I don’t think the Hydra Launcher gets enough credit in this game. It’s weaker than it was in Halo 5, but its far stronger than most people think it is. I have really gotten attached to it lately. This is a video showing some of its applications, from the last few days I’ve been playing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf_W95vy570
If you didn’t watch the video, I basically show how well it performs against vehicles, and show that its also viable against infantry.
Most people seem to either ignore it on the wall or use it improperly, which makes it feel weak. I don’t recommend using the lock on feature against infantry, it kills too slowly. I really only use the lock on against flying vehicles personally.
Anyway, what do you guys think about this weapon? I know its no longer a power weapon, but it really does feel like a good mid tier option that has some all around usefulness.
I had one guy underestimate me in Fiesta the one time because he had a sniper and I only had a Hydra. He landed one shot, I landed 3 and walked away the victor.
In the right hands it can be a devastating weapon no matter how weak it is. While I do miss the power it used to punch with, I’m ok with it where it is. There really isn’t enough vehicle oppression to warrant kicking up its power.
I keep meaning to do a test to see what it combos with best. I know it kills with one body shot after a sniper body shot, a melee, and a bunch of other stuff. Its a good teamshot weapon if you have a buddy with a rifle or sidekick.
I quite like it, especially in BTB. I’d be less inclined to pick it up in regular matchmaking but I have found it very useful to flush people out from behind cover, or to check for players with the hit markers on Recharge. Definitely depends on the map and weapons available. I’d take it if I had an AR/Sidekick, but I’d leave it if I have a Mangler. It’s still below a bunch of weapons for me, but it’s pretty good.
When you start getting hit by it, and you have nowhere to go… death.
One thing I miss about the previous hydra was that the lock on feature seemed much stronger. You used to be able to lock on to a player, then aim straight up and fire off a bunch of shots. This would rain down death from above.
This doesn’t work anymore. I’m actually not sure if it’s because the lock on isn’t as good or because it takes so many more shots to kill and some of them miss. But either way, not as fun.
i like the hydra. unlike most people i like use the lockdown feature because it helps get my aim on track. I’m not the best when it comes to slow projectile weapons
I finished the capstone weekly challenge yesterday which is play 5 BTB.
I don’t tend to play BTB really but on the power seed game mode I basically sat at the top of my team’s base with the Hydra Launcher and just dominated easily. At range it’s a real beast.
Previously I’d tended to steer clear of it for 4 Vs 4 as it’s tricky to use effectively at close range.
It kills me that the hydra usually shows up in conversations about weapons being useless. Honestly I think the main issue is there’s a large number of players who don’t understand how to use certain weapons or what their ideal niches are.
I completely agree. If you actually test out time to kill and niche uses for all the weapons, the only one that really has an issue right now is the Ravager’s normal shot being really weak. Everything else is pretty solid if you use it as intended.
I think desync really impacts some weapons more than others too, and the low splash damage the Ravager has makes it feel useless in a laggy game
in BTB, in order to complete a “Kill an Enemy Spartan with a Ravager 1 time” challenge, I had to use TWO Ravagers in order to complete the challenge. Why? Because the first Ravager ran out of ammo. The second one I used I barely got away with the fight, but I got the kill.
No, it doesn’t it shreds in BTB. It is just a weapon with specific requirements to use properly. It’s best at mid-long range in possibly open spaces where the enemy can’t hide behind a wall too fast.
The hydra is definitely one of the most underrated weapons in the game, probably in part because the game types it excels in, BTB variants, weren’t working properly for the majority of the game’s lifecycle so far. The main trick I find is to not rely on the tracking apart from targeting distant enemies on foot and for taking out air vehicles. Otherwise, you get far more from the normal fire mode as it does increased damage; you can put a full health warthog into doomsday with 4 shots, and destroy it with the 5th before anyone has much of a chance to bail out.
