FiringSquad: The new Hero system is a big addition to Nightfall. How hard was it to make the Heroes more than just more powerful AI henchman?

Gaile Gray: Heroes open up the game in ways that just haven't been possible with Henchmen. Don't get me wrong, I love the Henchmen System, and I've done a lot of playing using Henchies. But Heroes are so much more than simply upgraded Henchmen. With Heroes, you're able to form a party of substance, and if you want to solo or play with just a friend or two, your chance of success is greatly increased by the abilities granted through the system. You can bring up to three of your own Heroes in a party at any time; you can eventually acquire a "stable" of about a dozen Heroes, all of them different. Major elements within the Hero System allow a high level of customization, including: The ability to give Heroes different items, to select the skills they use (and to acquire new ones for them), to set and reset their attributes, to help them level up, and to change their secondary profession on the fly. Just that-the ability to turn your Hero from a Dervish/Ranger to a Dervish/Necromancer or a Dervish/Warrior-is huge! Add in the fact that you can give commands to each Hero individually-you can order one to be defensive, another to be offensive, you can position them to take point or to head in another direction altogether-and it is clear that your ability to build and command a battle party of substance and power has never been better, in either PvE or PvP!