Hero

A hero is a new kind of computer-controlled party NPC introduced in the Guild Wars Nightfall campaign, but they can be used in Tyria and Cantha if you have the Nightfall campaign. Unlike the henchmen of Prophecies, Factions or Nightfall, a hero is customizable by the player, including the hero's weapons and armor, and most importantly the hero's skills.

Each player can add up to 3 heroes to their party. There does not appear to be a hard cap on the number of heroes that can be recruited, however the quests to recruit certain heroes, such as Acolyte Jin and Acolyte Sousuke, are mutually exclusive.

In addition to the customizability, players will be able to command their heroes to "attack", "defend", "stay back", and so forth. A player may even take his heroes with him to PvP in a new form of competitive mission called Hero Battle.

List of heroes
These are the 14 heroes that are currently available, listed in order of recruitment. The 15th hero, Razah, has not been implemented yet, but is listed for completeness.


 * 1) Heroes can also be unlocked in PvP by faction (3000 or 6000 depending on character)
 * 2) At the Throne of Secrets, you can get quests to gain any hero you previously chose not to get.
 * 3) According to Gaile Gray, Razah has not yet been implemented, and will be added in an upcoming major update.
 * 4) The correct interpretation of Razah's variable profession is currently unknown.

Recruiting a hero
From the official heroes guide:


 * "The story also includes opportunities to recruit long-term allies: heroic non-player characters who play an ongoing role in the story. Completing specific quests allows you to recruit these unique heroic NPCs, commonly known as Heroes.
 * Heroes typically join your party as part of a quest. Sometimes the rewards for a quest include a chance to ally with that Hero: the NPC is recruited for your current character. (Some Heroes are exclusive; completing the quest to gain one makes you ineligible for the quest required to gain another.)"

Forming a party with a hero
From the official heroes guide:


 * "After you've recruited a Hero for your storyline (usually as a reward for a quest), you have the option of adding that Hero to your party whenever you're in a town or outpost. If you have room in your party, you can add up to three Heroes you've recruited. (Your Party panel shows the current list of characters, Heroes, and henchmen in your party; open or close that panel by pressing "P.") Look for the words "Add a Hero" on a drop-down menu in the Party panel, and then scroll down to the name of the Hero you want to add. You can use the same panel to kick one of your Heroes from your party."

Developing a hero
From the official heroes guide:


 * "A Hero in your party gains experience and levels, just as a character does. A Hero can never have a higher level than the character working with that Hero. If a Hero is lower level than the player who controls it, the Hero gains XP from kills at a vastly accelerated rate (5X the normal rate). Heroes in your party receive XP for quests and missions when you complete them."


 * "Heroes gain experience points for finishing quests, completing missions, and defeating enemies. Like henchmen, they take their share of gold and loot when defeating enemies. Players can improve a Heroes' weapon, shield, and focus item as that NPC gains levels; the Hero's armor improves automatically each time that Hero levels up."

Heroes gain the extra 30 attribute points in two sets just like the players. They gain the first 15 when they reach level 10 and the rest when they reach level 15.

Skills, attributes and secondary profession
From the official heroes guide:


 * "Press "K" to open (or close) your Skills and Attributes panel. You can use this panel to adjust the skills and attributes of your character or any of your Heroes. Before making these adjustments, you can select the character or Hero you want to adjust on the top of the panel.


 * Attributes are listed on the top half of the panel, along with a display of unspent attribute points. (When you add a Hero to your party for the first time, you may want to check to see how that Hero's attribute points have been spent.) Next to each attribute, there are arrows for increasing and decreasing the number of points spent on that attribute. While you're in a town or outpost, you can increase or decrease the number of attribute points spent one each one. Outside a town or outpost, you can increase attributes by allocating unspent attribute points, but you cannot decrease them.


 * The bottom half of the panel shows a skill list. In previous campaigns, you chose skills for your character by dragging them from a Skill List panel to the Skill Bar at the bottom of your screen. In Nightfall, you choose skills by dragging them from the skill list to a small skill bar at the bottom of the Skills and Attributes panel. As in previous games, you can only alter your build of skills while in a town or outpost. Each Hero begins play with a build of skills. The heroes have access to all skills that you've unlocked for their profession. By using the Skills and Attribute panel, you can alter that build whenever you're in a town or outpost.


 * A drop-down menu near the top of the panel also allows you to change the secondary profession of that Hero. When you do, that Hero's attributes change, and you can adjust attribute points as described above. When you choose a secondary profession for a Hero, you may want to change that Hero's build to include skills from the profession you've chosen. In the retail version of the game, you can save that additional build of skills by creating a template."

Unlocking skills
It is important to note that heroes automatically have access to all skills that are unlocked on the player's account, including elite skills! This is a great incentive to achieve UAS on your account to give your heroes maximum flexibility.

On top of that players may unlock skills for their heroes by using hero skill points at a hero skill trainer. Unlike normal skill trainers these hero skill trainers charge no gold, only hero skill points. In turn, the skills unlocked here can only be used by heroes, not the player himself.

Armor and weapons
From the official heroes guide:


 * "The bottom half of the Inventory panel shows your inventory items; your character and all your Heroes share that same inventory. The top half of the Inventory panel includes an inventory interface (a "paper doll") showing your character or a Hero, along with the weapon, armor, and shield or focus item that character or Hero is carrying. Heroes can use your customized weapons.


 * A menu at the top of the Inventory panel can change the character or Hero shown on that inventory interface. After you've selected your character or a Hero, you can move a weapon, shield, or focus item from your shared inventory to that character or Hero (or move them back).


 * You cannot replace a Hero's armor through the Inventory panel. A Hero's armor level improves as the character gains levels. Certain quests may change the appearance of a Hero's armor. In the retail version of the game, you can use Runes to alter a Hero's armor, but you cannot use Dyes to alter its appearance."

Players may update the visual appearance (not the stats!) of their heroes' armor by applying reward items from the following Challenge Missions:

Hero commands
From the official heroes guide:


 * Nightfall includes commands you can use for controlling and directing your Heroes. Once you leave town with a Hero in your party, you can direct where that Hero travels using your Compass.


 * Under your Compass, you'll see a set of four flags. With the first flag, you can set a common destination for all of your Heroes and henchmen. To set a destination for them, double-click once on the first flag, and then click on the mini-map in the center of your Compass. All of your Heroes and henchmen will then walk to that destination. Double-click the same button can remove the destination flag from your compass. When you remove a destination flag for a Hero or henchman, that NPC no longer walks to that location; instead, the NPC returns to your location.


 * When you look at your Party panel, you'll see a list of Heroes in your party. (You can open or close the Party panel by pressing "P.") Each Hero has a number in front of his or her name; each number corresponds to one of three numbered flags below your compass. You can set a destination for a Hero by double-clicking on the flag button with that Hero's number, and then clicking the Compass mini-map. Double-click the same button to remove the destination flag from your compass.


 * If you like, you can set a destination flag by clicking on the terrain in front of your character instead of using the Compass; when you do, a corresponding destination flag appears on your Compass."

Combat modes
From the official heroes guide:


 * Each Hero can have one of three combat modes. Each one corresponds to a different icon.


 * Aggressive: The Hero attacks a called target or a target in combat with the party. If necessary, the Hero will charge forward, away from the rest of the party, to attack.
 * Defensive: The Hero stands guard over the flagged area if you have placed a destination flag, or toward the back lines of the party if you have not. The Hero will attack called targets and any target in combat with the party, but only if doing so does not force that Hero to leave the guarded area.
 * Passive: The Hero never attacks and attempts to avoid enemies when attacked.

Hero Control Panel
From the official heroes guide:


 * Outside a town or outpost, you can see more information about a Hero in your party by using a Hero Control panel; you can also use it to change that Hero's combat mode. A button to the left of the Hero's name in your Party panel opens (or closes) a Hero Control panel. Click and drag on a panel to change its location on your screen.


 * How much you use Hero Control panels is entirely up to you. You do not need to open Hero Control panels every time you play the game; instead, each panel gives you more information about and control over a Hero. Each Hero Control panel contains these elements:


 * The upper-left corner of the panel shows the Hero's name and picture.
 * The upper-middle of the panel shows the Hero's Health and Energy.
 * The upper-right corner has icons for selecting from your three choices of combat modes, as described in Part One.
 * The bottom of the panel shows a small Skill Bar for this character. You can see when the Hero's skills are activated and watch to see how long they take to recharge.
 * Your Hero's AI determines when skills are used, but you can interrupt that routine by clicking on a skill on the Hero's small skill bar. By clicking on a skill, you prioritize that skill; you'll see a green check mark over that skill on the small skill bar. The Hero will not use any other skills until successfully using that skill. The Hero will attempt to use your target. You may also double-click on that skill to force the hero to execute it immediately.
 * Directly under the panel to the left, you can see the Hero's Morale Boost (or Death Penalty), if there is one. Next to that icon, you'll see a list of Conditions and Hexes affecting that character.
 * When you call a target (that is, hold down "Crtl" and double-click on it), all of your aggressive Heroes attack it. Defensive Heroes attack it if they're in range. Passive Heroes do not attack it. The same condition applies if you assist with another character's attack (After a character in your party calls out an attack, you can assist with that attack by clicking on the target symbol next to that character's name.)"

Omitted from the Official heroes guide:
 * Your Hero's AI can be told to disable certain skills. This prevents the AI from using that skill unless you specifically tell it to (as described above).  To do this, shift click the skill icon.  A red circle with a slash through it will appear over the skill.  Shift click again to re-enable the skill.