Hydra Splattling: Analysis and Thoughts

[aceofscarabs]

i find it utterly ridiculous that the hydra is not only outranged by the splatterscope, but also barely outranges the heavy. in my mind, i thought it was gonna have the second (well third if you count scoped E-Litre as a different weapon) longest range in the game. developers, if you ever have another balance patch, give it range that's somewhere between 92 and 95.

It's already better than all the non-scoped Chargers and just about enough to outrange the Jet Squelcher.

 

[Leronne]

It's already better than all the non-scoped Chargers and just about enough to outrange the Jet Squelcher.

but it's max range isn't very good either. that's the problem. it's optimal range to kill is about the same as the splat charger, which could still kill it faster.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

i find it utterly ridiculous that the hydra is not only outranged by the splatterscope, but also barely outranges the heavy. in my mind, i thought it was gonna have the second (well third if you count scoped E-Litre as a different weapon) longest range in the game. developers, if you ever have another balance patch, give it range that's somewhere between 92 and 95.

It does have the same range as the Splattercopes, which I showed in the previous page. So it does have the second longest range along with the Splatterscopes. Yea, it doesn't kill immediately, or even all that quickly, like the Scopes, but it has the advantage of constantly shooting ink for about 3 or 4 seconds or so giving you the ability to keep the opposing team away from whatever it is you're defending. I mean, yea more range would be nice, but it's more than enough range to be honest. It's an amazing defensive and supportive weapon.

 

[aceofscarabs]

This is a weapon for suppression, not for OHKO rampages.

 

[Hawk Seow]

Some anecdotal observations after more use in Turf Wars and rocking a full Power Armor set:

I think the weapon performs amazingly in Kelp Dome but relatively poorly in Moray Towers. Does anyone else also find it difficult in Moray Towers when there's at least one E-Liter on the other team?

To elaborate a bit, I find that there isn't really much turf to ink as a Hydra in that map and I found that sometimes the best option I had was to ink the central area from a safe spot for maybe 80% of the match. I really had to rely on my team mates to do any form of pushing (and when they don't the match is always lost).

Can't really outgun the E-Liter once it sits in the usual spot too and haven't found a reliable way to get to that perch. Will try again but I'm hoping to hear someone else's experience.

 

[Joseph Staleknight]

I haven't tried it, but considering the range differences I can imagine how hard it would be to beat that E-Liter.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

Some anecdotal observations after more use in Turf Wars and rocking a full Power Armor set:

I think the weapon performs amazingly in Kelp Dome but relatively poorly in Moray Towers. Does anyone else also find it difficult in Moray Towers when there's at least one E-Liter on the other team?

Absolutely. Lol, despite considering myself a Hydra main, if Moray Towers is in the rotation I'm picking the Eliter, though that may just be a personal habit of mine. If moray Towers is in the rotation, I pick ELiter xD

 

[Hawk Seow]

Absolutely. Lol, despite considering myself a Hydra main, if Moray Towers is in the rotation I'm picking the Eliter, though that may just be a personal habit of mine. If moray Towers is in the rotation, I pick ELiter xD

Heh, I'm a very stubborn player at times so I'll still be looking for ways with the Hydra vs E-Liters on that map. Althought when I really can't take it, I just switch to an L-3D and go hunting :D

 

[Hawk Seow]

Alright I've decided to link some of my match videos with the weapon in question.

Let me shed some light first though: I'm using motion controls at maximum sensitivity. The results herein aren't consistent across matches (level of opponents, synergy of teams, luck with latency etc.) but I hope it gives you guys some idea of how I approach the weapon. I can explain my thought process for most of my actions so go ahead and ask questions if you want. Most of all, feel free to critique!

I'll update with a few more videos over time, if you want to see examples where I fail miserably tell me and I'll upload them too :x

 

[Joseph Staleknight]

Smooth moves, man! This weapon is clearly a good thing to have in a support role, making squids dance while your teammates steal their turf and bring them down. Pity about that last match, though.

Also, that second vid was a Sloshing Machine vid rather than a Hydra one. Still, you've got some skills with that one!

 

[Hawk Seow]

Smooth moves, man! This weapon is clearly a good thing to have in a support role, making squids dance while your teammates steal their turf and bring them down. Pity about that last match, though.

Also, that second vid was a Sloshing Machine vid rather than a Hydra one. Still, you've got some skills with that one!

Ah crap, that sloshing machine video got put in here by mistake. It's meant for the other thread. Thanks for the compliment and for notifying me of the error!

For me it's about finding the best spots where I can gatekeep the enemy as well as ink turf. If you noticed in the Kelp Dome match. Although the snipers generally outrange the Hydra, they aren't going to be able to take down as many squids in the same amount of time as you might notice.

@Joseph Staleknight: I replaced the last video cause I labelled it wrongly, that was one of the failed matches...

 

[Joseph Staleknight]

Oh, yeah, definitely. A powerful, careful Hydra user could take down all three of an enemy sniper's teammates in the time it takes for that sniper to splat one of the Hydra's allies.

I should give it a whirl again sometime, probably after I get off my Sloshing Machine high.

 

[Hawk Seow]

I should give it a whirl again sometime,

I see what you did there :P

Speaking of which, I really hate how long it takes to 'whirl' before getting to a respectable inking state. To splat enemies at close range a quarter ring or so is enough but claiming turf is when it gets frustrating -_-

 

[meleesplatter]

I see what you did there :p

Speaking of which, I really hate how long it takes to 'whirl' before getting to a respectable inking state. To splat enemies at close range a quarter ring or so is enough but claiming turf is when it gets frustrating -_-

The better a weapon is at long-range splatting, the worse it is at inking. That's the general trend I notice anyhow.

But there are few things more satisfying than pinning down opponents with both your powerful fire rate and constantly inking their path forward. You know how an opponent hesitates to advance when they see a charger's aiming laser? Well it's like that with the Hydra, except with an actual effect on the battlefield.

 

[Hawk Seow]

The better a weapon is at long-range splatting, the worse it is at inking. That's the general trend I notice anyhow.

But there are few things more satisfying than pinning down opponents with both your powerful fire rate and constantly inking their path forward. You know how an opponent hesitates to advance when they see a charger's aiming laser? Well it's like that with the Hydra, except with an actual effect on the battlefield.

Well...I haven't yet figured out an optimal way to ink paths with the Hydra. I think it's arguably the worst weapon at inking short - medium ranges (think of the side walkways in Port Mackerel for example); I'd say a big part of the learning curve is learning how to ink turf effectively.

 

[meleesplatter]

Well...I haven't yet figured out an optimal way to ink paths with the Hydra. I think it's arguably the worst weapon at inking short - medium ranges (think of the side walkways in Port Mackerel for example); I'd say a big part of the learning curve is learning how to ink turf effectively.

Something I like to with this on Saltspray Rig at the start is inking the bottom area from your spawn long before anyone gets to it, while my teammates inked the path ahead. Or in a more general case, inking the path ahead of your teammates to save them a bit of time.

 

[Hawk Seow]

Something I like to with this on Saltspray Rig at the start is inking the bottom area from your spawn long before anyone gets to it, while my teammates inked the path ahead. Or in a more general case, inking the path ahead of your teammates to save them a bit of time.

Yes I know what you mean, the Hydra shoots far enough to ink the bottom section without you being near it. Personally I like gatekeeping at the top section when I can and occasionally painting walls (it's good at that, especially tall ones) if there are rollers and brushes on my team.

Anyway a question, are you able to reliably stay in the top 2 positions in turf wars with the Hydra?

 

[meleesplatter]

Yes I know what you mean, the Hydra shoots far enough to ink the bottom section without you being near it. Personally I like gatekeeping at the top section when I can and occasionally painting walls (it's good at that, especially tall ones) if there are rollers and brushes on my team.

Anyway a question, are you able to reliably stay in the top 2 positions in turf wars with the Hydra?

Depends on how contested the areas I'm guarding are. I can usually get a good splat-to-splatted ratio by playing to the weapon's strength of suppression. I played mostly on Bluefin, guarding our side of the stage from invaders and slowing down their advance; the only real threat to me was usually chargers. If it was clear, I'd move down to one of the paths to advance my wall so to speak, and harass opponents on the other side as well. Here's a trick, start your charging behind cover to minimize exposure.

Oh, and the echolocator is great for maintaining a constant stream of bullets.

 

[Hawk Seow]

Depends on how contested the areas I'm guarding are. I can usually get a good splat-to-splatted ratio by playing to the weapon's strength of suppression. I played mostly on Bluefin, guarding our side of the stage from invaders and slowing down their advance; the only real threat to me was usually chargers. If it was clear, I'd move down to one of the paths to advance my wall so to speak, and harass opponents on the other side as well. Here's a trick, start your charging behind cover to minimize exposure.

Oh, and the echolocator is great for maintaining a constant stream of bullets.

Yea I know about using the special to refill the ink as well as revving behind cover, I do that all the time :)

Although in my experience...the Hydra takes a lot longer to get it than most other weapons. I could literally have it half filled while focusing on inking and someone else has already triggered their echolocator -_-

Bluefin is a pretty decent map for Hydra IMO, provided you have at least one teammate capable of holding the other side as well. Some of the trickier maps for me are Moray Towers and Port Mackerel (once again it's fine if you have team mates who can hold at least one other lane...otherwise it's GG).

I point these out because, I have a lot less trouble doing these things with the L-3D...yes it's an offensive weapon but it also inks really well. In short, the Hydra is super specialized, almost to the point of detriment. Wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo buffed it's inking ability by a smidge in future (similar to what the L-3s got in 2.2.0).

 

[MakesDream]

This weapon would be great except for the fact that chargers exist and this thing will literally be free kills for any eliter.