Units

Hydralisk

The evolutionary matrix of the caterpillar-like herbivorous Slothien was supercharged by the original Overmind, who twisted the hapless creatures into nightmarish killers known as Hydralisks. Within the plates of their carapaces, Hydralisks house hundreds of armor-piercing spines that can be fired in volleys at enemies approaching from ground or air. The remarkable musculature of the Hydralisk (4,000 muscles compared to a Terran’s 629) can launch a Needle Spine at astounding speeds, easily penetrating 2 centimeters of solid neosteel even at maximum range. Under any circumstances, massed groups of Hydralisks should be approached with extreme caution, and preferably with Siege Tank support.
Heart of the Swarm Wings of Liberty
Unit Statistics

3D Model

Basic information

Race: Zerg
Life: 80
Armor: 0 (3)
Movement: Normal
Cargo Size: 2
Attributes: Light - Biological

Production

Producer: Larva
Hotkey: H
Requires: Hydralisk Den
Cost: 100 50
Supply: 2
Build time: 33

Combat

Upgrades:
Weapon:
Ability:

3D Model

Basic information

Race: Zerg
Life: 80
Armor: 0 (3)
Movement: Normal
Cargo Size: 2
Attributes: Light - Biological

Production

Producer: Larva
Hotkey: H
Requires: Hydralisk Den
Cost: 100 50
Supply: 2
Build time: 33

Combat

Upgrades:
Weapon:
Ability:

General Strategy

  • High-damage ranged unit.
  • Able to attack air and ground units.
  • Best paired with other unit types to protect their high damage output from enemies.
  • Can improve attack range with Grooved Spines upgrade.
  • Can burrow with Burrow upgrade.
  • Can improve movement speed off of creep with the Muscular Augments upgrade.
  • Effective at attacking air units when grouped in large numbers.

Evolutions

  • Burrow: Allows the unit to take cover underground, rendering it unable to attack. A burrowed unit is invisible unless revealed by detectors or effects.
  • Grooved Spines: Increases hydralisk range by 1.
  • Muscular Augments: Increases hydralisk movement speed when off of creep.

Countermeasures

VS Terran
  • Use vehicles such as Siege Tanks in Siege Mode to attack Hydralisks from range. Siege Tanks are especially effective when Hydralisks are grouped which can give you the opportunity to eliminate multiple Hydralisks at once.
  • Hellions with upgrades kill Hydralisks quickly. Make sure to approach the Hydralisk pack to maximize on the splash damage.
VS Zerg
  • Swarms of upgraded Zerglings are able to swiftly surround and destroy individual Hydralisks; similarly, Banelings get a significant boost to their detonation damage against Hydralisks.
  • Roaches’ armor and health pools allow them to efficiently defeat Hydralisks.
VS Protoss
  • Use Sentries equipped with the “Guardian Shield” ability to significantly reduce damage to your units when faced with large groups of Hydralisks.
  • The High Templar’s “Psi Storm” ability is extremely effective against stationary Hydralisks.
  • Zealots have the ability to cheaply soak up a large amount of damage from Hydralisks, while dealing a fair amount back. Research Charge to make sure Hydralisks can’t kite.
  • Colossus splash damage also destroys Hydralisk swarms.
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Comments (20)

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yoda #532
yoda
11/29/2012
sssooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo slow
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DodgeyDave #724
DodgeyDave
7/15/2011
just for any one who desent know select them typ /dance
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HaZaRdoUZ #513
HaZaRdoUZ
5/21/2011
and the most stylish!!!
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HaZaRdoUZ #513
HaZaRdoUZ
5/21/2011
The most original Zerg unit...
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WARRIOR #122
WARRIOR
5/4/2011
pretty cool in looks no doubt.....but they could use more hp,even marines hit them pretty hard (if stimmed)
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Moon #349
Moon
2/15/2011
haha . With 3-4 colosi + mass zealot and Stalker , u can pawn those hydralisks easily :D . That's what my personal think . No offence to any Hydralisk's fans ^^
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PrimeHydraAr #495
PrimeHydraAr
1/6/2011
Epicness but they shud put in da lurker
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lolbot #393
lolbot
1/3/2011
apparently (http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Hydralisk_(StarCraft_II)) they have a melee attack...wtf
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HaZaRdoUZ #513
HaZaRdoUZ
5/21/2011
@lolbot: Yeah they and roaches have melee if their enemy is right near it...
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delta #881
delta
12/15/2010
wat s the lurker
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shakuras #422
shakuras
9/5/2011
@delta: lurker was an original starcraft broodwar unit. you must morph a hydralisk to a lurker. lurker attacks while burrowed with their powerful spines that does ground damage (very powerful!)
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DeadKawaii #488
DeadKawaii
9/19/2010
I think the roach is the new replacement for lurker
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Bhaalr #200
Bhaalr
9/14/2010
Miss lurker-.-
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Boomkin #105
Boomkin
9/13/2010
hydralisk are so worth useing in a league match
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Ziang #981
Ziang
9/2/2010
By far my favorite unit. Zerglings are cheap with nice rushes, mutalisks own everything, but the hydralisk ambush from underground is a site that brings tears to my eyes, as bits of terran and machinery fly around in pieces. Their animation is also quite wicked :D
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Quirriff #661
Quirriff
8/21/2010
Longer ranged, and better against lighter armoured targets than in the previous game, they can be do frightening amounts of damage.

However they have the lowest HP for a 2 supply ground unit, and sharing the most expensive position among them with stalkers. Which posses a totalled 160 HP/SP which is twice their HP, making Hydralisks the most frail units in their class.

Hydralisks also have slow off-creep movement, limiting their use in the offensive but that may be a mixed blessing if you have other units to take the initial hits.
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Dominus #517
Dominus
8/20/2010
I think this unit is too expensive for its 80 hp and light armor. Was my fav unit in SC 1 but too costly to mass produce in SC2. Left aside air-attacking ability, roach will be a much superior unit and cost effective than hydralisk.
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XxJokerxX #764
XxJokerxX
9/7/2010
@Dominus: I totally agree. It's better to go for Mutalisks rather than Hydralisks. At least for me it worked always better.
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VassupBruno #886
VassupBruno
8/6/2010
All i can think of is Kerrigan patting their heads
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Ezenthar #169
Ezenthar
10/3/2010
@VassupBruno: +1