Difference between revisions of "Hydra"

Revision as of 19:39, 13 September 2011

"Project Hydra" was the codename for the Diablo III project and team before the announcement at WWI 2008.

Hydra is a Wizard skill unlocked at Level 19, summoning a hydra that attacks enemies with bolts of fire.

Background

Diablo III Active Skill [e]

Hydra
Used by:	Wizard
Enabled at:	Clvl 19
Skill Description
Summon a multi-headed Hydra for 9 seconds that attacks enemies with bolts of fire dealing 5 - 6 Fire damage per attack. Cost: 70 Arcane Power
Type:	Direct Damage/DoT
Resource Use:	Costs Arcane Power
Skill Rune Effects
Alabaster rune:	Arcane Hydra
Crimson rune:	Cold Hydra
Golden rune:	Adds fire walls
Indigo rune:	Lightning Hydra
Obsidian rune:	Acid Hydra

Among the many secrets of the Ancient Repositories, the Wizard found the Hydra spell to call forth a ward to dispatch of enemies from multiple directions.

Skill Effects

The following is a very quick list. See the Hydra rune effects page for a more thorough summary of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.

Skill		Effect
Hydra (Level 19)		Summon a multi-headed Hydra for 9 seconds that attacks enemies with bolts of fire dealing 18 - 22 Fire damage per attack. Cost: 60 Arcane Power
	Frost Hydra	Summon Frost Hydras that breathe a short range cone of frost causing 30 - 35 Cold damage to all enemies in the cone.
	Lightning Hydra	Summon Lightning Hydras that shock enemies for 41 - 48 Lightning damage.
	Venom Hydra	Summon Poison Breathing Hydras that leave a pool of acid causing 15 - 18 Poison damage per second to enemies who remain in the pool.
	Brimstone Serpent	Summon one Mammoth Hydra that breathes a wall of flame at nearby enemies dealing 38 - 45 Fire damage per second to enemies caught in the burning ground.
	Arcane Hydra	Summon Arcane Hydras that spit Arcane Orbs which explode on impact causing 22 - 26 Arcane damage to enemies near the explosion.

Note: Information is based on a level 60 character and rank 7 runestones.

Skill Design

This was too high level to use at BlizzCon 2009, though players sorely wanted to try it out and see the improvements from Diablo I. Graphical, if nothing else.

It's interesting to contemplate what the Hydra (multi-strike) rune would do to Hydra. More than 3 heads per cast? Plus, Greek Mythology fans could geek out. Especially if they named their character Learnean.

Synergies

No synergies with any of the passive skills are yet known.

Skill Rune Effects

Hydra with Runestones.

A revamped skill rune system was unveiled at BlizzCon 2010. Full rune effects for three skills were listed in the Gameplay Panel: Weapon Throw, Hydra, and Plague of Toads. The Hydra rune effects are:

Alabaster rune: Creates an Arcane Hydra which shoots bolts of Arcane power.
Crimson rune: Creates a Cold Hydra which shoots chilling bolts that damage and freeze enemies.
Golden rune: Turns the Hydra into one giant head that breathes fire walls.
Indigo rune: Creates a Lightning Hydra which shoots chain lightning at monsters.
Obsidian rune: Creates an Acid Hydra which shoots poisonous bolts at monsters that melts them into piles of goo.

Development

Hydra in action. Un-runed. October 2010.

Hydra was first shown at BlizzCon 2009, where it was on the Conjuring Skill Tree at Tier IV. Unfortunately, it was too high level to select in the gameplay demo.

At BlizzCon 2010 it was shown in the gameplay panel and also in the PvP Arena. Flux discussed its viability:[1]

You could only have one Hydra active at a time, and it had a slow firing rate. Like Meteor, it was useful to stick these out there to let them ping away, hoping the damage would add up over time. They were very commonly used near the end of rounds, when one or two characters were chasing one on the other team. Most Wizards would cast Hydras in the path of the fleeing enemy, knowing they’d get in a shot or two and help finish them off.

Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, and Hydra became a level 19 skill.

Previous Versions

See the Wizard skill archive for more details on previous versions of Hydra and other Wizard skills.
Or see Hydra (BlizzCon 2008) for the original version of this skill.

In Other Games

The hydra spell was originally seen in Diablo I, then called Guardian. The principle was that three heads were summoned from the ground, shooting firebolts at enemies for a limited time. They are more fun to cast than efficient to kill anything with.

In Diablo II, they were turned into flaming heads, and got the name Hydra. While not dealing damage to anyone near the flames, their firebolts are of more use, especially if concentrating the fire on single targets at a time, and alternating skills while waiting for the cooldown.

Trivia

Hydra was the codename for the Diablo III project and team before the announcement at WWI 2008.

Media

Hydra can be seen in action on video here:

You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:

Arcane and Original version comparison.
Hydra made Arcane by rune.
Hydra made Arcane by rune.

References

BlizzCon 2009 Full Wizard Skill Trees
BlizzCon 2010 PvP Hands-on Report
Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report -- IncGamers 1st Aug 2011

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer primary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer secondary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer corpses

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer bloodandbone

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer reanimation

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer curses

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 Among the many secrets of the [[Ancient Repositories]], the [[Wizard]] found the Hydra spell to call forth a ward to dispatch of enemies from multiple directions.
+==Skill Effects==
+The following is a very quick list. See the [[Hydra rune effects]] page for a more thorough summary of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.
+{{Active skill header}}
+</noinclude>
+{{Skill effects|Hydra|IconHydra.png|([[clvl|Level]] 19)|
+Summon a multi-headed Hydra for {{c_lime|9}} seconds that attacks enemies with bolts of fire dealing {{c_lime|18 - 22}} Fire damage per attack.<br>Cost: {{c_lime|60}} Arcane Power}}
+|-
+| width="40px" | [[image:IconCrimson.jpg|40px|link=Crimson]]
+| width="140px" | [[Frost Hydra]]
+| Summon Frost Hydras that breathe a short range cone of frost causing {{c_lime|30 - 35}} Cold damage to all enemies in the cone.
+|-
+| width="40px" | [[image:IconIndigo.jpg|40px|link=Indigo]]
+| [[Lightning Hydra]]
+| Summon Lightning Hydras that shock enemies for {{c_lime|41 - 48}} Lightning damage.
+|-
+| width="40px" | [[image:IconObsidian.jpg|40px|link=Obsidian]]
+| [[Venom Hydra]]
+| Summon Poison Breathing Hydras that leave a pool of acid causing {{c_lime|15 - 18}} Poison damage per second to enemies who remain in the pool.
+|-
+| width="40px" | [[image:IconGolden.jpg|40px|link=Golden]]
+| [[Brimstone Serpent]]
+| Summon one Mammoth Hydra that breathes a wall of flame at nearby enemies dealing {{c_lime|38 - 45}} Fire damage per second to enemies caught in the burning ground.
+|-
+| width="40px" | [[image:IconAlabaster.jpg|40px|link=Alabaster]]
+| [[Arcane Hydra]]
+| Summon Arcane Hydras that spit Arcane Orbs which explode on impact causing {{c_lime|22 - 26}} Arcane damage to enemies near the explosion.
+|-
+<noinclude>
+|}
+<p style="text-align:center">Note: Information is based on a level 60 character and rank 7 runestones.</p>
 ==Skill Design==
@@ Line 31: / Line 61: @@
 It's interesting to contemplate what the [[Hydra Rune|Hydra (multi-strike) rune]] would do to Hydra. More than 3 heads per cast? Plus, Greek Mythology fans could geek out. Especially if they named their character [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra Learnean].
-==Skill Rank Table==
-* '''Rank 1:''' Hydra deals 6-10 damage per attack.
 ==Synergies==

Fan-made Classes			Fan-made Skills [e]
• Alchemist • Arcane Warrior • Artisan • Aurian Mage • Bard • Channeller • Dragon Warrior	• Flagellant • Giant (U) • Hollow Man • Nomad • Onaga Manji • Phase Knight	• Ranger • Slayer (U) • Techpriest (U) • Telepath • Untainted (U) • Zealot	Dragon Warrior Skills • Bow and Throwing Skill Tree • Dragon Disciplines Skill Tree • Martial Arts Skill Tree	Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree	Aurian Mage Skill • Holy Power Skill Tree • Shadow Spells Skill Tree • Nature Forces Skill Tree
(U) = Unfinished				Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree