Hydra

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

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

Background

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

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.

Icon	Skill	Description

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[[{{{name}}}]] Force

21

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Arcane Hydra

[e] Summon Arcane Hydras that spit Arcane Orbs which explode on impact causing 48% weapon damage as Arcane to enemies near the explosion.

Frost Hydra

[e] Summon Frost Hydras that breathe a short range cone of frost causing 64% weapon damage per second as Cold to all enemies in the cone.

Brimstone Serpent

[e] Summon one Mammoth Hydra that breathes a wall of flame at nearby enemies dealing 82% weapon damage per second as Fire to enemies caught in the burning ground.

Lightning Hydra

[e] Summon Lightning Hydras that shock enemies for 88% weapon damage as Lightning.

Venom Hydra

[e] Summon Poison Breathing Hydras that leave a pool of acid causing 32% weapon damage per second as Poison to enemies who remain in the pool.

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.

Hydra with Runestones.

Synergies

Hydra benefits from the following Wizard passives

Skill	Unlocked	Description

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[[{{{name}}}]]

16

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[[{{{name}}}]]

34

{{{desc}}}

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[[{{{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.

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:

• Gameplay: Blizzcon 2010 (in the Arena)
• Video: August 2011 Wizard Skill Animations

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

• Diablo III screenshots and pictures
• Hydra specific gallery contents

• 

  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