RTS Games with RPG elements

so i am looking for real time strategy games with role playing elements ... like leveling up and gaining xp and this kinds of stuff .. a good example of what i mean is age of the empires 3 .. and starcraft 2 (but unfortunatly it's rpg element is for the campaign only and not present in multiplayer ) .. so any suggestions ? i hear warhammer 40k dawn of war ii is good and have those elements .. but does exist in multiplayer as well or just the campaign ? thanks in advance

I don't think leveling up is a big deal in RTS games. But, units in C&C3: Tiberian Wars do level up. Their hitting power and ability to absorb damage increase as well as gaining the ability to self-heal.

Look at the Spellforce games.

Do you wanna know why they gimp or outright axe the RPG Elements in PvP Multiplayer modes ?

@JamesJoule: If you're fine with old games then Warcraft 3 is pretty big on the RPG elements. In both the campaign and skirmish mode you have hero units that can level up, learn new abilities and collect loot from around the map to make themselves more powerful. I don't know what the online community is like though and if that's where your interest lies it might be too late.

Edit: Dawn of war 2 does carry over some RPG elements to skirmish mode. All units (except maybe vehicles, can't remember) gain experience and level up for better stats but no other changes. Hero units can purchase equipment to change stats and abilities. I recently started playing this game and there are still a few people online though it can sometimes be hard to find a match.

Warcraft 3 is the obvious choice

This. SpellForce 1 & 2 are fantastic games. The third one is finally coming out this year.

yeah i watched some reviews and they look awesome

I've heard good things about KIng Arthur games.

for balance i guess

for balance i guess

Look towards Warcraft 3, Spellforce 2, Dawn Of War 2 campaign (MP is more conquest/control RTS) and Majesty 2.

Are you willing to give Turn Based Strategy games a chance? because there are plenty of amazing Strategy RPG hybrids available across multiple platform within different subgenres.

MOBAs have short-term match-long RPG elements in them. It allows for comebacks, strategies and it opens up vulnerabilities/weaknesses in certain compositions to exploit or plan around. Obviously persistent account-wide RPG elements in PvP is either bad or intentionally unfair.

@JamesJoule:

Exactly ;)

@illmatic87:

How short is short term ? Like an 8 minute session ?

oh yes i also love turn based .. but the good rts ones are really hard to find

Warcraft 3 and Dawn of War 2. There are semi RPG elements in Company of Heroes as well (Skill tree that unlocks special abilities and supporting units during battle)

A game going that short is rare (maybe impossible because the win conditions are gated) and there are plenty of opportunities to catch up (eg. a team killing an opponent that's currently the highest level in a match is a HUGE momentum swing) so it's not common for a team to call a match a loss. Depending on the game (DotA 2/LoL/Smite have different pacing), a match can last up to an hour.

@illmatic87:

Sweet..... altgough its not for me.....

How has nobody mentioned the Warlords Battlecry series? Sure, they're a bit old...but the RPG aspects were much better than Warcraft 3 back in the day.

Basically, it was a standard fantasy RTS game (with something like 12-16 unique races in the later games), but the hook was that you would create a hero and level them up/gain loot/conquer places/recruit levelled up units persistently across all of your battles. Heroes could build, cast a ton of different spells, convert resources and enemy buildings, go on quests, improve morale of nearby troops...they were a huge part of the battle.

My personal favourite hero type was a Minotaur Assassin. There was nothing quite like dashing around the map with one of the strongest warriors in the game, plus a chance to instantly kill with every hit.

Are you interested in MOBAs? Not all RTS players like them, but they certainly have XP and leveling.

BTW, I completely understand the appeal of an RTS with leveling elements. I'm working on a pet project making an RTS game in Unity, and I hope to be able to put in a feature where units can level to gain new abilities.

the would be amazing .. my dream game is a unique mix of rts with deep rpg this subgenre is amazing .. so good luck with your project ... about mobas i do like torchlight 2 and diablo 3 and path of exile .. but other mobas like dota 2 and league of legends are a turnoff because u dont play as one character u just choose a hero every time so that's a turnoff for me

Dawn of war! Wish they made more games like it!