History Main / WorkerUnit

* ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' has engineer units. While they are capable of fighting, they're not especially good at it, with the lowest accuracy in the game. They're much better suited to building and repairing. However, they can get [[KillItWithFire flamethrowers]], which greatly increases their [[IncrediblyLamePun fire]]power.

* ''VideoGame/{{Cossacks}}: [[VideoGame/CossacksEuropeanWars European Wars]]'' and its {{expansion pack}}s: Every country has peasants to build buildings and gather resources. Russian serfs are the slowest builders, and UsefulNotes/{{Ukrain|e}}ian peasants are the only ones that cannot be captured (not so surpising considering [[CreatorProvincialism the game was made in Ukraine]]).

* ''VideoGame/BattleZone1998'' and its sequel have Scavengers, which are large utility vehicles which are described as "vacuum cleaners with engines" -- the scavengers drive around, suck up [[UnObtanium bio-metal]] scrap, then go deposit it at the Recycler (or instantly add it to your scrap pool, in the sequel). Constructors build base structures such as gun towers and power plants. Tugs in both games can be used lift slow, heavy units off the ground and carry them over rough terrain or water very quickly, though they are rarely used outside of the single player campaigns. All of the worker units can only be built at the irreplaceable [[MobileFactory Recycler]], meaning that destroying the enemy Recycler will [[InstantWinCondition instantly win the mission]].

** ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'': All workers use the standard cycling method of resource collection, but use different construction methods. Terran [=SCV=]s use direct construction, Protoss Probes use summoning, and Zerg Drones use the growing method. The SCV can also repair mechanical units, and the Drone can burrow to protect itself. In ''VideoGame/StarCraft2'', an additional temporary worker is available to the Terrans (the M.U.L.E.), which harvests resources at a faster rate, can repair mechanical units at the normal rate, but cannot construct buildings.

** ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'': All workers use the standard cycling method of resource collection, but use different construction methods. Terran [=SCV=]s use direct construction, Protoss Probes use summoning, and Zerg Drones use the growing method. The SCV can also repair mechanical units, and the Drone can burrow to protect itself. In ''Starcraft 2'', an additional temporary worker is available to the Terrans (the M.U.L.E.), which harvests resources at a faster rate, can repair mechanical units at the normal rate, but cannot construct buildings.

* ''VideoGame/HaloWars'': The closest thing to worker units are the UNSC [[MiniMecha Cyclops]] (a modified variant of the Mjolnir Mark III Exoskeleton Prototype that is a unique unit to Sergeant Forge in multi-player and skirmish modes) and the Covenant Engineer (a race of Biological Supercomputers created by the [[{{Precursors}} Forerunners]] that were later enslaved by the Covenant). They are the only units that can repair buildings. Resource gathering can be handled by any infantry unit and certain levels and maps some GarrisonableStructures such as Forerunner Supply Elevators can even produce an infinite amount of resources or supply other benefits.

* ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000Gladius'' gives each race a unit that is able to found cities and clear areas of [[GeoEffects difficult]] or DangerousTerrain. The only races that don't have such a thing are 1) the Space Marines, (who are built around a [[LandOfOneCity one-city,]] all-military-research challenge), and 2) the Craftworld Aeldari, who upgrade the Webway Gate neutral structures after killing all the nearby [[NeutralsCrittersAndCreeps map-creeps]].

* ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000Gladius'' gives each race a unit that is able to found cities and clear areas of [[GeoEffects difficult]] or DangerousTerrain. The only race that doesn't have such a thing is the Space Marines, who are built around a [[LandOfOneCity one-city,]] all-military-research challenge. The tyranid Malanthorpe, furthermore, is able to generate extra Science by eating corpses (ie, enemy units that are killed nearby) and stripmine hexes for Biomass (their equivalent of food/power), in keeping with their status as the local HordeOfAlienLocusts.

** ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'': All workers use the standard cycling method of resource collection, but use different construction methods. Terran [=SCV=]s use direct construction, Protoss Probes use summoning, and Zerg Drones use the growing method. The SCV can also repair mechanical units, and the Drone can burrow to protect itself. In ''Starcraft 2'', an additional temporary worker, the M.U.L.E., is available to the Terrans, which harvests resources at a faster rate, can repair mechanical units at the normal rate, but cannot construct buildings.

*** The Human Peasant is the most "normal" in that it harvests wood or gold by running between the resource and the Town Hall structure, and multiple Peasants can be assigned to build the same structure to put it up faster. Peasants can also be turned into Militia to defend their starting base, fighting as well as a Footman unit. Before a nerf, a popular tactic was to take the five starting Peasants, turn them into Militia, and ZergRush a multiplayer opponent.

*** The Orcish Peon is much like the Peasant, though Peons are hidden while building structures, and when an enemy attacks they can enter Burrow buildings and throw spears from them, making them more effective than the Orcs' dedicated defensive structures. With the Pillage ability researched Peons can gain gold by attacking enemy buildings, though if you're attacking with Peons, [[DesperationAttack something has gone very wrong]] [[CherryTapping for one or both sides]].
*** The Night Elven [[WillOTheWisp Wisp]] can harvest gold or lumber via magic, without having to ferry a load back to base, and uniquely does not consume a tree it's harvesting wood from. The way they "grow" Night Elf buildings means they can't cooperate to build faster, and a Wisp will be killed if the Ancient it is constructing is destroyed first. Wisps cannot fight in combat, but they can sacrifice themselves with the Detonate ability to drain mana from enemy units and damage summoned enemies - and of course most Night Elf structures [[WhenTreesAttack are capable of uprooting and defending themselves just fine.]]

** The Necron Builder Scarabs are free (but slow to build) and travel in small squads. They are also the only Necron unit able of capturing control points, and their only detector (but also ''the best'' detector ''in the game'').

* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth:'' Citizens occupy the role. Like in Age of Empires above, they need to cycle to drop off resources. In the campaigns, players can also take control of a unique worker unit called the Engineer, which can only create buildings. In these scenarios, resources are gathered by other means.