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Alchemical Hydra

This article is compiled from the videos of GnomonkeyRS. It records what Gnomonkey said, with sources, not verified game fact. See About.

Alchemical Hydra

Alchemical Hydra
Type Boss
Videos 6 (first 2020-04-19, latest 2022-03-19)
Main source Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS

The Alchemical Hydra is a Slayer boss that Gnomonkey presents as one of the most profitable soloable bosses in the game and an easy one to learn, "basically Vorkath with valuable rare drops"1. His guides (2020 and 2021) cover requirements, gear, the pool-luring mechanic, the lightning and fire skips, and profit rates; later tier-list videos rate the fight itself as dull.

Contents

Requirements

  • 95 Slayer and a Hydra task from Konar, since only Konar can assign Hydras21.
  • At least 90 Ranged and a high Prayer level with Rigor unlocked for much more DPS23.
  • The hard diary gives the teleport to the mountain (three daily teleports)23. In 2021 he also recommends the elite diary so Devout boots can be worn and the floor's heat damage ignored3; in 2020 the same effect came from high Prayer plus Rigor with Pegasian boots2.
  • Past the rock before the entrance the fight is instanced, so he advises the lowest-ping world to make the skips easier45. Items dropped on the floor stay for 30 minutes (2021: "over 30 minutes") instead of two, so spare food and potions can be left there45.

Gear

  • Head: a Slayer helmet, since the player is always on task, which makes Void a poor choice67.
  • Weapon, 2021: the Twisted bow with dragon arrows is the best, about two extra kills an hour over a blowpipe for a total of 27; the blowpipe has slightly less DPS and much higher supply cost7. Earlier (2020) he named the twisted bow with amethyst arrows as best, with the blowpipe next6.
  • The Dragon hunter crossbow also works, up to 6.5% more DPS than the blowpipe if ruby bolts hit 100 and used as a switch with the pipe; with amethyst darts switch back to the pipe at 22% (240 HP) remaining, with dragon darts at 38% (420 HP). He says not to bother with the crossbow if a twisted bow is owned8. In 2020 he already noted the blowpipe out-DPSes the crossbow during parts of the fight because Hydra's defence is low, and did not switch to a blowpipe with ruby bolts at the end69.
  • Dragon darts gain only one max set against Hydra, so amethyst darts are more profitable, though dragon darts make sense for getting the pet faster8. The Bow of Faerdhinen is about 8% worse DPS than the blowpipe even with crystal armour, so he would never bring it10.
  • Because Hydra has very low defence, he prioritises prayer bonus: Necklace of anguish, Ring of the gods (Ring of suffering acceptable) and Crystal armour, which gives two extra prayer bonus and uses few charges11. Blessed dragonhide or Armadyl armour are acceptable11.
  • Boots: Devout boots are best, blessed dragonhide boots are fine, and Brimstone boots are the next best without the diary11. In 2020 he wore Pegasian boots, with Blessed dragonhide boots acceptable if Pegasians are unaffordable212.
  • Other slots: any god bracers for gloves; the Max cape is best-in-slot (the Assembler gives no max hit), then a ranged cape, with an Assembler acceptable10.
  • Rada's blessing is kept in the inventory for teleporting to Mount Karuulm1211.

Inventory and supplies

  • Inventory: Antidote++, three divine ranging potions, a rune pouch with alching or elemental runes and a free slot for rune drops (usually blood runes), roughly eleven manta rays (2021: about 11 food healing 22) and twelve prayer potions1314. He suggests at least four food if very consistent, since some damage is guaranteed1315.
  • He does not recommend Saradomin brews, which stop use of divine ranging potions' DPS benefit16, and said divine bastion potions, if released, would be better than divine ranging potions16.
  • In 2021 he does not recommend thralls with an Explorer's ring 4, since the alchs run out before a task ends14.
  • A bonecrusher necklace can be switched in after the killing blow, because Jagex removed the delay before it could restore prayer. Hydra bones are worth four prayer points and Hydra drops two, so eight prayer points are refunded per kill; every 17 kills equals one super restore at 99 Prayer with a holy wrench1517.
  • Blowpipe special attacks do 50% more damage; in 2020 he saves them for the third or fourth phase, in 2021 for the fire phase or last phase1819.
  • Tile indicators help a lot, and all of them can be added from outside the boss room. In 2020 he used a layout from Mammal's guide, slightly improved by reducing walking distance; in 2021 he provides an import code in the description2021.

Getting there

  • Hydra is in the Karuulm Slayer Dungeon. The fastest route is a teleport with Rada's blessing; otherwise fairy ring code CIR and climbing the nearby cliffside2223.
  • With 88 Agility the pipe leads straight to Hydra, which is not faster but avoids the other hydras2223.
  • The door cannot be used to leave while the Hydra is alive, so a teleport is needed if Rada's blessing is not brought2024.

Mechanics

  • Hydra has two regular attacks, magic and ranged, using one style for three attacks and then swapping; special attacks are ignored in this rotation2526. He notes the claim that ranged comes from the left heads and magic from the right, but finds the attack's shape easier to watch25. By December 2021 Jagex had added an animation swap when the style changes, so counting attacks is no longer strictly necessary, although the third attack after the fire phase still matters26.
  • Walking under Hydra is safe because it has no stomp or melee attack2728.
  • Three special attacks, one per phase type, are used after the first three attacks in a phase and again after nine more; the counter resets when the phase ends, and with high DPS usually only one special is seen per phase2729.
  • Green and last phases (poison): poison fires on one tile or in a shotgun spread; moving a couple of tiles avoids the guaranteed splotch on the player's tile, which is why he brings an Antidote++3028. Poison globules stay on the floor, and a single tile can be crossed by starting on the tile before and running to the tile after3132.
  • Blue phase (lightning): four electrical tornadoes chase the player, deal about 10 damage and freeze in place3033.
  • Red phase (fire): the player is walled in and fire is shot behind them; a hit deals 10 to 20 damage plus five hits of 5, which he calls the most punishing special3433.
  • Hydra must be lured onto a coloured pool each phase except the last, or its defence is not lowered (2021: damage reduced by 75%); a roar and chat message confirm a correct lure3536. Luring early raises its max hit each time the pool spouts but reduces time in damage-reduction mode; he would avoid it while learning3738.
  • Phases: green, lure to the south-eastern red pool; below 825 HP (75%) it turns blue and goes to the north-eastern green pool; below 550 HP (50%) it turns red and goes to the north-western blue pool; below 275 HP (25%) it turns grey and needs no lure353738.

Strategy

  • Start with Protect from Magic, as magic is slightly more dangerous than ranged3739.
  • After every kill he stands on the south-eastern red-pool tile, which always lures the respawn; on the first kill of a trip the player may need to move around to lure properly313240. He snakes around the Hydra in the first phase to keep damaging while pulling it closer40.
  • Blue phase: after the third attack lightning forms; waiting until the nearest lightning is close before running west to the lure tile avoids being hit414243. He added a lightning skip in 2021: with a one-tile gap to the lightning, step diagonally one tile and back to trap the lightning under the player; it does not despawn until the next phase, so run a good distance before leaving the tile44.
  • Red phase fire skip: after three attacks the Hydra walks to the middle of the room and the player must already be on the lure tile; when its head moves, running to the lower tile skips the fire phase, giving several ticks454647. Not being on the tile when it starts gets the player bumped or stunned, ruining the skip4546. If it fails, turn off run and walk until the fire stops following; if stunned off the tile, spam-click to the right tile when the head moves and then to the skip tile47. He calls the skip easy and better than fire walking, and says to do it every encounter18.
  • Final phase: the first prayer is the opposite of the last attack received in the fire phase, then prayers alternate454849. Poison comes after the third attack, dodged by walking two tiles south50, and a second poison follows after another nine attacks, rare when potted up5051. A missed prayer changes max hit from two hits of up to 17 to one hit up to 525152. He does not consider "Jad phase" accurate because no reaction is required4849.
  • Between kills: Hydra takes about 20 seconds to respawn; leaving and re-entering from the rock is slightly faster but despawns floor items, so he does not bother5324. He tidies the inventory, picks up restores and decants them, then walks to the lure tile54. At the end of a trip he fills the inventory with bones (6.5k each in 2020, under 5k in 2021), uses Rada's blessing and then the minigame teleport to Clan Wars5524.
  • After a death, items are reclaimed from the NPC outside the boss room; without the diary he brings new boots of stone, as a second death loses everything permanently5657.

Rates and profit

Source Kills/hr Loot/hr Supplies/hr Net/hr
2020 guide 24 to 25 (max gear, blowpipe) over 5m about 500k 4 to 4.5m with supply drops5859
2021 guide 24 to 25 (max gear, blowpipe) over 4m about 500k about 3.5m blowpipe, about 4m twisted bow5760
  • An average kill takes about two minutes plus about 20 seconds respawn5857. The twisted bow gives slightly more DPS, an extra kill or two an hour and lower supply use58.
  • Much of the profit is the hydra claw used to make the Dragon hunter lance, valued at 80 million in 2020 and 50 million in 20215857. Even without rare drops he says it is easily over 3m gp an hour611.
  • On average 3 to 4 brimstone keys drop per task, which he says the OSRS Wiki calculator leaves out, adding about 50k gp/hr5962.
  • He gets about 30k Slayer XP and 130k Ranged XP an hour, calling it surprisingly one of the best boss tasks for Slayer XP6362. The description of the first guide gives an average of 230k per run54.
  • He had received four 1/3,000 drops by kill count 26664.

Gnomonkey's opinion

  • 2020: easy to learn even compared with Vorkath, but not as consistent money since much profit is claw and leather drops; he calls it basically the best boss Slayer task6163.
  • 2021: one of the most profitable soloable bosses, averaging over 4.5m gp/hr1.
  • In March 2022 he rated its pet B tier, noting it is not uncommon since everyone grinds it for gp65, and rated the boss C tier as boring and mindless: "if you can count to three attacks you are good at it"66. He adds that luring onto the vents early gives extra DPS, the electricity and fire skips are simple, and all mechanics are learnable in 10 or 20 kills67.

History

  • The 2020-04-19 battle-only guide originally showcased fire walking; he reworked and re-uploaded it with the fire skip after JampS_TV and Jarvis Strawbridge told him about it54.
  • An Inventory Setups example in a May 2020 plugin video is a Hydra setup68.

Revision history

Date Video Change
2022-03-19 PVM Boss Tier List (ALL BOSSES) OSRS Added tier-list rating (C tier, boring and mindless) and note that early luring gives extra DPS and mechanics are learnable in 10 to 20 kills.
2022-03-12 Pet Hunter Tier List (Bosses, Skilling, Etc) OSRS Added pet rating (B tier).
2021-12-03 Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS Reworked guide: net estimate lowered to about 3.5m (blowpipe) / 4m (twisted bow) from 4 to 4.5m; claw value lowered from 80m to 50m; weapon advice changed to twisted bow with dragon arrows (was amethyst arrows); boots changed to Devout (elite diary) from Pegasian; added lightning skip, bonecrusher necklace, DHCB switch thresholds, Bow of Faerdhinen opinion and animation swap on attack style change.
2020-05-14 25 Most Useful EXTERNAL Runelite Plugins (OSRS 2020) Added Inventory Setups example and four-1/3,000-drops-by-266-KC record.
2020-04-20 Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS Added full written guide: requirements, gear, inventory, mechanics, phase lures, skips and 4 to 4.5m gp/hr estimate.
2020-04-19 Alchemical Hydra Guide (Battle Only) (Fire Skip Method) OSRS Page created: battle-only guide showing the lure tiles, phase play and fire skip (reworked from fire walking).
## See also

References

  1. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 0:00 ↩↩↩↩

  2. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 0:30 ↩↩↩↩↩

  3. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 0:32 ↩↩↩

  4. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 3:53 ↩↩

  5. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 4:41 ↩↩

  6. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 1:00 ↩↩↩

  7. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 1:05 ↩↩

  8. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 1:34 ↩↩

  9. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 1:31 ↩

  10. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 2:38 ↩↩

  11. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 2:07 ↩↩↩↩

  12. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 2:00 ↩↩

  13. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 2:30 ↩↩

  14. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 3:06 ↩↩

  15. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 3:37 ↩↩

  16. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 2:57 ↩↩

  17. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 4:08 ↩

  18. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 8:51 ↩↩

  19. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 10:33 ↩

  20. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 10:52 ↩↩

  21. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 12:00 ↩

  22. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 3:26 ↩↩

  23. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 4:24 ↩↩

  24. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 11:26 ↩↩↩

  25. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 4:21 ↩↩

  26. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 5:08 ↩↩

  27. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 4:54 ↩↩

  28. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 6:10 ↩↩

  29. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 5:39 ↩

  30. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 5:24 ↩↩

  31. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 7:26 ↩↩

  32. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 8:32 ↩↩

  33. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 6:39 ↩↩

  34. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 5:53 ↩

  35. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 6:24 ↩↩

  36. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 7:04 ↩

  37. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 6:57 ↩↩↩

  38. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 7:35 ↩↩

  39. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 8:02 ↩

  40. Alchemical Hydra Guide (Battle Only) (Fire Skip Method) OSRS, 2020-04-19. ▶ 0:00 ↩↩

  41. Alchemical Hydra Guide (Battle Only) (Fire Skip Method) OSRS, 2020-04-19. ▶ 0:30 ↩

  42. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 7:57 ↩

  43. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 9:02 ↩

  44. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 9:21 ↩

  45. Alchemical Hydra Guide (Battle Only) (Fire Skip Method) OSRS, 2020-04-19. ▶ 1:25 ↩↩↩

  46. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 8:24 ↩↩

  47. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 10:04 ↩↩

  48. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 9:28 ↩↩

  49. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 10:49 ↩↩

  50. Alchemical Hydra Guide (Battle Only) (Fire Skip Method) OSRS, 2020-04-19. ▶ 1:51 ↩↩

  51. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 9:55 ↩↩

  52. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 11:00 ↩

  53. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 10:26 ↩

  54. Alchemical Hydra Guide (Battle Only) (Fire Skip Method) OSRS, 2020-04-19. ▶ 2:21 ↩↩↩

  55. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 10:37 ↩

  56. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 11:25 ↩

  57. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 12:27 ↩↩↩↩

  58. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 11:51 ↩↩↩↩

  59. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 12:22 ↩↩

  60. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 12:58 ↩

  61. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 0:00 ↩↩

  62. Alchemical Hydra Guide 2021 (4-4.5M GP/HR) OSRS, 2021-12-03. ▶ 13:25 ↩↩

  63. Alchemical Hydra Guide (4.5M/hr) MONEY MAKING GUIDE OSRS, 2020-04-20. ▶ 12:56 ↩↩

  64. 25 Most Useful EXTERNAL Runelite Plugins (OSRS 2020), 2020-05-14. ▶ 5:24 ↩

  65. Pet Hunter Tier List (Bosses, Skilling, Etc) OSRS, 2022-03-12. ▶ 4:51 ↩

  66. PVM Boss Tier List (ALL BOSSES) OSRS, 2022-03-19. ▶ 16:55 ↩

  67. PVM Boss Tier List (ALL BOSSES) OSRS, 2022-03-19. ▶ 17:24 ↩

  68. 25 Most Useful EXTERNAL Runelite Plugins (OSRS 2020), 2020-05-14. ▶ 2:34 ↩

Bosses

Nex • The Wardens • Akkha • Doom of Mokhaiotl • Yama • TzKal-Zuk • Kephri • Zebak • Ba-Ba • Alchemical Hydra • Great Olm • Zulrah • Sol Heredit • General Graardor • The Nightmare • Vorkath • Araxxor • Corrupted Hunllef • Verzik Vitur • TzTok-Jad • Tormented Demon • Phosani's Nightmare • JalTok-Jad • Shellbane Gryphon • Vanguards • The Hueycoatl • Kree'arra • Tekton • Maggot King • Vasa Nistirio • Kalphite Queen • Maiden of Sugadinti • Muttadile • Ice Demon • Vespula • Sotetseg • Grotesque Guardians • Xarpus • Corporeal Beast • Smoke devil

Category: Bosses