Getting Started With Hydra Clan Boss

Hydra seems a bit overwhelming for a large bit of the player base. Let’s take a moment to talk stats, champions, gear, and strategy so you can get started tackling one of the toughest bosses in the game.

Where to Start?!

It should be noted that Hydra Clan Boss unlocks for players way too early. Just because it’s unlocked for you, doesn’t mean your account will be ready to handle the content. Unless you know your account is very “end-game”, it’s probably best to start from the bottom and work up. Get familiar with the way hydra works and which of your champions are best for it by starting with the easiest levels and improving over time. You’ll want to be familiar with the mechanics of the heads so you know how best to combat them. Be sure to check out our guides on each head first:

• Head of Blight
• Head of Suffering
• Head of Wrath
• Head of Decay
• Head of Torment
• Head of Mischief

What Stats Do I Need?

Figuring out how fast you need to be as well as how much accuracy and resistance to have is luckily very simple thanks to our Stages Tool. Every difficulty requires different stats. Keep in mind the affinities of the heads also change depending on Rotation; this is also shown on the Stages Tool.

For example, in Normal Hydra, the fastest head is 210 speed so your champions should be 211 or more. Of all the heads, the highest Resistance is 140 which means you should have at least 215 Accuracy to land your debuffs (165 as shown in yellow + 50 if the head of Suffering is out). The highest accuracy is 250, so if you want to avoid getting your buffs stolen from the Head of Mischief, your champions need 355 Resistance. This is why we build “Mischief Tanks/Targets” – Only 1 champion has to have that high of Resistance. You can also try to make sure Decreased ACC debuffs are landed on all heads to lower the resistance needs for your team.

Which Champions Should I Use?

At the end of the day, it’s about covering all of your bases and having champions that can fulfill more than one role. The best champion for hydra is the ones that bring many helpful skills to the table. There are so many champions that can be great for hydra but some MVP’s of hydra because of this include:

Uugo – Not only does she bring Block Buffs debuffs but she also brings Decrease DEF, Leech, cleanses, heals and even has a conditional revive. She is particularly strong in a Reflex or Relentless set to help keep Block Buffs up all of the time.

Krisk the Ageless – His A1 brings Decrease SPD buffs on an AoE. His A2 helps with survivability bringing Ally Protection buffs and 2 Continuous Heal buffs on himself. His A3 brings Provoke so can help with dealing with the Head of Decay, Increase DEF buff on himself and Increase SPD buff on all allies. He also has chances to place Decrease DEF and Decrease ATK debuffs on the attacker when hit. With the self-buffing he does, he’s also great to make as a mischief target.

Nekmo Thaar – Like Krisk, Nekmo brings Decrease SPD debuffs and Increase SPD buffs. Both in the same kit are incredibly helpful. He also brings AoE attacks with Decrease ATK and Leech debuffs. His passive is great to keep him going often as it fills his Turn Meter by 5% each time a debuff on an enemy is removed, transferred, or expires.

It should also be noted that you can use our Team Optimizer tool and Suggest Team feature to see what teams other players have had success with based on the champions you already have if you’re logged in with the Optimizer. Here’s an example of a pull for Hard Hydra:

Okay then, which skills am I looking for?

Hydra is an area of the game where you need a little bit of well… almost everything. Increase SPD buffs, Turn Meter fills, and Decrease SPD debuffs can help to make sure you hit the speed requirements of hydra or allow your champions to go multiple times per round. Decrease DEF, Weaken and Hex debuffs allow your champions to do more damage to the enemy. HP Burn does great damage on lower hydra difficulty levels and, at all levels, helps you combat the Poison Cloud from Head of Blight if you don’t have Block Buffs in the team. Provoke is a high priority for dealing with the Head of Decay. Decrease ATK debuffs as well as Shields, Increase DEF, Revive on Death, and Strengthen buffs can help you withstand the hard hits, especially from the Head of Wrath. Healing, Cleansing and Reviving are also necessary at all levels. And at the end of the day…. DAMAGE. You need to have at least 1 champion that can hit hard and help get out devoured champions + do solid damage to the heads. Enemy Max HP champions like Husk & Royal Guard really shine here.

It’s too much! So… what’s the Strategy?

There are really 2 ways to look at it:

(1) Hit low difficulty levels of hydra and only worry about combating 4 heads, hoping the others don’t pop up and

(2) be prepared to deal with ALL 6 heads.

The first strategy can get you by early on, but you’ll be dealing with RNG. If a head you’re not ready pops up, you’ll probably need to restart, try again, and hope for better luck next time. This strategy I do not suggest because it’s the main reason players complain about hydra: Too much RNG. It only is about RNG if you make it about RNG. It’s much better to plan for all 6 heads to pop up. This doesn’t mean you MUST follow every “rule” and have things like a Mischief Target or a Provoker for Head of Decay. You can get creative and indirectly deal with these things. For example, your team might have Uugo for Block Buffs plus a champion that Extends Debuffs. Or maybe you have no proper way to deal with the Head of Torment (Perfect Veil or Inquisitor Shamel) – instead, you can try to burn it to death (literally, HP Burn FTW!) and use a cleanser to handle the fears as they come and hit only with the big AoE smashes. Look at the kits of the champions you see most in Hydra comps by others and you’ll see the key is a strong skill set.

You’re already on the right path if you’re reading this to get a greater understanding. Practice makes perfect! Figure out your best team synergies to make it easy and make hydra fun! (Yes, I said it… FUN!)