Hydra
Parent: Dragon Compendium | Home
The Hydra is a cold-weather full dragon with ranged ice attacks and a reliable ground-mount role. It is a good choice when you want a durable companion that can keep pressure on targets without giving up close-range attacks.
Where to find it
Search Zone 3 glacial ice-and-snow terrain. The Hydra is seen more often during its favored moon phase, so a quiet search at the right time can be worth the trip.
How to obtain it
- Bring a tranquilizer, a Draconic Stone, and enough supplies for more than one attempt.
- Find a wild Hydra in its glacial habitat and lower its health while you fight safely.
- Tranquilize it, then channel the Draconic Stone while the capture window is open. The Capturing Dragons guide explains the timing and what to do if the channel is interrupted.
- On success, the bonded Hydra is stored in your Dragon Command Flute roster.
Every eligible stone can attempt a capture. Stronger stones are a sensible preparation as you move from early hunts to tougher full dragons, but there is no player-facing minimum tier to memorize.
Wild attacks
Expect a mix of close-range strikes and two signature ice attacks:
- Ice ball: a focused projectile that gives the Hydra a way to punish targets at range.
- Ice rain: a spread of falling ice that pressures an area instead of one target.
Keep moving when the Hydra begins an ice cast, and avoid standing in the rain's impact area.
Bonded combat and mount
The bonded Hydra keeps its ice ball and ice-rain identity. It is a ground mount, so use it for travel and fighting on the terrain rather than for airborne movement. The flute's companion commands let you summon, dismiss, recall, and direct it; see Mounts and Flight for riding tips.
Leveling and talent identity
The Hydra gains experience while it adventures with you. Spend its talent points to match the job you want it to do:
| Branch | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Winter's Wrath | More ice pressure and damage in combat. |
| Glacierguard | More health and protection from incoming damage. |
| Broodcaller's Pact | Longer summon windows and faster returns after cooldowns. |
Read Leveling and Talents before spending points if you want to commit to a single role.
Drops and progression value
Defeating a wild Hydra can supply the materials used to improve stones, attunements, and companion care:
| Material | Typical drop range |
|---|---|
| Draconic Scales | 5–6 |
| plain Draconic Essence | 5–6 |
| Ice Draconic Essence | 3–4 |
| Earth Draconic Essence | 2–3 |
Void Draconic Essence and the decorative Drake Egg are possible additional drops. The Drake Egg is not the crafted Mysterious Egg, so keep those two items separate when planning your progression.
Next steps
- Prepare your next capture with Capturing Dragons.
- Learn summon windows and revival in Summoning and Revival.
- Compare the gliding and flight options in Mounts and Flight.
