• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 23:17
CEST 05:17
KST 12:17
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview6TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection5Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview5[ASL21] Finals Preview: Two Legacies21Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO12 Preview2
Community News
[BSL22] Non-Korean Championship from 13 to 28 June0Weekly Cups (May 25-31): Clem doubles, 2v2 circuit heads toward finale0StarCraft II 5.0.16 PTR Patch Notes may 26th151Weekly Cups (May 18-24): MaxPax wins doubles0Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League6
StarCraft 2
General
Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview What kind of tool would you be interested in? TL Poll: How do you feel about the 5.0.16 PTR balance changes? Oliveira Would Have Returned If EWC Continued TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection
Tourneys
GSL Code S Season 2 (2026) Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule ! Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3
External Content
Mutation # 529 Opportunities Unleashed The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 528 Infection Detected Welcome to the External Content forum
Brood War
General
FlaSh's ASL S21 Finals Review BW animated web series: seeking contributors 25 Years Since Brood War Patch 1.08 FlaShFTW vs A.Alm Grudge Match Event The Korean Terminology Thread
Tourneys
[ASL21] Grand Finals [BSL22] Grand Finals - Sunday 21:00 CEST [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2
Strategy
Any training maps people recommend? Why doesn't anyone use restoration? Muta micro map competition [G] Hydra ZvZ: An Introduction
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne ZeroSpace Megathread
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Trading/Investing Thread Dating: How's your luck? Russo-Ukrainian War Thread How cold is too cold to be outdoors?
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Facing Challenges in Mobile App Development
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
I'm an arrogant trash talke…
FlaShFTW
Gauntlet SC2: A Retrospectiv…
Ctone23
Esportsmanship: How to NOT B…
TrAiDoS
Why RTS gamers make better f…
gosubay
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 5092 users

What is holding the Hydralisk back? - Page 5

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 12 13 Next All
kingjames01
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
Canada1603 Posts
October 26 2011 07:35 GMT
#81
There really isn't anything more that can be added to this discussion.

However, there are 2 funny things that can be pointed out.

- This discussion was really just a 'All Zergs should L2P' thread in disguise.
- Also, it was quite amusing how just about everyone comes out and laughs at the OP.

My addition to the discussion is that even if Hydras are 'just as quick as etc, etc', when it's time to retreat your army and all you have left is Hydras, you might as well just leave them there to die. They're not getting away.

Who would sup with the mighty, must walk the path of daggers.
Cyber_Cheese
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Australia3615 Posts
October 26 2011 07:42 GMT
#82
Comparing it to slow lings and slow roaches, lol fail OP
The moment you lose confidence in yourself, is the moment the world loses it's confidence in you.
Velr
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Switzerland10900 Posts
October 26 2011 07:42 GMT
#83
On October 26 2011 16:33 DARKHYDRA wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 26 2011 16:23 0neder wrote:
Basically everything boils down to the fact that Blizzard won't axe the colossus, but it ruins the game in so many ways...


I personally don't like the colossus for many reasons but the reaver countered hydras just as bad really. So o don't think its entirely a colossus problem.


Well... I don't remember seeing reaver doing any good when "A'd" into Hydras... I also did not see them just walking over Cliffs... ...
To use the Reaver (really efficient) was actually pretty hard. To use the Colossus is easyer than using a fucking Stalker...
DystopiaX
Profile Joined October 2010
United States16236 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 07:48:50
October 26 2011 07:46 GMT
#84
Don't compare the hydra to slow units and units with special abilities (zealots before charge have FF from sentries to help them, Thors have splash, Ghosts have EMPs, Stalkers got blink and lower tech, marines have stim/are cheaper/have combat shields+medivac etc.)
Hydras are slow (relative, as the OP points out) but are also fragile as hell, Lair tech, expensive for being a core unit, have no special abilities, and die before they can do their DPS.
DARKHYDRA
Profile Joined September 2006
United States303 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 07:59:17
October 26 2011 07:48 GMT
#85
On October 26 2011 16:32 BrosephBrostar wrote:
Q: What is holding the Hydralisk back?
A: Blizzard gave its role away to the roach and now they have no idea what to do with it

at least they're trying to fix it instead of trashing it like the carrier


Or maybe they should trash the hydralisk and let the roach shoot air, it seems they want the roach to be this core unit in the zerg army so make it fully functional. As a broodwar player it makes me sad to see those iconic units go but the roach really has replaced the hydra with anti air being the exception.

Its kinda weird but if you look at the stats the hydra is essentially an early game unit stuck in the mid game, just the fact that its compareable to marines and stalkers tells you that this unit is out of place tech-wise.

On October 26 2011 16:42 Velr wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 26 2011 16:33 DARKHYDRA wrote:
On October 26 2011 16:23 0neder wrote:
Basically everything boils down to the fact that Blizzard won't axe the colossus, but it ruins the game in so many ways...


I personally don't like the colossus for many reasons but the reaver countered hydras just as bad really. So o don't think its entirely a colossus problem.


Well... I don't remember seeing reaver doing any good when "A'd" into Hydras... I also did not see them just walking over Cliffs... ...
To use the Reaver (really efficient) was actually pretty hard. To use the Colossus is easyer than using a fucking Stalker...


True and that's what I'm talking about when I say I dislike the unit. But the end result was the same, you could not fight a protoss that had reaver with hydras unless you wanted to base your success on the opponents control.
Xapti
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada2473 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 08:12:20
October 26 2011 08:10 GMT
#86
On October 26 2011 15:42 Whitewing wrote:
Just to point out, the hydra attacks much faster than roaches, so the upgrade scaling isn't quite so easy to pin down. They attack more than twice as fast as a roach, so they scale BETTER with attack upgrades than the roach does (+1.2 dps per attack upgrade vs. +1 dps per attack upgrade of the roach).
No your thinking incorrectly. Whether you have 100 attacks per second or 1 attack every 100 seconds, +1 damage on base 1 damage is a 100% boost in damage output.

Hydralisks simply get less DPS boost than almost all other units in the game. The only units that have worse benefits are stalkers vs armored (assuming 50% armored 50% non-armored they'd be tied) —which is understandable because it's bonus damage— , ground-mode vikings —which are hardly ever used and shouldn't even be strong— are also tied with hydras, and corruptors which I am particularly perplexed at them not getting more damage per upgrade (the fact they are bland and niche just like hydralisks doesn't help either).
"Then he told me to tell you that he wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire" — "Well, you tell him that I said that I wouldn't piss on him if he was on Jeopardy!"
ETisME
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
12728 Posts
October 26 2011 08:15 GMT
#87
being slow means a lot to the zerg, the reinforcement comes a lot slower, you have to make sure hydras are there as they are one of the core units if you go roache hydra
they can't retreat, that means if you push out and the push failed, you can't save most of your hydras
其疾如风,其徐如林,侵掠如火,不动如山,难知如阴,动如雷震。
KimJongChill
Profile Joined January 2011
United States6429 Posts
October 26 2011 08:16 GMT
#88
imo it's less the hydra and more the strength of p/t splash. the hydra is actually good mid-game.
MMA: U realise MMA: Most of my army EgIdra: fuck off MMA: Killed my orbital MMA: LOL MMA: just saying MMA: u werent loss
FrostFire626
Profile Joined April 2010
United States79 Posts
October 26 2011 08:18 GMT
#89
The OP has a different way of looking at the hydralisk, and it makes sense. It doesn't change the fact that the current hydralisk is useless in any battle of maneuver, though.
Sirion
Profile Joined August 2010
131 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 08:40:19
October 26 2011 08:20 GMT
#90
As many people claim that Hydras have insane dps, here is a comparison to terran bio.

Hydra vs 3 Marines
cost: 100/50 vs 150/0
dps: 14.5 vs 21 ( 31.8 stimmed )
dps(+3): 18.1 vs 31.5 ( 43.8 stimmed)
hp: 80 vs 135 ( -30 stimmed, +30 combat shield )

Hydra vs 1 Marauder (non-armored or armored)
cost: 100/50 vs 100/25
dps: 14.5 vs 6.7 or 13.4 ( 10 or 20 stimmed )
dps(+3): 18.1 vs 8.8 or 17.6 ( 13 or 26 stimmed )
hp: 80 vs 125 ( -20 stimmed )
armor: 0 vs 1

So marines outperform hydras in every way. No surprise there. Interesting is the comparison to stimmed Marauders against non-armored targets: 14.5 dps and 80 hp vs 13.4 dps and 105 hp, plus 1 armor, concussive shells and 25 less gas.

However, as a direct comparison of unit stats is quite limited given all the differences in race mechanics, supporting units, timings and so on I will stop here. But I think those numbers give a good indication why zerg players complain about the hydra(and not just about its speed).
aksfjh
Profile Joined November 2010
United States4853 Posts
October 26 2011 08:26 GMT
#91
Rubber bands! Or mabe the flying spaghetti monster is using some of its infinite spaghetti arms to hold them back in the same way he holds us to the ground...
bokeevboke
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Singapore1674 Posts
October 26 2011 08:29 GMT
#92
On October 26 2011 17:20 Sirion wrote:

Hydra vs 1 Marauder (non-armored or armored)
cost: 100/50 vs 125/25


Marauders cost 100/25, cheaper than hydras. But far more cost-effective.

Hydras are too expensive :-(
Its grack
gulati
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
United States2241 Posts
October 26 2011 08:32 GMT
#93
OP is comparing apples to oranges. Hydralisks are infact too slow. It has nothing to do with comparing them to slow units. There is a reason why marines stim, why zealots research charge, why zerglings get metabolic boost, and why roaches get glial reconstitution. If any of these four units did not have a way to augment their mobility, I guarantee you they would be used even less.

When you run too slow to avoid AoE damage, i.e, Storm + Colossus fire, you generally are disfavorable in fights. These are the core reasons for why the Hydralisk is too slow, and too under-used in the standardized metagame.
C r u m b l i n g
saynomore
Profile Joined October 2011
Norway149 Posts
October 26 2011 08:40 GMT
#94
Hydras scale bad. They do not fit in in the late game vs protoss or terran. They might work in the midgame, but after that they become dead-supply. They die to fast and are very hard to attack with. Therefore getting hydras often just end up being a nice defense where you are stuck defending and cant attack.

They are just to expensive and not good enough to be a part of the swarm attack, where retreating always is an option (just not for the hydras).
I dont like you
Sirion
Profile Joined August 2010
131 Posts
October 26 2011 08:41 GMT
#95
On October 26 2011 17:29 bokeevboke wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 26 2011 17:20 Sirion wrote:

Hydra vs 1 Marauder (non-armored or armored)
cost: 100/50 vs 125/25


Marauders cost 100/25, cheaper than hydras. But far more cost-effective.

Hydras are too expensive :-(

You are right, thanks. So the comparison is even worse for the hydra.
Seeker *
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
Where dat snitch at?37095 Posts
October 26 2011 08:42 GMT
#96
Speed's only a part of the issue. And a very small one at that. The main, biggest issue is that they are just too damn squishy. They die to anything and everything
ModeratorPeople ask me, "Seeker, what are you seeking?" My answer? "Sleep, damn it! Always sleep!"
TL+ Member
bokeevboke
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Singapore1674 Posts
October 26 2011 08:42 GMT
#97
On October 26 2011 17:32 gulati wrote:
When you run too slow to avoid AoE damage, i.e, Storm + Colossus fire, you generally are disfavorable in fights. These are the core reasons for why the Hydralisk is too slow, and too under-used in the standardized metagame.


You mean hydras are underused because they are slow and can't run away from AoE damage? I don't think this is the only reason. They still lose badly to roaches, MM, helions. Somewhat ok against gateway units, if in large numbers. Hydras are bad in low numbers, that means they should be massable. But how are you gonna mass a unit that costs 100/50. I just think there is no place for them in multiplayer. No buff will help to solve this issue.
Its grack
Ventor
Profile Joined February 2011
United States336 Posts
October 26 2011 08:54 GMT
#98
On October 26 2011 13:40 fdsdfg wrote:
Um... this is a misguided topic.

"What is holding the hydralisk back"? A lot of things. Its low HP, its inability to exist with colossi on the field, its terrible benefit from upgrades, and it's speed.

The OP is just 'compared to slow units from other races, the hydralisk isn't much different!' I know. It still sucks past the 12 minute mark.

The worst thing about them IMO is the upgrades.

With each +1 attack, Hydra goes from:
+0: 12
+1: 13
+2: 14
+3: 15

Meanwhile the Roach gets

+0: 16
+1: 18
+2: 20
+3: 22

The Zergling

+0: 5
+1: 6
+2: 7
+3: 8

It's awful. +3 hydra does 25% more damage than +0, compared to 37/60% more from these other two units respectively.

That and their role in the metagame is very dumb.

ZvT I've very rarely seen hydras used, but I have also never tried it very much so I can't say much about it. I've used hydras in a lategame army after I've economically won, but that isn't saying much

ZvP hydras have a very weird role. Hydras are good against every opening. Hydras are great against phoenix/voidray, immortal/warp prism, and blink stalkers. With a pure gateway build, hydras are great against every unit. Hydras are not bossed around well by forcefields.

However, robo and templar tech grow up to get colossi and psi storm, both of which completely nullify Hydralisks. Once air units get too numerous, hydras can't attack effectively since they bump into each other, so they don't work against late game starport play either.

Hydras can be the damage dealers when they first come out, but they cannot sustain their role in an army for long. I go hydras often just so I can tech switch to something else once they respond, and they can be good before they respond - but they're just too easy to nullify.


Did it ever occur to you the hydra only gets +1 attack per upgrade due to it's attack speed? I'm sorry but if hydras got +2 per upgrade you'd have yourself a unit which could do over 20 dps.
oGsMc - EGHuK - White-Ra - SlayerSBoxeR - STBomber Fighting!~
achristes
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
Norway653 Posts
October 26 2011 09:09 GMT
#99
Nothing is holding the hydra back, it's just a shitty unit that serves no purpose except earliER anti-air than mutas.
youtube.com/spooderm4n | twitch.tv/spooderm4n | Random videos and games I feel like uploading
Lixo
Profile Joined May 2011
202 Posts
October 26 2011 09:11 GMT
#100
Why wouldn't the OP provide us nice replays where he uses hydras all along if they are such great units ?
I really would love him to show us how to use the unit, I love them from my SC 1 days.
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 12 13 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
OSC
00:00
Mid Season Playoffs
CranKy Ducklings96
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RuFF_SC2 199
ProTech89
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 8254
GuemChi 5653
Sea 4549
Artosis 634
Mind 406
Aegong 346
Snow 90
Bale 48
Britney 0
Dota 2
monkeys_forever309
LuMiX0
League of Legends
JimRising 730
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King67
Other Games
summit1g14366
PiGStarcraft685
ViBE111
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1265
BasetradeTV188
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• CranKy Ducklings SOOP74
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota21325
League of Legends
• Rush1023
Upcoming Events
Wardi Open
7h 43m
Monday Night Weeklies
12h 43m
Replay Cast
20h 43m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 6h
Replay Cast
2 days
Kung Fu Cup
2 days
Maestros of the Game
2 days
Classic vs Lambo
Clem vs Maru
Replay Cast
2 days
The PondCast
3 days
Maestros of the Game
3 days
Serral vs Rogue
herO vs SHIN
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
3 days
Maestros of the Game
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
CranKy Ducklings
5 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

BSL Season 22
2026 GSL S2
Heroes Pulsing #1

Ongoing

IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
Acropolis #4
CSCL: Masked Kings S4
YSL S3
SCTL 2026 Spring
WardiTV Spring 2026
Maestros of the Game 2
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Murky Cup 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026

Upcoming

BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
Heroes Pulsing #3
Heroes Pulsing #2
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.