Heroes are one of the three basic unit types in Age of Mythology. They share two core characteristics: they are powerful against Myth Units and they 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. As can be seen from the pictures below, all Heroes have a special glow surrounding them. Each of the game's four cultures has heroes with quite different characteristics.
Age Advance Bonuses
Unlike human units, Heroes do not benefit from standard upgrades such as Medium Infantry. They do however automatically gain an (undocumented) bonus to their hit points and attack at the start of the Classical, Heroic and Mythic Ages. These bonuses are listed below.
Greek Heroes
Greek players are able to train Heroes at the Town Center once they have built a Temple, and at the Fortress from the Heroic Age. Each Greek civilization 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 with Poseidon). However, Greek heroes are far stronger than those of the other four cultures. 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.
Age Advance Bonus
- +10% hit points, +10% attack
Template:Navbox Greek Heroes
Norse Heroes
The main Norse Heroes are the Hersirs, the captains of the Viking army. 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.
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 also considered Infantry units, though, as usual with Heroes, they do not benefit from infantry upgrades. Nevertheless, they are susceptible to counter-infantry units such as the Hypaspist, and, like other Norse infantry, they can build and repair buildings.
Age Advance Bonus
- +10% hit points, +10% attack
Egyptian Heroes
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 is able to 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
- Pharaoh: +10% hit points, +20% attack
- Son of Osiris: +10% hit points (added to a base of 420 HP, making a total of 546 HP)
- Priest: +10% hit points, +10% attack
Atlantean Heroes
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The Atlanteans do not train their Heroes but rather create them from regular human units. These transformations cost around 175% of the unit's original cost plus a small amount of favor. Units that can be transformed are the Citizen, Oracle, Murmillo, Katapeltes, Turma, Arcus, Contarius, Destroyer and Fanatic. All these specially created hero units gain a large bonus against myth units. They retain the multipliers they had before and the characteristics. For example, the Katapeltes Hero is still considered an infantry unit and retains its a large bonus against Cavalry. Atlantean Heroes have slightly better hit points, speed and LOS than their non-heroic 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.
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.
Age Advance Bonuses
- Classical Age: +20% hit points, +20% attack
- Heroic Age: +10% hit points, +10% attack
- Mythic Age: +5% hit points, +5% attack
Chinese Heroes
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.
Age Advance Bonus
- +?% hit points, +?% attack