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Shin Megami Tensei V

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How to defeat Hydra

By
Ben Chard

This is a walkthrough for the boss Drake Hydra found in Da’at Minato in Shin Megami Tensei V. All of its weaknesses, resistances and skills to avoid.

Hydra is the first boss in Shin Megami Tensei V.

Stats and Resistances

Icon Name Lv Weakness Resistances Location
Hydra_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Hydra 15 Ics_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Fire_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png (NULL) Minato - Tokyo Tower

Skills

Type Skill Effect
Physical_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Frenzy +3 Medium Physical attack to all foes.
Dark_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Toxic Breath Medium Dark attack to all foes. Chance of inflicting Poison.
Fire_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Fire Breath +3 2 ~ 5 weak Fire attacks to random foes.

Recommended Party

Hydra is your first boss in Shin Megami Tensei V and it’s a massive test of your understanding of the mechanics thus far. You’ll also want to make sure you’re at least Level 14 (or higher on Hard) before you attempt this as Levels make a huge difference on the damage you can output. If you cast your mind back to earlier, a demon mentioned that the Hydra likes both Dark and Fire-based attacks and having protection against them will make life a lot easier.

Hydra has three attacks at its disposal, using Attack as its regular attack which will cause weak damage to a single ally. Fire Breath will hit random allies 2~5 times and it will vary in how deadly it can be based on whether you have any demons weak to fire (Such as Mermaid or Azumi). Most importantly is when it enters Magatsuhi, this means that on its next turn it will cause Critical with every attack and begin by using the deadly Toxic Breath which will cause Medium Dark damage to all allies with the chance of Poison on top. If you’re not protected against this, you will suffer an early defeat.

Once you bring Hydra to below half HP, it will start using Frenzy regularly, hitting the entire party for medium damage, especially deadly if he used its Magatsuhi skill the turn before you drop his HP. Having the Daemon Essence’s resistances on the Nahobino and Leanan Sidhe in the party will cause them both to Null Toxic Breath, ending Hydra’s turn but you’ll need protect your other two party members from the attack. You can do this by either having them Guard on that combat round (which voids weaknesses) or by using a Dark Dampener. Knowing how to survive these attacks will make life a lot easier.

(1 of 2) It’s easy to deal with Toxic Breath via resistances and guarding

It’s easy to deal with Toxic Breath via resistances and guarding (left), but Frenzy is far deadlier, especially after using Magatsuhi. (right)

As for attacking the Hydra, it’s weak to Ice, making Mermaid’s Stormcaller Song and Azumi’s Bufu excellent choices. If you’re a magic-based Nahobino, you should have all elements covered by now and use Bufu yourself, but if you’re physical, make use of Aramasa, especially when using Omagatoki: Critical to deal massive amounts of damage to Hydra. Keep an eye on your HP, and have Angel use Humble Blessings should you begin to drop under half HP, Fire Breath can easily take out your party if you’re unlucky. If you have both Mermaid and Azumi, be sure to swap one out for the other should they lose all of their MP and you should take down Hydra.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Atlus, Nintendo, Sega
  • Platforms,
    Switch
  • Genre
    Action Adventure, Action RPG, RPG
  • Guide Release
    5 November 2021
  • Last Updated
    18 February 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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