Understand Hydroid
Useful when…
- Removing enemy Armor and increasing Corrosive Damage through Plunder.
- Using area pressure and crowd control from aqueous abilities.
- Applying Corrosive vulnerability through damage dealt by Hydroid.
Effects and conditions
Hydroid’s passive makes enemies he damages more vulnerable to Corrosive Status; the supplied numeric Armor reduction is unresolved, so no percentage can be stated. Tempest Barrage rains down on a target area. Tidal Surge carries him through enemies in a wall of water. Plunder takes Armor from nearby enemies and increases Corrosive Damage on his abilities and weapons; enemies already affected by Corrosive Status provide a greater increase. Tentacle Swarm summons tentacles from nearby surfaces to attack enemies. His listed stats are 365 Health, 270 Shields, and 240 Armor.
Practical use and equipment considerations
Plunder gives a concrete reason to combine Hydroid’s abilities with weapons that can apply Corrosive Status: affected enemies provide a greater increase, and Plunder boosts Corrosive Damage on both weapons and abilities. His passive also makes enemies he damages more susceptible to Corrosive Status. Tempest Barrage applies pressure to a target area, while Tentacle Swarm attacks from nearby surfaces; Tidal Surge gives him a direct movement-through-enemies attack. Hydroid lists Madurai and Naramon mod polarities and a Naramon aura polarity. These can help match slots to compatible mods, but no particular weapon, mod, or ability upgrade is specified.
Limitations and comparisons
Plunder’s larger increase depends on enemies being affected by Corrosive Status, and it takes a percentage of nearby enemies’ Armor. Do not assign a numeric value to the passive’s initial Armor reduction: its percentage is unresolved in the supplied description. Tentacle Swarm’s tentacles emerge from nearby surfaces, so its described placement depends on the environment. Hydroid Prime has the same listed abilities and passive, with 550 Health, 290 Armor, and additional listed polarities. Mag is described as manipulating magnetic fields and stripping defenses, while Qorvex is described as a durable crowd controller; neither description establishes Hydroid’s Corrosive-specific interaction.
Limitations and tradeoffs
- Plunder gives a greater increase against enemies already affected by Corrosive Status.
- Tentacle Swarm’s tentacles emerge from nearby surfaces.
- The passive’s Armor-reduction percentage is unresolved, so its magnitude cannot be quantified.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Expecting Plunder’s greater increase without Corrosive Status on enemies.
- Treating the unresolved passive Armor reduction as a known percentage.
- Assuming Tentacle Swarm’s tentacles do not depend on nearby surfaces.