Hydra Clan Boss: Getting Started
Hydra Clan Boss can be quite daunting for much of the player base. To help you tackle one of the toughest bosses in the game, let’s delve into stats, champions, gear, and strategies.
Where to start?
It’s important to note that Hydra Clan Boss unlocks quite early for players. However, just because it’s unlocked doesn’t mean your account is ready to handle the content. Unless you have an “end-game” account, it’s advisable to start from the bottom and work your way up. Begin with the easier levels to become familiar with Hydra’s mechanics and determine which champions are best suited for the task.
What stats do I need?
Determining the speed, accuracy, and resistance is fortunately straightforward with the help of HellHades.com’s Stages Tool. Each difficulty requires different stats. Keep in mind that the affinities of the heads change depending on the rotation.
For example, in Normal Hydra, the fastest head has a speed of 210. Therefore, your champions should have a speed of 211 or higher. The highest resistance required is 140, which means your accuracy should be at least 215 to land debuffs (165 as shown in yellow, plus 50 if the Head of Suffering is present). The highest accuracy needed is 250, so if you want to prevent your buffs from being stolen by the Head of Mischief, your champions should have 355 resistance. Therefore, we build “Mischief Tanks/Targets” – only one champion needs to have such high resistance. Alternatively, you can try to apply Decreased Accuracy debuffs to all heads, reducing the resistance requirements for your team.
What Champions should I use?
Ultimately, your goal is to cover all bases and have champions who can fulfil multiple roles. The best champions for Hydra are those who bring a wide range of useful skills to the table. While many champions can excel in Hydra, some notable MVPs include:
Uugo: She brings Block Buffs debuffs, Decrease DEF, Leech, cleanses, heals, and even has a conditional revive. Equipping her with a Reflex or Relentless set can help maintain Block Buffs consistently.
Krisk the Ageless: His AoE A1 applies Decrease SPD buffs, and his A2 enhances survivability with Ally Protection buffs and Continuous Heal buffs on himself. His A3 brings Provoke to handle the Head of Decay, along with Increase DEF on himself and Increase SPD on all allies. Krisk also has a chance to apply Decrease DEF and Decrease ATK debuffs to attackers when hit. His self-buffing abilities make him an excellent choice as a mischief target.
Nekmo Thaar: Like Krisk, Nekmo applies Decrease SPD debuffs and Increase SPD buffs. Having both in one kit is incredibly helpful. He also delivers AoE attacks with Decrease ATK and Leech debuffs. His passive skill, which fills his Turn Meter by 5% whenever a debuff on an enemy is removed, transferred, or expires, helps keep him in action.
Vital Skills:
Hydra requires a bit of everything. Increase SPD buffs, Turn Meter manipulation, and Decrease SPD debuffs can help you meet the speed requirements or allow your champions to take multiple turns per round. Decrease DEF, Weaken, and Hex debuffs to enable your champions to deal more damage to the enemy. HP Burn is effective at lower Hydra difficulty levels and helps combat the Poison Cloud from the Head of Blight if you lack Block Buffs in your team. Provoke is highly valuable for handling the Head of Decay. Decrease ATK debuffs, Shields, Increase DEF, Revive on Death, and Strengthen buffs to aid in withstanding hard hits, particularly from the Head of Wrath. Healing, Cleansing, and Reviving are necessary at all levels. And of course, you need champions who can deal significant damage. Champions with skills based on the enemy’s maximum HP, like Husk and Royal Guard, excel in this area.
Hydra Strategies:
There are two main strategies:
(1) Focus on lower difficulty levels of Hydra and only combat four heads, hoping the others don’t appear.
(2) Prepare to deal with all six heads.
The first strategy can work in the early stages, but it heavily relies on RNG. If an unprepared head emerges, you’ll likely need to restart and hope for better luck next time. This strategy is not recommended because it’s one of the main reasons players complain about Hydra: excessive RNG. However, if you plan for all six heads to appear, you can avoid the RNG frustration. This doesn’t mean you have to follow every rule, such as having a Mischief Target or a Provoker for the Head of Decay. You can get creative and indirectly address these challenges. For example, your team might comprise Uugo for Block Buffs along with a champion who extends debuffs. Alternatively, if you lack a proper way to handle the Head of Torment, such as Perfect Veil or Inquisitor Shamel, you can focus on burning it to death using HP Burn and employ a cleanser to deal with fears as they arise. Look closely at the champion kits commonly used in Hydra comps by others, and you’ll see that a strong skill set is key.
Now that you have allowed all that to sink in, you’re already on the right path to gaining a better understanding of Hydra. Practice makes perfect! Find the best synergies within your team to make Hydra battles easier and enjoyable. Yes, I said enjoyable—let’s make Hydra fun! It all in the struggle, once you find that golden goose of a team you will never look back!!!