Heroes and their influence

[generalgonzo]

Hi,
maybe someone can explain in detail how the hero system works because the manual didn´t say too much about it.

I.E. I had a unit yesterday gaining a hero with +4 to strenght. At first I thought the unit now is has 4 points more attack value, but it hasn´t.

Then aanother unit got a hero which only gained +1 strength.

How do thes modifiers affect the unit? Same with spotting +1 (i.e.); does that mean, the spotting range value is now 1 higher ?

Thanks for help in advance.

[Rudankort]

Actually I'm very surprised to hear that you got a hero with "strength" modifier and +4 bonus too, because the game does not generate such heroes. So, a save illustrating that would be very helpful.

According to the design, the game can give heroes with bonuses to attack, defense, initiative (non-ranged units), range (ranged units), movement and spotting. Bonus to attack, defense and initiative can be from +1 to +3 (although +3 is rare). Bonus to movement, spotting and range can only be +1.

[generalgonzo]

Hi,
thank you for the quick answer. Sorry, it was a mistake, it was +4 to attack. Now I wonder, because it was definately +4 (tutorial campaign) and I thought: wow, that´s much. Unfortunately I didn´t make a screen shot....

But my question still isn´t answered: does these values mean, that the whole unit participate from this value? Here: +4 attack meaning the unit has +4 more (on what: soft or hard targets ?)?

[Rudankort]

Yes, +1 to attack means that the unit has +1 to all attack ratings (except those which are 0 - a unit that cannot shoot planes does not gain this ability from a hero).

Still, if +4 to attack really happened to you, it would be a bug. The game rolls 1...7 and then for 1...4 it gives you +1 bonus, for 5...6 you get +2 bonus and for 7 +3 bonus. So +3 is rare and +4 should never happen.

[Molve]

By now the devs have hopefully realized they need to indicate hero bonuses on the unit's statistics screen (perhaps with a different color, akin to how suppressed strength is indicated)

Since this topic is linked to from the "common questions" sticky, here are a few more Hero-related questions (these might have been answered elsewhere, but even if so, it would be nice to have the answers in the specific Hero-related thread linked to by the sticky, i.e. here)

Okay, so once the game has determined you should get a hero, there's a 57.1% chance of that being a "+1 hero", 28.6% chance of a "+2 hero" and 14.3% chance of a "+3 hero".

1. But what are the chances of getting the different kinds of bonus (attack, defense, etc)?
I'm guessing the probabilities vary for different unit types.

2. And to clarify, can all types of units get heroes? (I'm thinking you can only be awarded certain kinds of Special Elite units, does this apply for heroes too)

3. Does the chance of getting a +3 hero change if the unit has heroes previously? Or, in other words, is the chance of getting three heroes all with +3 1/7th each time?

4. To summarize, what is the chance of actually getting a hero? (When you get your Iron Crosses at 50, 100, 150 unit points killed that is).

5a. And finally, was the limit three heroes altogether or three heroes per unit?
(I'm guessing that if you didn't get a hero when you got your first Iron Cross, the chance of getting three heroes for this particular unit has gone. I.e. you get three shots per unit, once for each Cross, and that's that)

Again; I thought it convenient to ask these questions here instead of in a new thread (because this thread is linked to from the first page stickied thread). Thanks!

[El_Condoro]

5a - 3 per unit. I have seen many more than 3 in a single game but there is only 3 slots per unit. Other questions require a dev.

[Fimconte]

2. And to clarify, can all types of units get heroes? (I'm thinking you can only be awarded certain kinds of Special Elite units, does this apply for heroes too)

All types of units can get heroes, but some cannot get certain heroes (+1 range is only for Artillery for example).

3. Does the chance of getting a +3 hero change if the unit has heroes previously? Or, in other words, is the chance of getting three heroes all with +3 1/7th each time?

I believe it's irrespective to the amount of +3 heroes you have. I have units that have 3 +3 heroes.

5a. And finally, was the limit three heroes altogether or three heroes per unit?
(I'm guessing that if you didn't get a hero when you got your first Iron Cross, the chance of getting three heroes for this particular unit has gone. I.e. you get three shots per unit, once for each Cross, and that's that)

Three Heroes per unit, you can gain a hero when you have a Iron Cross and the unit takes part in Combat. There's no "one-chance", as long as you have a open hero slot and a Iron Cross below it, you have a chance to gain a hero.

[AgentX]

First hero randomly shows up between 50 and 100 kills (once your unit hits 100, though, you get one automatically). The next hero will randomly show up between 100 and 200 kills (same thing, when the unit gets its 200th kill, it will get one automatically). I believe the last hero will show up between 200 and 500 kills.

[Molve]

With all respect, let's avoid guesswork and speculation and instead wait for an official reply.

(This being the linkied thread for common questions and all)

I'll edit my post to remove the 5b part, though, since you are all in agreement it's "three heroes per unit". Thanks.

If you're curious, this is what I deleted:
5b. If the first, this would mean that once you have three heroes the chance drops to 0.00% of getting more. Does this change if a hero dies? (that is, his unit is completely destroyed) Or can you get a fourth (fifth etc) hero provided the earlier ones go and get themselves killed?

[Akaoz]

Would be nice to have a developer comment on te questions raised by Molve... :-p

[CrimsonStorm]

AA can get +1 range as well I believe, but it only affects the AA, so an 88 can't become a range 2 AT

[4kEY]

I got a range increase for an 88, and it boosted AT mode too, but only because my 88s have range 2 for AT mode.

Having an 88 AT gun with range 3 feels like cheating, but it is awesome.

I save frequently and will replay certain moves until I get the bonus I want. Is there any way to choose/change what bonuses you have? The code for the savecore doesn't make any sense, but I think the answer is there. Reloading does become tedious if the dice are against me.

[verstaubtgesicht]

As the modifiers do not show up in the unit stats, how does one track which unit has which extra capabilities? Write it down when the hero is awarded, and keep it on a piece of paper? Does not sound too efficient...

[Victor_K]

You can also change the unit name, click on the unit, then Alt (N). Some folks put a reminder in the name, ie. A1 for attack 1; D3 for defense 3 etc.

[case23]

+1 vote for hero bonuses showing up in the stats. Making them a different color to indicate this is the case would be great.

[Anfield]

+1 vote for hero bonuses showing up in the stats. Making them a different color to indicate this is the case would be great.

Ill second that, was one thing I was hoping the new updates would do. Its a major pain to keep having to check each unit. And I dont want to write it in the name box, thats where I name my units to keep them organized lol

[2010sjones2010]

If you go to the right of the screen you will see your unit listings. When deploying your forces just hover your mouse over the the little German heads on each unit and it will tell you what the hero status is. Whilst playing just bring up "toggle unit list" , click on the unit on the battlefield and it will be highlighted in the toggle list at the bottom and then hover your mouse over the German head again to get the units hero status. Once you are used to doing this it can be done very quickly and is extremely useful.

[dumbttt]

Would be nice to have an easier way of accessing hero info though. For example, I know one of my 5 BF 109s have +5 attack, I usually want him to take out the best enemy fighters. Would save me a lot of time if I can easily locate him. I personally rarely use the unit info window on the right hand side just above the buttons (tend to rely on low fuel/anmo warnings). If it were up to me, I would put the hero info there, either replacing or add to what's already there.

Would also be nice if they can implement dual monitor support, so we have one monitor dedicated to the tactical map, while the other monitor shows things like hero info and buttons.

[captainjack]

Hi Dumbttt,

If I have a unit with a significant hero (sometimes +2 and always +3) I rename it using (alt + N). Usually I'm pretty unimaginative eg +3i for initiative, +3A for attack, +3D for defence, LR for extra range, "fast" for + 1 speed or "spotty" for extra spotting. Spotting heroes can be rubbish [eg for artillery] but Kradschutzen or recon with +1 spotting, or a Panzer IVG with +2 spotting can be quite good. The system works for several more than one hero (+6A) and is OK for two or three different heroes (eg +3A +3D Fast). It's a bit cumbersome for some of the multi-hero units in the West series, but these hero units are often distinctive anyway.

If you want to use a bit more imagination than I do or have good historical information you could use more interesting semi-historical unit names to remind you of the bonus.

Captainjack

[soldier]

It takes too many mouse clicks and messing around to find out where certain heroes are especially later in the campaign.
I don't even bother looking for them anymore (except at deployment) and just play on as if they don't exist.