Difference between revisions of "Hydra"

Revision as of 23:11, 8 March 2012

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

Hydra in action.

Hydra is an Arcane Wizard skill unlocked at Level 20, summoning a hydra that attacks enemies with bolts of fire.

Background

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.

Skillrune Effects

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

<skill class="Wizard">Hydra</skill>

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 have done to Hydra. More than 3 heads per cast? Plus, Greek Mythology fans could geek out. Especially if they named their character Learnean.

Hydra with Runestones.

Synergies

Hydra benefits from the following Wizard passives

Skill	Unlocked	Description

{{{icon}}}

[[{{{name}}}]]

16

{{{desc}}}

{{{icon}}}

[[{{{name}}}]]

34

{{{desc}}}

{{{icon}}}

[[{{{name}}}]]
See:
Signature spell

55

{{{desc}}}

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. When the skill system was once again overhauled for the Beta Patch 13 in February 2012, Hydra was classified as an Arcane skill and moved to level 20.

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 at killing 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
Silva's Wizard Runestone Effects -- IncGamers 5th Sep 2011
Wizard Active Skills -- Diablo III 12th Sep 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 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[File:IconHydra.png|left]]
-'''Hydra''' is an Offensive [[Wizard skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|Level]] 19, summoning a hydra that attacks enemies with bolts of fire.
+[[File:Hydra-arena2.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Hydra in action.]]
+'''Hydra''' is an Arcane [[Wizard skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|Level]] 20, summoning a hydra that attacks enemies with bolts of fire.
 <br><br><br>__TOC__
 ==Background==
-[[File:Hydra-arena2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Hydra in action]]
 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==
+==Skillrune 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.
+The following is a very quick summary. See the [[Hydra rune effects]] page for a more thorough description of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.
-{{Active skills header}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Hydra</skill>
-{{Wizard Skill Hydra}}
-{{Wizard Skillrune Arcane Hydra}}
-{{Wizard Skillrune Frost Hydra}}
-{{Wizard Skillrune Brimstone Serpent}}
-{{Wizard Skillrune Lightning Hydra}}
-{{Wizard Skillrune Venom Hydra}}
-{{center|Note: Information is based on a level 60 character and rank 7 runestones.}}
@@ Line 26: / Line 19: @@
 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 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].
+It's interesting to contemplate what the [[Hydra Rune|Hydra (multi-strike) rune]] would have done 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].
 [[File:Runes-hydra-all.jpg|thumb|center|400px|[[Hydra]] with [[Runestones]].]]
@@ Line 46: / Line 39: @@
 <blockquote>''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.</blockquote>
-Skill tiers were removed for the [[July 2011 Press Event]], and Hydra became a level 19 skill.
+Skill tiers were removed for the [[July 2011 Press Event]], and Hydra became a level 19 skill. When the skill system was once again overhauled for the [[Beta Patch 13]] in February 2012, Hydra was classified as an Arcane skill and moved to level 20.
@@ Line 55: / Line 48: @@
 ===In Other Games===
-The hydra spell was originally seen in [[Diablo I]], then called {{iw|D1_Spellbooks#Guardian 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.
+The hydra spell was originally seen in [[Diablo I]], then called {{iw|D1_Spellbooks#Guardian 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 at killing anything with.
 In [[Diablo II]], they were turned into flaming heads, and got the name {{iw|Hydra 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]].

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

Difference between revisions of "Hydra"

Revision as of 23:11, 8 March 2012

Contents

Background

Skillrune Effects

Skill Design

Synergies

Development

Previous Versions

In Other Games

Trivia

Media

References