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Staff of the Frost Hydra
  • Staff of the Frost Hydra item sprite
Stack digit 1
Statistics
Type
Damage100 (Summon)
Knockback7.5 (Very strong)
Mana20
Use time30 (Average)
Velocity14
TooltipSummons a sentry
Summons a powerful frost hydra to spit ice at your enemies
RarityRarity level: 8
Sell20
Research1 required
Inflicts Debuff
DebuffFrostbiteFrostbite
Debuff tooltipIt's either really hot or really cold. Either way it REALLY hurts
Projectile created
  • Frost Hydra
    Frost Hydra
Not to be confused with Frost Staff.
Staff of the Frost Hydra (demo)

The Frost Hydra attacking two Mimics.

The Staff of the Frost Hydra is a Hardmode post-Plantera sentry summon weapon. It can summon the Frost Hydra sentry, which lasts for 10 minutes / 2 minutes , remains stationary, and does not count against the player's minion capacity. The Staff of the Frost Hydra is always found in the Ice Chest within the Dungeon, which must be unlocked with its corresponding Frozen Key.

The Frost Hydra will automatically angle its head up and down, and turn left and right, to target enemies in any direction. It will fire ice pellets at enemies within 60 tiles, inflicting the Frostbite debuff.

  • Its projectiles can pierce twice, hitting up to 3 enemies, and applying a 15% damage penalty to the next hit for each enemy a projectile pierces.
  • Its projectiles cannot pierce.

The Frost Hydra can be summoned anywhere on the visible screen, even if blocks completely separate the player from the point clicked. It cannot, however, be summoned in the air, and will instead appear on the closest block or platform below the summoning point.

Its best modifier is Ruthless. The Mythical modifier provides the widest array of stat bonuses, but these primarily affect the initial summon rather than the resulting minion. Additionally, minions cannot deal critical hits. The only lasting advantage a Mythical Staff of the Frost Hydra has over a Ruthless one is knockback.

Notes[]

  • The Frost Hydra does no contact damage to enemies. However, if a player contacts it in PvP, it will deal full damage and disappear.
  • Once cast, the player can switch to another weapon and the Hydra will remain and still do damage.
  • The Frost Hydra provides a large burst of light on its initial appearance. Its projectile also produces moderate light.
  • The Hydra can be summoned within solid blocks, which can be used to find ores and caves.
  • The Frost Hydra inflicts summon damage, so it will only benefit from minion damage bonuses. However, certain magic bonuses will affect the Staff's initial summoning (e.g. decreased mana use).
  • The Frost Hydra remains even if the player dies.

Tips[]

  • The high damage, versatile remote placement capability and lighting effect makes this Staff a valuable auxiliary weapon.
  • The remote capabilities of the Frost Hydra make it useful for battles and invasions, since it can be placed and left alone to slay enemies while the player does other things, such as making purchases, hiding, or fighting enemies in a different location.
  • The Frost Hydra will fall when blocks below it are removed, making it useful for guarding the player while digging vertical tunnels.
  • The Frost Hydra can be extremely strong in PvP, as it is possible to summon it on a player and deal damage instantly.
  • The Frost Hydra can also be useful in exploring caves as it can be summoned inside blocks and emits light.

Trivia[]

  • Despite being named after the Lernaean Hydra in Greek mythology, the Frost Hydra sentry only has one head.
  • The Frost Hydra somewhat resembles Perfect Chaos, the final boss of the Sega Dreamcast title, Sonic Adventure.
  • The Frost Hydra measures approximately 4 tiles wide by 3 high and is semi-transparent.

History[]

  • Desktop 1.4.4:
    • Projectile now inflicts Frostbite.
    • Projectile speed increased by 50%.
    • Now has a short delay on firing after being summoned.
  • Desktop 1.4.1:
    • Projectile now pierces twice, hitting up to 3 enemies.
    • Applies a 15% damage penalty to the next hit for each enemy a projectile pierces.
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