You shouldn't turn your Atlantean Citizen into a Hero, even if Age of Mythology: Retold tells you it's an upgrade

While the Atlantean Major Gods are not the best ones to play with in Age of Mythology: Retold, this pantheon has probably the best work unit in the whole game, the Citizen, which can be converted into a Hero, as almost all Atlantean units.

Why is the Citizen the best work unit in the game?

First and foremost, they’re independent, meaning they won’t need to bring the resources to a drop site, as the other resource gatherers need to. This makes them versatile, as you can easily protect them from threats while not worrying about building drop sites wherever resources are.

Secondly, they build much faster than the other work units. You can quickly build an entire base with one Citizen in just a few minutes without compromising all of them to do the job.

Thirdly, as we mentioned earlier, in Age of Mythology: Retold, the Atlantean Citizen can be turned into a Hero, an ability that makes it resistant to myth units’ attacks, allows it to work faster, and enables it to benefit from all of the heroes-focused technology advancements and capabilities.

But should you do it? Should you turn every Atlantean Citizen into a Hero every time you play a match with this pantheon in Age of Mythology: Retold? Let’s weigh in:

Turning the Atlantean Citizen into a Hero in Age of Mythology: Retold: Pro and Cons

Pro

1. Armory advancements
   • +10% attack, -15% hack vulnerability, and -15% pierce vulnerability.
2. Myth Technologies
   • Hyperion’s Heroic Renewal will allow the Hero Citizen to regenerate hitpoints.
3. Major God benefits
   • Choosing Oranos as your Major God will make your Citizen Hero faster by 10%.
4. Relics
   • The Hero Citizen can carry Relics and benefit from their bonuses as a hero unit.
5. Resistance against Myth Units
   • As a hero unit, the Hero Citizen will be better equipped to deal with myth units and have resistance against them.

Cons

1. Too expensive in the early game
   • Hero Citizens could make a big difference and even turn the tide of a match if used right from the start. Unfortunately, turning them into heroes costs 65 food, 10 wood, and 2 favors/each, which is too much right at the beginning when you must focus on protection and the military.
   • The regular Citizen already costs 85 food and 15 wood/each; in total, that would be 150 food, 25 wood, 2 population spaces, and 2 favors/each.
2. Only a 10% increase in gathering resources
   • Even though they’re faster and stronger compared to a regular Citizen, the Hero Citizen only gathers resources 10% faster, so it’s not that much compared to the price you have to pay to upgrade them.
3. Only good in long-term matches
   • Hero Citizens are best when your base is established, and you must focus on maintaining your military and research advancements. In the early game, they’re too expensive to be considered.
4. They cost favor
   • This is also a point to be considered, considering Atlantean Oracles, the ones that generate favor, can be easily killed by enemies, and favor can be scarce for this Pantheon.
5. It takes time to turn them into heroes
   • If the original Age of Mythology (which can be purchased from here, by the way), turning Atlantean units into heroes would be instant, in Age of Mythology: Retold, you have to wait a few seconds, which is a matter of life and death when myth units attack your citizens, and you need to turn them into heroes quick.

With this being said, while the Citizen Hero is a good upgrade when playing Atlantean in Age of Mythology Retold, it’s not always the best or proper thing to do right from the start. Consider this option when your base is already established and you’ve researched enough advancements heroes can benefit from. That’s when these units shine.

What do you think? Should we upgrade the Citizen to Hero every time we play as Atlantean in Age of Mythology: Retold? Let us know. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this.