The Guardian of the Hydra is one of the four Shaper Guardians. Next to Guardian of the Chimera, Guardian of the Phoenix and Guardian of the Minotaur, she is one of the "Guardians of the Void". Each of these Guardians drops one of the Fragments required to access the Shaper encounter, one of the pinnacle bosses. In order to fight Hydra, you have to open a Lair of the Hydra Map where he acts as the Map Boss.
These Shaper Guardian Maps are Tier 16 and can be rolled with all sorts of Modifiers to increase their loot but also their difficulty. Shaper Guardians are a lot harder than typical Map Bosses, but also have specific loot tables.
Guardians of the Void - Boss Guides:
- Pit of the Chimera Map - Guardian of the Chimera
- Lair of the Hydra Map - Guardian of the Hydra
- Forge of the Phoenix Map - Guardian of the Phoenix
- Maze of the Minotaur Map - Guardian of the Minotaur
The Shaper - Boss Guide:
Loot Table
In addition to regular loot, the Guardian of the Hydra has the following boss-specific drops:
- Fragment of the Hydra (100%)
- Perfection
Skills Breakdown
amounts of Physical and Cold Damage, as well as dealing their damage in an area around the impact.
Make sure to side-step this Ability.
Boss Mechanics
Once you enter the Boss Arena, you find the Guardian of the Hydra to the South-East. Start attacking, but be aware of her Abilities. This boss doesn't have default attacks and spams abilities non-stop. The Doom Arrow is especially lethal, but it's fairly easy to avoid. Make sure to check out the Skills Breakdown above to learn more about each of the abilities.
If your movement is top-notch, you can easily avoid every source of damage in this encounter. Barrage, Fork Arrow and Doom Arrow can be outmaneuvered, the Frost bolts dodged, and the Minions killed to restore Flask Charges.
After fighting her for a certain duration, the Guardian of the Chimera uses Blink Arrow and teleport out of the Arena for a short amount of time. Meanwhile, Minions spawn that attack you on sight.
Map Modifiers
Since the Lair of the Hydra Map works like a typical Map, it can be modified with Currency like any other Map. But be careful! Some Map modifiers can make this Map very hard.
Here is an example of Map modifiers you might want to avoid based on your build:
Dangerous Map Modifiers
Atlas Passive Tree
The newly revamped Atlas Passive Tree provides us with additional ways to empower Bosses and enhance the Pack Size and drop chances of Shaper and Elder influenced Maps:
Keystone
- Cosmic Wounds
Notables
- Remnants of the Past
Nodes
- Shaper and Elder Influenced Pack Size
- Shaper Influenced Pack Size
- Elder Influenced Pack Size
Summary
- Always stay mobile!
- Avoid getting hit by Hydra's Abilities, such as Barrage, Fork Arrow and Doom Arrow.
- Dodge the Frostbolts fired by the Cannons on the side of the Boss Arena.
Good Luck, Exile!
Credits
Written by mbXtreme.
Reviewed by wudijo.