12~ man Hydra optimal setup

[neuroticelite]

I want to get a "small" group together to go do Hydra in the near future with my linkshell. We don't have relics and crazy gear but do have generally good gear and definitely the skill to do it so I just need to decide on the setup. I have been out of traditional endgame for quite some time now and really don't know what an optimal setup would be for this. I remember doing it about two years ago with a lot of MNKs and SAMs with the traditional tank party and stuff.

As for the party setups, I currently plan on having them on the safe side. I'm going to keep DD amounts generally low and just have them be very good at their job. I'm the SAM and I have what I think is great gear to go up against this. I know that the tank party might not need this many buffs, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. The tank party will have way more than enough buffs to keep themselves alive. The DD party should also have plenty of support to keep them alive, or we could maybe throw in an extra RDM and WHM in the third party. All the DDs will be getting Haste, Songs, and Rolls so they should be able to put up some good damage.

Tank party

PLD/NIN
PLD/NIN
RDM/DRK
BRD/BLM
COR/WHM
WHM/BLM

DD Party

COR/WHM
BRD/BLM
RDM/DRK
SAM/NIN
DD #2
DD #3

Support Party (if needed)

WHM/BLM
RDM/DRK

So, I'm looking for any general suggestions for party setup and the 2 last DD jobs. I think I remember that all DD should sub NIN? So maybe some MNK/NINs or DRK/NINs or something? I know that this can be 5 or 6 manned and definitely less than 12-14 manned but like I said I'd prefer to be more safe than sorry. 12-14 is the numbers I'm counting on, no more and no less.

[Kaylia]

Only need 6 people really (~20-40min). Make sure the melee have holy water for Nerves Breath, and that's it.

WAR
WAR
WAR
BRD
WHM
RDM


Ditch the plds, they won't keep hate or do any good in this fight. I personally prefer WAR over SAM because of provoke (can keep hate when it's spamming invincible, and you can save other tank when they are in trouble), but there is no reason why a good SAM wouldn't be able to do it.


-Bring Holy water and antidote.
-Nerves breath deal 600dmg, then drop your max hp to 30% and give you a potent poison. It can kill people easily if you're not quick to remove it.
-Never more than 3 melee on it, unless you have some heavy healer backup.
-T elemental pop around. Not really dangerous, but be careful anyway
-Don't stand in front of its move. Breath damage always do less damage if you stand at a certain angle.

[Hyriu]

We do WAR WAR BRD/BLM BRD/BLM RDM/WHM RDM/WHM for Hydra, well we did because it's boring now

Also ditch the /DRKs, iirc you can't stun it but I could be wrong.

[Kaylia]

Can't stun it, and isn't it imune to elegy as well? I don't remember.

[Hyriu]

No, you can E.Seal it or get lucky, E.Seal's the easy way.

[Kaylia]

Probably confused it with tinnin, I know one of them is immune.

[Arthars]

if you really plan for 12 man:

2x JP merit pt(not the NA versions with 1 poor whm or rdm only)
incase you still dont get it ._. DD DD DD RDM WHM BRD

if your going with 6 man:
1x merit pt

thats all

and oh SJ NIN for this one

trembling may fuck you up w/o shadow lol

[Omnipotent]

Did this looong time ago:

WAR
NIN
BRD/BLM
RDM
WHM
WAR

@ like 15% or 20%, can't remember, have BRD 2 hour march, WAR's get 100 TP, MS rampage, then icarus wing + rampage, and then beat it to the ground, usually died after that.

[neuroticelite]

I have revised my setup. Like I said I am not looking to 6 man this because I'm not out to prove anything, just to kill it safely and efficiently for a group of people who have never fought it.

Tank party

NIN/DRK
NIN/DRK
RDM/WHM
BRD/BLM
COR/WHM
WHM/BLM

DD Party

COR/WHM
BRD/BLM
RDM/WHM
SAM/NIN
WAR/NIN
DD #3

Look good?

[Hyriu]

no, NIN/WARs with DD setups then ok, and I just looked at the tank PT

[Kaylia]

I have revised my setup. Like I said I am not looking to 6 man this because I'm not out to prove anything, just to kill it safely and efficiently for a group of people who have never fought it.

Tank party

NIN/DRK
NIN/DRK
RDM/WHM
BRD/BLM
COR/WHM
WHM/BLM

DD Party

COR/WHM
BRD/BLM
RDM/WHM
SAM/NIN
WAR/NIN
DD #3

Look good?

The 6 men is for an "easy" kill, it's not to prove anything. Obviously you can add more support to this group, but you should build your alliance around it.


Anyway, you -don't- want a tank party on hydra. You want melees capabale of dealing as much damage, while giving little tp and taking little damage. Hydra WS are all breathes, meaning they are weak with the correct position and won't wipe shadows (trembling is the only 2-3 shadow physical aoe).


Because you have to cut its head to make it easier, beat its regen and take as little damage from AoE as possible, tanking it with 2 or 3 powerful damage dealer is the way to go. Your tank won't keep hate against melee, and will do shit damage in this fight...they are just getting in the way.

[Killkenny]

Killing it with 6 isn't "proving anything" and having fought it before doesn't make any difference.

The first 75% is easy and will probably take ~10mins depending on the calibre of your DDs, under 25% its much higher regen and more frequent tp use means you may keep bouncing between 1-25% hp due to physical shield. Just need to keep DDs fully buffed with songs and haste and wait until it goes long enough without using physical shield to kill it.

6-8 People would be optimal for this, you don't really want more than 3 melees on it at once because you will have to start adding in more support. A second brd/blm and whm would be the only useful additions to a merit party setup I could see.

Only move that really has any hope of wiping you is nerve gas and thats if its used twice in succession but melees should be fast with holy waters and mages with cures.

If you are going to have more than 8 people no matter what bring some spare melees incase one dies but stick your 3 strongest ones on it.

Ridill Wars and Nins work best for keeping heads off (and thereby preventing certain tp moves) but sams and other DDs work also.

[Darkmoon]

We tend to do the following:

Typicaly 2 PTs of this, dcepending on who wants to go play with it.

WAR/nin
WAR/nin
BRD/whm
BRD/whm
COR/xxx
WHM/smn

Then we have a junk pt with a few left over DD/nin that get moved in our out depending on tp spam/mp levels.

DRG jumps are great on this, and Angon, DRG can stay at range building TP via jumps while normal PTs fight it, can go in and WS.

Just melee it down like a big out merit mob.

Pysical Shield is like a temporary pause button. When its up, Hydta wont get TP, so he wont spam moves, this lets your healers rest a tick or two, and gives you a small break on shadows, all ppl that dont have hate can get a new ichi up.


We had a long long time ago tried a PLD/nin to be kinda a backup, but yeah he wont ever hold hate off the DDs going all out.

Its a fun mob to play with, the drops arent great, but still very fun.

[Zilong]

Probably confused it with tinnin, I know one of them is immune.

Tinnin is pretty easy to land elegy/slow II on, our BRD manage to land it just fine without ES.

[Kaylia]

Tinnin is pretty easy to land elegy/slow II on, our BRD manage to land it just fine without ES.

I was actually confusing it an earth elemental. Happy now.

[Zilong]

Well, considering the rest of the ZNM tier 4 are immune to elegy/slow, it's easy to assume that Tinnin might have been too, especially considering the actual hydra being a ToAU ZNM with their plain hatred toward RDM and BRD.

[Darkmoon]

I was actually confusing it an earth elemental. Happy now.

Three headed HNM Earth elemental with a long pointy tail!

[Kaylia]

Well, considering the rest of the ZNM tier 4 are immune to elegy/slow, it's easy to assume that Tinnin might have been too, especially considering the actual hydra being a ToAU ZNM with their plain hatred toward RDM and BRD.

Yeah, might be why I remember it wrong. Maybe our brd was just complaining it was highly resistant, and I assumed it was

On topic, BRD/BLM or BRD/WHM for hydra? I don't remember bringing brd/blm on this one, and losing a healer (and someone who can erase himself) probably not worth it.

[Drex]

More people on Hydra makes it harder, not easier. More people getting hit by AoE = more MP spent curing them, and your tank party will not hold hate off DDs. I think you are making this fight harder than it is, OP, just throwing NIN/DRKs in to get AoEd is wasting MP.

If you really want to go with your setup, do something like:

PT1:

COR/NIN
BRD/BLM
RDM/WHM
SAM/NIN
WAR/NIN
DD/NIN

That party fights Hydra the whole time.

2nd party:

NIN/DRK
NIN/DRK
RDM/WHM
BRD/BLM
COR/NIN
WHM/BLM

That party holds Hydra if first party wipes. A NIN/DRK can step in if one melee dies to take their place til they unweaken, as well. Honestly, if you DD and healers in party 1 don't suck, you could just use the brd+rdm+whm in party 2 and kill it with 9.

[neuroticelite]

To make everyone happy I am now going at it..

SAM/NIN
SAM/NIN
WAR/NIN
COR/WHM
BRD/BLM
RDM/WHM

WHM/BLM
RDM/BLM
BRD/BLM
COR/WHM