Update 5.00 Highlights: The Hydra on Raid Shadow Legends.
Hello Raiders!
One of the biggest and most important updates of the year is about to be completed, and the time has come to reveal what it will contain. Prepare to meet the Hydra! Yes, we've had a great time teasing this awesome new Clan boss, and now we can finally confirm that it's coming to Raids soon. “In the next few weeks, that is to say soon. We are also aware that a massive new Boss will require a lot of trial and error when it comes to team and Artifact composition, which is why you will get a 50% discount on Artifact Exchange for 2 weeks after the launch of the Hydra!
The highlights below recap the main mechanics you need to learn and provide a comprehensive list of skills for each of Hydra's heads. Read on to find out more!
New Clan boss: Hydra
The Hydra is a new Clan Boss that you can access via the Clan Boss menu – you still need to be Clan for this – that has been redesigned into a map where you can choose which Boss you want to fight. Your old friend the Demon Lord is still there, of course. He and the Hydra have a lot of similar things when it comes to the basics. Namely, you have a limited number of Hydra Keys that you will need to fight him and rack up as much damage as possible before the Hydra resets. You will get reward chests by reaching certain milestones, and by depleting the Hydra's HP, all Clan members who took part in these fights will receive double rewards depending on the difficulty.
The difference with the old Demon Lord is that the Hydra resets once a week. You'll get 3 keys to use during this time – something we decided to make sure players don't get even more overwhelmed with the number of things they need to do in the Raid each day. Instead, you can choose your time when it suits you and get your best results. And your best rewards! Similar to the Demon Lord, players will receive their reward chests after the Hydra resets.
You will also have the option to end the battle early with the Free Regroup button. In this case, the damage you have inflicted will not be counted, but you will also not lose your Hydra key and you will not block the champions you have used. So you can try out different tactics before taking action. (would be nice for the normal boss too instead of quitting and restarting the game)
There are also a few things to remember when it comes to the fight itself. First, you will face a combination of 4 different hydra heads, and two more will remain on the sidelines. When you chop off one of these heads, there's a chance that one of the other two will take its place and change the combination you're fighting. Keep this in mind because your strategy will have to be strongly adapted according to the heads you will have to face! Oh, and every month we'll be changing the Heads that make up the original Hydra team and their Affinities.
On the bright side, you can take 6 champions at once, giving you more flexibility when it comes to champion combos and team composition. But there is a catch! You will only be able to use certain champions once per Hydra cycle, which means that once you complete a Hydra battle, you will not be able to use the same champions for the next battle of the same week . So pay attention to these duplicates, they will be very useful if you really want to rely on specific skills or combinations! (so you will need 18 stuff champions and masteries)
Each head will have specific skills, strengths and weaknesses which you will see in the tables shown below. But there are also several universal mechanics to keep in mind. First of all, from time to time, the Hydra will consume one of your champions. When this happens, you need to focus all your efforts on the head that did it and deal a certain amount of damage to it before the timer runs out. If you fail, your champion will be lost, and no amount of damage blocking, death resistance, or other protection can save them. You won't be able to revive him either. If you succeed, the Champion will resume the fight.
Second, each head has an HP bar. When this bar is depleted, the head is decapitated and sits idle for a little while – that's when you need to hit it. Any damage done to the exposed neck (which is what the severed head will be called until it grows back) takes 200 % more damage, which is exactly what you want to ensure the best possible reward. On top of that, you also get unique bonuses called Decapitation Effect, which depends on the head you just hit. The head will regrow – or be replaced by one of two “extra” heads from the list – and gain a bonus called Serpent's Will for one turn. This upgrade reduces all incoming damage by 75%.
New buffs and debuffs (mostly Hydra specific)
life barrier
Hydra's head HP is boosted by a shield-like effect, but life barrier takes priority over active shield buffs. Any damage done to the head with this buff is first subtracted from the health barrier value before the head's HP is affected. If the life barrier is not exhausted after a certain number of turns, the head that benefits from this improvement regains its HP at the MAX level. If the life barrier is exhausted, the head is stunned for 1 turn. Life Barrier cannot be removed, stolen, or otherwise affected by buff manipulation skills.
poison cloud
Poison Cloud blocks damage from all enemy [Poison] debuffs. Additionally, each attack inflicted on the hydra head under this buff counts as a weak hit. [HP Burn] debuffs negate the effects of Poison Cloud. Champions whose skills do not allow them to deal weak hits and the affinity breaking artifact set can also counter this effect. Poison Cloud cannot be removed, stolen, or otherwise affected by buff manipulation skills.
Revenge
Activates after Head of Anger takes 15 hits, increases head damage by 300% for 1 turn and triggers an immediate AoE attack. Vengeance cannot be removed, stolen, or otherwise affected by buff manipulation skills.
stone skin
Removes all debuffs from champion, makes him immune to all debuffs except bombs, reduces incoming damage by 85%. Increases damage inflicted by [Bomb] type debuffs by 300%. Can be reset by inflicting damage equal to 50% of the champion's MAX HP.
will of the serpent
Activates when a new hydra head grows in place of a decapitated head. Serpent's Will reduces all incoming damage by 75%.
link of pain
Creates a bond between the head of pain and a target champion. The target champion receives 15% of all damage the Head of Pain takes (although the Head of Pain takes full damage from the incoming attack).
Petrification
Removes all buffs from the target champion and blocks the application of any other buffs while Petrification is active (but the champion can still receive debuffs). The target champion skips their turn(s), their skill cooldowns are not refreshed. In addition, damage taken is reduced by 60%, except for those inflicted by [Bomb] type debuffs – bombs deal 300% additional damage.
Decapitated
Activates when the HP of one of the Hydra's heads reaches 0. The head is removed and turns into an Exposed Neck, it cannot act for a set number of turns and takes 200% of additional damage.
Mark of the Hydra
This is a special effect that marks a champion for devour. It cannot be blocked, removed or manipulated. It is also not a debuff, so debuff limitations do not apply.
Digestion
Marks the hydra head that devoured one of your champions. The head that benefits from this effect receives additional HP and a time counter – inflict a certain amount of damage before this counter runs out to bring your champion back into battle. If you fail, the Champion is lost and cannot be revived or otherwise brought back.
That's the main thing for now! Keep in mind that we'll be adding content for the Hydra in the coming months, including new heads, so keep your eyes peeled for more teasers and announcements. All you have to do is find out what kind of beasts you will face in this first iteration!
hydra heads
translation of heads here:
Hydra Rewards: Artifacts
In addition to Clan Gold and other goodies, two new sets of Artifacts will be available from Hydra Reward Chests: Stoneskin and Protection. They have some peculiarities. First of all, you will receive bonuses for each piece in this set, which means you can have a single artifact and get something; then, these Artifacts are also available in an all-new Mythic rarity.
Mythic Artifacts start with all 4 sub-stats unlocked, but one of the sub-stats will be increased to the equivalent of a Level 4 Legendary Artifact – meaning you can get a bit more power from Mythic Artifacts only legendaries. It's a small advantage, but at the highest level, those small margins make a big difference.
stone skin set
- Artifact: HP +8%.
- Artifacts: RES +40
- Artifacts: DEF +15%
- Artifacts: The champion benefits from the [Stone Skin] improvement for 1 turn at the start of the round. This buff has a 50% chance of being placed
- Artifacts: DEF +15%.
- Artifacts: The champion gets the [Stone Skin] buff for 2 turns at the start of the round. This buff has a 50% chance of being placed
Stoneskin Buff: The champion is immune to all debuffs and reduces incoming damage by 85%. Increases damage inflicted by [Bomb] type debuffs by 300%.
Protective set
- Artifact: RES +20
- Artifacts: HP +15%.
- Artifacts: SPD +12%
- Artifacts: +15% chance to place a protected buff.
- Artifacts: SPD +12%
- Artifacts: +15% chance to place a protected buff.
Note: Protected buffs cannot be stolen or removed.
Hydra Rewards: Mithrala Lifebane
Various
We decided to strengthen the champion Aleksandr the sharpshooter – the chance of placing Freeze on his A1 will increase from 35% to 50%, and the damage of his A2 and A3 skills will increase.
