Hydra

Hydra
Unit information
Unit type	Myth unit
Introduced in	Age of Mythology
Civilization	Greeks
Age	Heroic Age
God	Dionysus
Trained at	Temple
Training time	20 seconds
Cost
Food	250
Favor	28
Population	5
Statistics
Hit points	800
Speed	4 feet/second
Line of Sight	16 feet
Range	1 feet
Attack
Hack	20
Pierce	-
Crush	10
Armor
Hack	60%
Pierce	40%
Crush	80%

The Hydra is a legendary many-headed reptilian monster. In Age of Mythology, it is a Heroic Age Greek myth unit available to worshipers of Dionysus.

Special ability

Extra Heads: the Hydra gains an extra head for every three units it kills. Each head adds 50% to its attack.

Attack bonuses

• Myth units: ×2
• Heroes: ×0.5

Upgrades

General

• Bacchanalia (Dionysus): increases hit points by 5%.
• Monstrous Rage (Hera): increases attack by 25%.

Strategy

Hydras attack by biting at adjacent enemies. Technically, their long necks enable them to attack at very short range, but this rarely makes a difference. Though Hydras have no special attack, they do gradually increase their attack proportionally to the number of kills (increasing by 3.33 each kill). Even though a fully grown Hydra has five heads, that doesn't mean they have a hack attack five times the attack of the original. The starting stat of the hack attack is 20 and it increases to a maximum of 60 (Hydras will have to make 12 kills to be fully developed). Animals killed by the Hydra count increase the attack as well, so one tactic is to set a Hydra on a pack of harmless animals in order to gain a full health, improved Hydra.

Kills	Base attack	Heads
0	20	1
1	23.3	1
2	26.6	1
3	30	2
4	33.3	2
5	36.6	2
6	40	3
7	43.3	3
8	46.6	3
9	50	4
10	53.3	4
11	56.6	4
12	60	5

The Hydra's attack also deals crush damage, making it good at destroying buildings. They are powerful in combat as they get even stronger with the number of opponents they kill. They also have a lot of armor and hit points so can last prolonged battles. They are strong against other myth units but like all myth units are countered by Heroes.

Mythology

Scientific name -- Hydra lernaea
Size -- 20,000+ lbs.
Diet -- carnivore, especially cattle and humans

Another of the fierce offspring of Echidna and Typhon, the Hydra was a large serpent with multiple heads and poisonous breath. Killing the Hydra near the city of Lerna in Argolis was the second of Heracles’ twelve tasks. Each time he cut off one of the Hydra’s heads, however, two more grew back. A nephew helped him by cauterizing each wound as a head was lopped off. The last head was immortal, so Heracles buried it under a large rock. Once the beast’s body was dead, Heracles dipped his arrowheads into its blood, giving them extra potency.

Biology

The Hydra in Age of Mythology seems to be a species of carnivorous sauropod or terrestrial plesiosaur instead of the more classical serpentine depictions/descriptions of the creature. The Hydra possesses a regeneration ability to not only regrow its head but also grow more heads in a similar albeit less impressive way to how some lizards can regrow their tail. Its long neck may be used for reaching into treetops, water, or caves for prey.

Trivia

• The Hydra was originally a naval myth unit, but it was split in 2 to create the naval Scylla and the terrestrial Hydra.
• The relation between Hydra and Scylla might be a reference to the uncommon misconception that Sauropods and Plesiosaurs are closely related.

Gallery

A Hydra in-game

A Hydra with maximum heads

Hydra concept art

3-headed Hydra bored animation

3-headed Hydra walk animation

Pre-released screenshot featuring a Hydra on the right

Hydra with maximum heads attacking a House.

Add a photo to this gallery