How Heroes Wor

As you advance through the game's storyline, you'll have opportunities to recruit adventurers (controlled by other players) and henchmen (computer-controlled allies). These alliances are temporary, usually long enough for you to finish a few quests or missions. 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.) Your character can be allied with multiple Heroes. You can add a Hero to your party whenever you're in a town or outpost. When you do, the Hero's level does not depend on the location you use to add that NPC.

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. Heroes in your party receive XP for quests and missions when you complete them.

Once you leave town, your Hero's actions are guided by the actions of the character who controls it. (When multiple players work together in a group, each player's character controls the Heroes working with that character.) 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.

Each Hero has a default set of skills, but you can change those skills while in a town or outpost. You can also change the Hero's secondary profession.

Heroes have a few elements that cannot change. During character creation, you must choose a name and primary profession for your character, but you cannot change the name or primary profession of a Hero. http://www.guildwars.com/gameplay/gwnfeatures/heros1.php