History Main / HeroUnit

* ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' has the unique "Hero" class for Kasuga, which grants him [[JackOfAllTrades a wide array of offensive and supportive abilities with well-balanced stats]], and his unique skills being improved alongside his Personality stats. He retains access to the class in ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'' while being joined by Kiryu, who has a similarly unique class of his own called "Dragon of Dojima", granting him a versatile StanceSystem and a unique SuperMode that lets him attack enemies in real-time like in previous beat-em-up entries in the series.

** ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresI'' and its sequel have these only in the built-in campaigns (in which, as these campaigns [[ForegoneConclusion follow the careers]] of famous {{Historical Domain Character}}s, [[HeroMustSurvive their survival is a victory condition]][[note]]unless the ''enemy'' is the one with the hero unit, in which case your victory condition, or at least one of them, is usually to kill them. There are also some scenarios with units that while mechanically classified as heroes represent particularly elite forces or famously well-constructed machinery rather than any specific person, and hence do tend to have their loss allowed[[/note]]) or through the LevelEditor; one ActionBomb hero is available through cheats. The ExpansionPack for ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' causes heroes to regenerate, and allows one to create custom heroes through the editor by changing a normal unit or hero's name, HitPoints, or attack points. The death of any unit or building can cause a GameOver if the triggers are set right.
** ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' features them in a downplayed manner. Most campaigns have a hero representing the main character of the campaigns in question, though gameplay-wise they are simply treated as stronger versions of generic units who can also heal on their own.

** ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIV'' features hero units in the campaign once again, representing various historical figures. In multiplayer, the Mongols have the ability to summon a Khan, a fast ranged cavalry unit with several support abilities for helping their army in combat. You can only have one Khan at a time, and they automatically respawn for you 120 seconds after death. The English also get a hero unit of their own with the King, which can be created at the Abbey of Kings landmark and is a powerful cavalry unit with a healing aura. The ''Sultans Ascend'' expansion adds the Jeanne d'Arc variant civilization based on the French whose gameplay centers on the eponymous heroine, introducing RPGElements into the game.

** While Tanya has appeared in all games across the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries'', she only truly qualifies starting from ''Yuri's Revenge'' (prior to that, she's only unique in the campaign--in skirmish, she simply acts as an elite infantry unit that a player can train an unlimited number of). In vanilla ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'', the only example is Yuri Prime (which represents Yuri himself, requires you to infiltrate a Soviet Battle Lab while also owning a Soviet Barracks and a Soviet Battle Lab, and is limited to one per player). ''Yuri's Revenge'' also introduces proper heroes for the other factions (Boris for the Soviets, and another version of Yuri Prime for Yuri) while ''3'' gave [[ColdSniper Natasha]] for the Soviets and [[PersonOfMassDestruction Yuriko]] for the Empire.

** In the first two ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' games and ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'', most heroes are simply a more powerful version of a regular unit (Zeratul, the hero Dark Templar, can do over 100 damage in a single hit) thatare usually given a different team color from your regular units (with the exception of a few who have unique sprites, like Sarah Kerrigan). As a rule, they do not appear in standard multiplayer games and are only available in the campaign and map editor.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'', heroes really came into their own. They can now be built in multiplayer, have unique appearances and skillsets, and can carry items and earn experience to grow stronger (in a multiplayer game, they can often level up from 1 to the cap of 10, while the campaign usually restricts heroes to one or two level-ups per chapter). Many user-created maps were made as essentially ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}''-like [=RPGs=], and ultimately resulted in the birth of the MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena genre. Blizzard themselves got into the act with the Bonus Orc Campaign in ''The Frozen Throne'' ExpansionPack being effectively this. On top of this, in ''Warcraft III'' the importance of Heroes lead Blizzard to ease up penalties for their deaths--unlike other units, Heroes could be reborn at an altar, and if a mission required the hero to stay alive, the Hero wasn't considered dead until the Altar was destroyed and you'd lost any possibility of building more.

** The first two ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' games and ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'', heroes are simply a more powerful version of a regular unit (Zeratul, the hero Dark Templar, can do over 100 damage in a single hit), that was usually given a different team color than your regular units. To distinguish herself from other regular units, Kerrigan has two unique sprites: one while she was a Terran Ghost and one when she became the Queen of Blades.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'', heroes really came into their own, with each having distinctive spells and appearances that pretty much took over the gameplay; additionally, unlike ''[=StarCraft=]'', they could be built in multiplayer. Many user-created maps were made as essentially ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}''-like [=RPGs=], and ultimately resulted in the birth of the MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena genre. Blizzard themselves got into the act with the Bonus Orc Campaign in ''The Frozen Throne'' ExpansionPack being effectively this. On top of this, in ''Warcraft III'' the importance of Heroes lead Blizzard to ease up penalties for their deaths--unlike other units, Heroes could be reborn at an altar, and if a mission required the hero to stay alive, the Hero wasn't considered dead until the Altar was destroyed and you'd lost any possibility of building more.
** ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' brings back the hero units in both forms. The classic heroes are available in the campaign, sometimes possessing different abilities, depending on the mission they're in, and being an essential part of ''[[VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm Heart of the Swarm]]'' and a core mechanic for certain [[VideoGame/StarCraftIICoOpMode Co-op mode]] commanders. The mechanic for RPG-style heroes exists, but they are not implemented in the game itself, and must be created manually in the editor. Like the original ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'', they cannot be used in multiplayer, unless one counts the Protoss Mothership, which a player can only have one of at a time.

* These were introduced to ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' in the fourth game, but removed in the fifth. At level 1, they had a ridiculous amount of HP, but poor offensive capabilities--at level 30 (generally only reached in the campaigns), they could take out entire armies single-handedly. Depending on the mission, some were main characters who had to stay alive, but the rest could be brought BackFromTheDead.

[[folder:Other/Undetermined]]

[[folder:Non-Videogame Examples]]

* In the ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' Mass Combat system, elements can have the Hero enhancement. A hero element counts as an element of his type, but is made of only one soldier. Elements are typically made of ten soldiers.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': The actual mages and other powered individuals during the Mage vs Martians battle, who were allowed to use their full power since the {{Muggle}} students believe that it's all special effects that's part of a game, were explicitly called Hero Units (this series loves its gaming references).
* The HQ/Commander units and other heroes for ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' and ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyBattle'', are often combat beasts who have 4 wounds and 4 attacks, when even EliteMooks often only have 1 wound and perhaps 2 attacks. That said getting one of these heroes killed will often spell disaster for your warband.

** ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIV'' features hero units in the campaign once again, representing various historical figures. In multiplayer, the Mongols have the ability to summon a Khan, a fast ranged cavalry unit with several support abilities for helping their army in combat. You can only have one Khan at a time, and they automatically respawn for you 120 seconds after death. The English also get a hero unit of their own with the King, which can be created at the Abbey of Kings landmark and is a powerful cavalry unit with a healing aura.

But their special power does come with a price. In Single-player campaigns, [[HeroMustSurvive completion of the mission is often dependent on their survival]]; if you lose them, GameOver, man! Even if their deaths don't result in instant failure, the loss of their power and enhancements will most likely swing the battle in the enemy's favor. In strategy games, every faction may have its own hero unit, and eliminating it will eliminate or convert all their other units and buildings.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2,'' it's a plot point that sometimes, the primary antagonist, [[MechanicalAbomination Harbinger]], will "Assume Direct Control" of one of his Collector {{mooks}}, giving them a huge boost to shields, armor, and tactical acumen. It's like you're playing a [[ThirdPersonShooter 3PS]][=/=]{{RPG}},while Harbinger is playing an action-RTS hybrid.

** Tanya from ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries'', a frequent case of [[HeroMustSurvive one who needed to stay alive]]. ''2'' introduced equivalents for the Soviet side (Yuri in the base game, Boris in ''Yuri's Revenge'' when Yuri bolted and became his own side), while ''3'' gave [[ColdSniper Natasha]] for the Soviets and [[PersonOfMassDestruction Yuriko]] for the Empire.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' usually has two Hero Units per side, with one being the main character of each campaign. They could destroy entire squads singlehandedly, but were balanced by the fact that most "walker" units (Dreadnoughts, Wraithlords, etc...) can chew them up and spit them out with no problems. ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'' gave each army 3 Hero Units each.
** The Space Marines have Force Commanders and Librarians, along with Apothecaries and Techmarines in the sequel.
** The Orks have Warbosses and Big Meks (replaced by Mekboys in the sequel), with Kommando Nobs added in the sequel.
** Chaos has Chaos Lords/Daemon Princes and Chaos Sorcerers, with Plague Marines added in the sequel.
** The Eldar have Farseers and the Seer Council, with Warlocks and Warp Spider Exarchs added in the sequel.
** The Imperial Guard has the Command Squad. The sequel replaces them with Lord Generals, Commissar Lords and Inquisitors.

** ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' originally had most heroes, at least in part II, as simply being a more powerful version of a regular unit, that was usually given a different team color than your regular units.
** Blizzard continued the concept in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'', with heroes being ''significantly'' more powerful than their regular units. (Zeratul, the hero Dark Templar, can do over 100 damage in a single hit.) To distinguish herself from other regular units, Kerrigan has two unique sprites: one while she was a Terran Ghost and one when she became the Queen of Blades.

* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'''s two DownloadableContent missions (Alien Rulers, and Shen's Last Gift), [[MissionControl Central Officer Bradford]] and [[TheEngineer Chief Engineer Lily Shen]] (respectively) take to the field as the highest ranking soldier in your squad. Bradford uses an impossibly-customized and ludicrously overpowered assault rifle, while Shen uses a tier 3 AttackDrone, has powers mutually exclusive in normal Specialists, and her special attacks are cooldown-based instead of once-a-mission.

** Used in ''VideoGame/EmpireAtWar'' and its expansion. All heroes are larger, though in some cases they're still at their canon scale, and most of them are unique units. The only ones that aren't are Red/Rogue Squadrons (X-Wings, but larger), Luke's X-Wing (again, just larger, though in this case it's the size of a freakin' transport), ''Accuser'' and ''Admonitor'' (larger Imperial-II Star Destroyers), and ''Merciless'' (a Zann Consortium flagship). The ''Admonitor'' is coloured blue (except when it dies), though, and the ''Merciless'' has unique engine exhaust colour and hull paint.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2,'' it's a plot point that sometimes, the primary antagonist, Harbinger, will "Assume Direct Control" of one of his Collector {{mooks}}, giving them a huge boost to shields, armor, and tactical acumen.

* ''Warrior Kings'' from Microids, had Arthos in the campaign. He's a unique Heavy Cavalry unit that is the hero of the story and it's an automatic game-over if he dies. That said he's extremely powerful and gains new abilities at different points in the campaign depending on his current alignment.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/WarcraftIII https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fovzxno.png]]]]

** ''VideoGame/WarCraft'' originally had most heroes, at least in part II, as simply being a more powerful version of a regular unit, that was usually given a different team color than your regular units.

** In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'', heroes really came into their own, with each having distinctive spells and appearances that pretty much took over the gameplay; additionally, unlike ''[=StarCraft=]'', they could be built in multiplayer. Many user-created maps were made as essentially ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}''-like [=RPGs=], and ultimately resulted in the birth of the MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena genre. Blizzard themselves got into the act with the Bonus Orc Campaign in ''The Frozen Throne'' ExpansionPack being effectively this. On top of this, in ''[=WarCraft=] III'' the importance of Heroes lead Blizzard to ease up penalties for their deaths--unlike other units, Heroes could be reborn at an altar, and if a mission required the hero to stay alive, the Hero wasn't considered dead until the Altar was destroyed and you'd lost any possibility of building more.
** ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' brings back the hero units in both forms. The classic heroes are available in the campaign, sometimes possessing different abilities, depending on the mission they're in, and being an essential part of ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm Heart of the Swarm]]'' and a core mechanic for certain [[VideoGame/StarcraftIICoOpMode Co-op mode]] commanders. The mechanic for RPG-style heroes exists, but they are not implemented in the game itself, and must be created manually in the editor. Like the original ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'', they cannot be used in multiplayer, unless one counts the Protoss Mothership, which a player can only have one of at a time.

** In the first ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', [[TheEmpire the Covenant]] have their [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking leaders]] (namely the Arbiter, the Prophet of Regret, and the Brute Army Commander), who can be quite important to have out on the field for their battle prowess, as their other units tend to be on the "[[GlassCannon subve]][[FragileSpeedster rsive]]" side of the FactionCalculus scale. You can also only [[PowersViaPossession use your faction superpower by controlling them directly]]. On the other hand, the [[UnitedNationsIsASuperPower UNSC]] have [[EliteMooks Spartans]]; while not as [[OneManArmy singularly powerful]] as the Covenant's leader units, they are still quite badass in their own right and can [[EnemyExchangeProgram hijack]] enemy vehicles or commandeer friendly vehicles for a power boost. The limit on how many of these units you can have still goes for both sides, though[[note]]But their respective population caps are also independent from the main one in either case[[/note]]; namely, one leader for the Covenant and three Spartans for the UNSC. In the campaign, Sgt. Forge, Professor Anders, and SPARTAN-II Red Team function as a quintet of Hero Units; if one of them goes down, there is even text reading "You have a downed hero."

** ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIV'' features hero units in the campaign once again, representing various historical figures. In multiplayer, the Mongols have the ability to summon a Khan, a fast ranged cavalry unit with several support abilities for helping their army in combat. You can only have one Khan at a time, and they automatically respawn for you 120 seconds after death.

** The first game has its Commanders as the linchpin of the gameplay, with them as the standard builder unit in the game. Losing the Commander often meant losing the game. If not automatically, then because of the fact that a good chunk of your base or army is usually destroyed when a killed Commander goes up in a massive explosion. The second one also turned into the dubious strategy of "Commander Bombing": In games where the loss of a Commander wasn't an instant lose condition, some players would fly their Commander into the middle of the enemy base and let the inevitable happen.

** ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresI'' and its sequel have these only in the built-in campaigns (in which, as these campaigns [[ForegoneConclusion follow the careers]] of famous {{Historical Domain Character}}s, [[HeroMustSurvive their survival is a victory condition]]) or through the LevelEditor; one ActionBomb hero is available through cheats. The ExpansionPack for ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' causes heroes to regenerate, and allows one to create custom heroes through the editor by changing a normal unit or hero's name, HitPoints, or attack points. The death of any unit or building can cause a GameOver if the triggers are set right.

** In the first ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', [[TheEmpire the Covenant]] have their [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking leaders]] (namely the Arbiter, the Prophet of Regret, and the Brute Army Commander), who can be quite important to have out on the field for their battle prowess, as their other units tend to be on the "[[GlassCannon subve]][[FragileSpeedster rsive]]" side of the FactionCalculus scale. You can also only [[PowersViaPossession use your faction superpower by controlling them directly]]. On the other hand, the [[UnitedNationsIsASuperPower UNSC]] have [[EliteMooks Spartans]]; while not as [[OneManArmy singularly powerful]] as the Covenant's leader units, they are still quite badass in their own right and can [[EnemyExchangeProgram hijack]] enemy vehicles or commandeer friendly vehicles for a power boost. The limit on how many of these units you can have still goes for both sides, though[[note]]But their respective population caps are also independent from the main one in either case[[/note]]; namely, one leader for the Covenant and three Spartans for the UNSC. In the campaign, Sgt. Forge and SPARTAN-II Red Team function as a quartet of Hero Units; if one of them goes down, there is even text reading "You have a downed hero."

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn '' averts this, as not only are the Lord characters no longer "lords" per se, the death of MANY story important character can lead to a game over, especially early in the game. There's Micaiah, Elincia, Ike, Tibarn, which make a modicum of sense -- and then there's Sothe, Soren, Nolan, Tauroneo, Raphael, Nialah, Skrimr... Nephenee, Brom, Lucia, the game gives you many many many characters, and almost any number of them dying can cause a game over in certain parts of the game. Sometime it doesn't exactly make sense.

* ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'': In ''Advance Wars: Days of Ruin'', the CO can travel with a unit, promoting it to the highest rank, and projecting an aura of power around it.

* ''VideoGame/KingArthurTheRoleplayingWargame'' had the Knights of the Round Table. Since King Arthur doesn't take part in anything other than as a figurehead, it's up to the Knights to be his enforcers. These unique characters can be attached to a unit and are far mightier than any other individual in raw stats alone, and then there's the supernatural abilities that they have and magic items are usable only by a Knight.
* ''Noblemen: 1896'' has armies led by a Nobleman (a JackOfAllTrades or MasterOfAll who leads and finances the army) and his Officers. The Nobleman's unique ability is to choose armor he's picked up from supply chests and he can freely switch out between "classes" (standard, ranger, support, anti-armor, Tesla) which all have a variety of weapons unique to them. The Officers are modified versions of regular units and have far greater stats and often carrying weapons not available to regular units. Another advantage is that the Officer gains experience at drastically higher rates than regular units and it's very common to have Officers that are far stronger than their noblemen leaders.

* In ''Videogame/Dungeons3'', Thalya is the "hero" for your dungeon. She's a decently powerful damage dealer capable of tossing explosive fireballs and (after sufficient upgrades) summoning shadows to attack foes. Unlike other creatures she does not level from combat but must be upgraded via research.

* In ''VideoGame/LordMonarch'', the leader unit is very strong, but money can only be raised when it occupies its throne, and losing it means losing everything.