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Hydra is a legendary shotgun manufactured by Atlas.

Examples are on the talk page.

Special Weapon Effects[]

Five heads of Death – Spread pattern is five distinct horizontal groupings.

Usage & Description[]

The Hydra's unique accessory causes it to deal more damage than other shotguns of similar part composition, and the fixed spread pattern of the pellets makes it easier to predict where shots will go. Due to the very wide horizontal spread of the pellets, the Hydra is best used against groups of enemies or at very close range so that most of the pellets will hit. The Hydra will make quick work of Rakk and other large groups of weak enemies, but for individual enemies it is generally better to use a more accurate weapon for critical hits.

The Hydra has a base +3 projectile count, putting the count up

Brdlnd-20091112-204621

Hydra's fixed spread pattern.

to a maximum of 12. If the Hydra has a high accuracy rating (with no effect on the pattern), it will become a Hunter's Hydra, lose 2 projectiles, but gain an extra +20% damage.

While the Hydra has a high accuracy rating, as a pattern shotgun (like the Friendly Fire, Crux, and Hammer) this rating has little effect.

Hydra carnage

Carnage vs Carnage-Hydra

Carnage Hydras, however, are not pattern shotguns, and do benefit from its accuracy. Hydras spawning with the Carnage barrel will override the Hydra accessory's effect on spread pattern and projectile count, but inherits the boosts to damage and accuracy, making for an exceptional quality Carnage. If present with material 1 or material 2, the increased accuracy also qualifies it for the "Hunter's" prefix, something normally only possible with Jakobs Carnages. "Hunter's" will increase it's damage even further, while the pellet count reduction is disregarded as Carnages only shoot one projectile to begin with. Material 3 Hydras will instead receive the material-derived "Pearl" prefix.

The Hydra effect comes from the acc4_Atlas_Hydra accessory. The "-100%" spread means it makes the weapon approximately twice as accurate, depending on other parts of the gun (this will not give the gun 100% accuracy). For an explanation on how to interpret the information on the following table, please see the stat modifiers page.

acc4_Atlas_Hydra
Accuracy Minimum: -50%
Spread: -100%
Damage: +35%
Projectile Count: +3

Notes[]

  • Unlike most other shotguns, it is generally not possible for all projectiles to hit a single target, unless the weapon is fired at point-blank range

Trivia[]

  • The name is a reference to the Lernaean Hydra. The red text refers to the fact that the Lernaean Hydra had five serpentine heads, as well as poisonous blood and breath; created to bring death to any mortals in its wake.
  • This weapon reappears in the Borderlands 2 DLC Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. However, since the Atlas Corporation is no longer present in Borderlands 2, the newer Hydra is instead manufactured by Jakobs. 
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