri
• Skult
• Folstag Flag Bearer
• Reginleif
• Arkantos (Blessed)
• Athena (Non-playable)
• Theocrat (Non-playable)
• Theris (Non-playable)
• Osiris (Non-playable)
• Circe (Non-playable)

* Non-playable before Retold.

The New Atlantis

All heroes from the The New Atlantis campaign

• Kastor (adult)
• Amanra (older)
• Ajax (older)
• Son of Osiris (XP) *
• King Folstag
• Krios (Non-playable)
• General Melagius (Non-playable)
• Arkantos (God) (Non-playable)
• Kastor (with staff) (Non-playable)

* In Retold, he has been removed.

Tale of the Dragon

All heroes from the Tale of the Dragon campaign

• Jiao-Long
• Shun
• Zhi
• Servant Chinese (Non-playable)
• Danzhu (Non-playable)

Reginleif's Rally

• Fire King (Non-playable)

Semi-Heroes

All Semi-Heroes

These units aren't technically heroes, but they share traits of heroes such as the ability to revive, "(Hero)" in their names, hero glow, hero birth effect, hero death effect, pick up Relics, and/or health regeneration. Because they aren't technically considered heroes, they are weak against myth units and are unaffected by hero upgrades such as Olympian Parentage or Age advancement.

Fall of the Trident

• Kastor (Teenager)

The Golden Gift

• Polaris (Non-playable) (Cameo in Fall of the Trident)

The New Atlantis

• Servant of Kronos (Non-playable)
• Servant of Kronos (flying) (Non-playable)

Tale of the Dragon

• Emperor Yao (Non-playable)

Others

• Golden Fleece (Age of Mythology) (Cameo in Tale of the Dragon)
• Ornlu (Age of Mythology)
• Regent (only in Tale of the Dragon)
• General (Tale of the Dragon)

Retold

In Retold, Ornlu, Polaris, the Regent and Kastor (Teenager) have now been made full heroes. The General, the Golden Fleece, and Emperor Yao have been removed, and both version of the Servant of Kronos are now semi-heroes. Osiris was also demoted from a hero to a semi-hero.

Characteristics

Main article: /Characteristics

Characteristics of all heroes can be found here.

Gallery

A fallen Hersir. A glowing silhouette ascends from his lifeless body.

A glowing silhouette ascends from Achilles after being killed in battle.

All heroes from Age of Mythology vanilla.

All heroes from The Titans.

All heroes from the Extended Edition and Tale of the Dragon.

All heroes from Retold.

The process of a Citizen becoming a hero. The left side shows the unit being lifted for a few seconds, and the right side shows the unit transforming into the hero variant.

	Heroes obtainable in random maps in Age of Mythology
God	Archaic Age	Classical Age	Heroic Age	Mythic Age
Greeks (1 each)
All		Hippocrates*
Zeus	Jason	Heracles	Odysseus	Bellerophon
Poseidon	Theseus	Atalanta	Hippolyta	Polyphemus
Hades	Ajax	Achilles	Chiron	Perseus
Aphrodite			The Argo
Egyptians
All	Pharaoh (1)
	Priest
Osiris				Son of Osiris
				Pharaoh (more)
Norse
All	Hersir		Godi
Freyr	Gullinbursti (1)
Baldr				Hero of Ragnarok
Atlanteans
All	Citizen (Hero)	Murmillo (Hero)	Arcus (Hero)	Fanatic (Hero)
		Katapeltes (Hero)	Contarius (Hero)
	Oracle (Hero)	Turma (Hero)
		Cheiroballista (Hero)	Destroyer (Hero)
Chinese
All			Monk
Fu Xi	Immortal (8)
Others	Immortal (2)	Immortal (2)	Immortal (2)	Immortal (2)
Regicide game mode
All	Regent (1)