Hydra

Hydra is an Enemy in Dragon's Dogma.

Even the bravest man would surely gasp at the sight of the great serpent that is the Hydra. Black scales that cover its body seem to beckon ill luck and a body that stretches well over a hundred feet splits into four horrible heads.

Description
Those four heads each possess a mind of its own and will act independently. A single head alone can be a formidable enemy... one can easily imagine the threat that four can pose when they attack simultaneously.

The Hydra has great size and dreadful strength, but its intelligence matches its reptilian appearance. In the end, its destructive tendencies and various attacks are nothing more than base instinct.

The Hydra possesses a horrifying power that regenerates its heads when they are cut off. Searing the stumps with Fire delays regeneration. The quickest way to defeat a Hydra is by using a powder barrel; when thrown at the right moment, one of the Hydra's heads will swallow it and then shooting or striking the bulging throat will trigger an explosion. If done correctly, the head that swallowed the barrel will both take massive damage from the explosion and cauterize the wound to prevent regeneration.

By cutting off all four heads of the Hydra before each can regenerate, the Hydra’s body will collapse, becoming immobile and highly vulnerable. During this time, adventurers should take advantage of its collapse as the Hydra will take more damage from any attack on its neck stumps, making it an easy kill. However, it will regenerate at a high speed in this state, so one should inflict as much damage as possible.

The Hydra faced in the Encampment does not die when the Arisen takes its head in the early game; it flees. The Hydra can be fought later during the Post-Game in the Frontier Caverns as part of the quest "A Challenge". After the quest is complete the Frontier Caverns Hydra will respawn after three days like all boss monsters.

Tactics (Offensive)

 * Nearly impervious to Dark magic (High Maelstrom is almost completely ineffective).
 * Weak to Fire enchanted weapons (like Scalding Razors, Sapfire Daggers, Eden's Warden, and Dragon's Ire) and Fire-based spells like High Comestion and High Bolide.
 * Weak to edged weapons; swords & daggers can cut off its heads.
 * Immune to debilitations, except Tarred in oil and Lowered Defense (throw a Skull or use Sapfire Daggers).


 * After cutting off a head, setting the stump on fire will delay the regeneration of the head for the duration of the burn, making it much easier to behead all four.
 * Attacking a dead stump seems to inflict more damage than attacking the other heads. The Arisen can focus on ensuring one head stays dead by continually attacking one stump with a Fire enchanted weapon, and allow the pawns to attack the other heads.
 * After one of the heads initiates a "head butt" strike, it is susceptible to decapitation. Use a fast dash skill like Cutting Wind or Burst Strike to take advantage of this short vulnerability.


 * All melee vocations: Climb a head and slash away as close to the head as possible to decapitate each individual head.
 * CLIMBING TIPS: If possible, employ the augments Adhesion (for grip), Opportunism (+30% strength) and Arm-Strength (for stamina) with Gloves of Might (more grip and climbing speed) for best results.
 * Assassins: Follow the climbing tips above and employ Dire Gouge instead of Hundred/Thousand kisses.


 * Mages: High Comestion is the most effective spell against a Hydra. Or for fun, cast High/Grand Brontide or High/Grand Fulmination and wait for a head to eat you. This will interrupt the spell and unleash multiple tongues of lightning into the Hydra's mouth. This can effectively cut off the head that swallowed the Arisen. Even if it fails to cut off the head, the Arisen will be regurgitated.
 * Sorcerers: High Seism is one of the fastest ways to kill a Hydra (a single high level Seism can do the job). Find a safe elevated position to cast High Seism one to five times. The ideal casting range for High Seism is facing the Hydra, just outside its head's striking range. High Gicel or High Bolide can both cut off multiple heads. Cast High Fulmination or High Brontide and let the Hydra eat you; when the spell is interrupted, the discharge of Levin when it ends can cut the Hydra's head off and force your Arisen's regurgitation.

Tactics (Defensive)

 * The primary general defensive strategy in Dragon's Dogma is to first eliminate all lesser, distracting enemies before engaging the biggest threat. From the start, shoot down the flying creatures, sniper the magic users from afar, chase down the wolf packs, etc before tackling the huge behemoths. Pawns generally focus on the largest threat and get picked apart by the support enemies which distract or debilitate them. So even if the Arisen has to run all the way up and down the map to accomplish this objective, KILL THE SUPPORT ENEMIES FIRST, THEN TACKLE THE BIGGEST THREAT LAST.
 * Avoid the tail area. Striking the tail inflicts no damage, but tail whipping can inflict great harm to the Arisen.
 * Using multi-strike attacks (like Great Windmill or Thousand Kisses) on the neck area (while standing on the ground) with a Holy enchanted weapon (like Ascalon or Heaven's Key) will incrementally heal the Arisen.

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge
Hydra Specific Techniques Common tactics
 * Hydra Tactics
 * Hydra Strategy Vol. 1 - advises using a sword to sever the heads.
 * Hydra Strategy Vol. 2 - suggests searing the stump (using Fire attacks) to prevent regrowth of a severed head

Skill Witness

 * Players are able to throw an explosive barrel in the Hydra's mouth and then shoot the barrel with an arrow. Doing this will "cut" off the head and grant Bestiary Knowledge on both Hydras and Archydras. If the pawn has this knowledge, in the future he/she would say "shoot the bulge in the neck" if the Hydra swallows an explosive barrel.


 * To illustrate, after sufficient attacks (lightning is especially useful), a Hydra's head can be stunned, with its head swaying slightly above the ground and its mouth opening for about 15 seconds. During this moment, grab an explosive barrel, walk close to the head, and use the throw command to throw it towards the opened mouth. The head will immediately swallow it, bulging the throat as the barrel moves down slowly along the neck for about 90 seconds. During this time, attacking the bulge with an arrow will explode the barrel, tearing off the head and sealing the wound with flame.


 * The easiest and fastest way is to do it in The Encampment Hydra encountered at the beginning of the game. Be sure to choose a vocation that can shoot arrows (Strider or Ranger).
 * When the Arisen reaches The Encampment, remove weapons from Pawns (or release them in the Rift Stone) so they are less likely to "cut" a head off and complete the quest. DO NOT ATTACK THE HYDRA ! Once enough time has passed, a quick cutscene will start where Mercedes throws an explosive barrel to the Arisen who will automatically toss it towards the Hydra. After the cutscene, the Arisen will need to shoot the barrel in the Hydra's neck.
 * Beware that the game will auto-save after a head is cut off and the cutscene finishes (where Mercedes praises the Arisen and suggests taking the Hydra head to the Duke). So if a head is accidentally cut off (a Level 200 pawn can climb and punch off the head barehanded), exit and reload the game BEFORE the cutscene completes, as the auto-save is a "hard" checkpoint save and not a regular savegame.
 * Witnessing at least 2 to 3 times is required, however this event can be repeated quickly by difficulty switching, (selecting Hard Mode will only restart the player's progress, not the save file itself) but is much easier than throwing the barrels manually. When shooting the neck, be sure to use the Come! command (Down on the D-pad), to ensure pawns are close enough to witness the event and gain the bestiary knowledge.


 * In addition to witnessing these techniques, it is necessary for the Pawn to participate in killing at least 7 Hydras for the 3rd Star on Bestiary Knowledge. However, the common strategies and skill witness can be done on both Hydras and Archydras.

Trivia

 * Once the head is severed, holding true to typical Greek myths, the Hydra's heads can in fact respawn. To delay the rate at which it regrows its heads, fire magic can be used on the stump. This is also reminiscent of Greek mythology that fire was said to stunt the regrowth of its heads. Luckily, the Hydra in Dragon's Dogma does not grow multiple heads once one is severed as stated in some tales.
 * It takes 1 minute and 40 seconds for the Hydra to slide a swallowed Arisen or pawn to its main body. Also, the swallowed Arisen or pawn will go through five stages before he or she reaches the Hydra's main body.
 * It is worth noting that the Hydra encounter in the Encampment will attempt to swallow the soldiers there, who will not be able to free themselves like an Arisen or pawn being swallowed while affected by poison. The swallowed soldier will quickly slide down the Hydra's throat. The Hydra in the Frontier Caverns will also attempt to swallow the Goblins there. Unlike the soldiers in the Encampment, the Goblins have the chance to free themselves, but they will always fail. The swallowed Goblin will disappear immediately after the Hydra swallows it instead of sliding through its throat.

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