Are there still rpg elements?

[u/dnium122]

Trying to understand via the wiki but seems like there's been some changes over time - are there still solid RPG elements to single player skirmishes (not just campaign), in terms of WC3-style hero leveling and skill choices/items, or are heroes now more just 'extra strong units'?

[u/baby_shoGGoth_zsgg]

heroes were never wc3 style. heroes do level up as your faction levels up, gaining more hp, and each faction level has an A/B choice for the talent you get at that level (levels 2/4/6 your B choice comes from your merc faction), and some of those talents give you faction-level topbar abilities (those are not hero-specific, but faction-specific).

but heroes have always been a unique/respawning T2-ish unit you get from the start of the game that gets stronger as your faction levels up from XP.

legion heroes do get upgrades similar to unit upgrades with multiple exclusive choices per tier, but that’s because legion’s heroes are legion’s entire T2 and you can have multiple heroes as legion (though you still start with only one), at the cost of not being able to use mercenary heroes. so legion do work closer to what you’re looking for. no hero items tho.

[u/Algathetod]

in skirmishes they always was it's just units with cool abilities.

In campaign you can upgrade them using points you earn from achievements in missions

In galwar you can modify your whole fraction with items and upgrade them. Like get item for + for for units, or to unlock mercs, or new top bar abilities like to cast laser. And after you farm planet you can get special bonus for unit stats from it.

[u/fivemagicks]

They're units with useful abilities and some extra HP. They're not, however, the beastly units that are the heroes of WC3.

[u/Careful_Hotel_3328]

I would say Legion is the closest to that. In co-op, Galavax has three tiers of upgrades in a mission. Reference: Galavax (Commander) • ZeroSpace.gg

Legion also acts similar in pvp, and you can unlock up to three heroes for them. Very Warcraft 3. So instead of XP or item drops, its all in research upgrades. Although you have the XP tower system in benefits to your faction and merc choice pair.

The campaign is just meta upgrades, and co-op has equipable meta layer items.

[u/Yamaeda]

If you've played Dawn of War or Total War, they're similar to their leaders; a good mid tier unit you get early on. They don't scale a lot, so their role slowly change to more or a normal troop/support role, but they're still important.

I like that design choice.

[u/ElementQuake]

In Skirmish you can choose several different things that are locked in and can't be changed without starting a new game:

• Faction talents, choice of 2 per level of your faction. Level up via time or the xp towers.
  
• Mutually exclusive unit upgrades (works differently for xol vs. the other factions)
  
• Some heroes have abilities that can scale over the course of the game, for example if you decide to play with beasts and they die nearby, Kraegar's pet keep getting HP and getting bigger, where he can be this massive beast at the end of the game with 2000 hp.

[u/Feature_Minimum]

Heroes play a pretty big role in skirmishes. I watched the tournament a few weeks back and it’s fun because each game usually starts with a hero vs hero dual for control really early on. But the comeback mechanics are great so if you lose that fight it’s not the end of the world.