Hydra dmg. Hiow good can it get?

[Doc]

With max synergies (firebolt/ball), it does  284 - 337 damage and lasts 10 seconds.  This works wonders on meph, as you can have 5 hyds active at the same time (2 second cast delay) each doing 311 *.75 damage (hes resistant in hell, i think 75%).  Its definately a slow killer. 

Max your fire mastery and you're in business, though.  749 - 888 damage for 80 skill points plus prereq.  Not a Blizzard by any means, but still good.  Add in frozen orb to multiskill (or glacial spike to freeze them near a hydra) and I think you have a decent sorc.  Course, if you are going to max your fireball/mast/bolt, fireball is going to be another spamming spell.

I suggest the glacial spike combo with a very fast cast (think either 63% or 105% fcr).  Cast a hydra, freeze and watch em burn!  You just need the mana to support 10 mana every 8-9 frames.
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Actually, I am a strong advocate of Ice Blast. It only damages a single target, but, does more damage and has a better freeze time. High level Ice Blast is absolutely deadly. As a bonus, the missile travels faster than a Glacial Spike. You can infact, max Ice Blast before you get to level 30 and get your Hydras. It has an easy to manage mana cost. It will blast through normal quite well, and, past level 26 or 27, (I forget) it starts really ramping up on the damage. It does freeze for several seconds in Hell, which is handy, as it will keep monsters still so Hydras do not miss. As an added bonus, the pubbies will be utterly baffled over how you are able to kill so quickly with a level 6 skill, and will most likely call you "nOOb" or whatever it is pubbies say when their little minds can't compute.

Hydras do considerable damage... Far more than mere numbers might hint at. It's easy to be deceived at the seemingly low damage... But Hydras spit out an awful lot of firebolts at a fairly good rate of speed. For things that are somewhat or highly fire resistant, I highly recommend giving your merc something that causes open wounds, to kill any regeneration between firebolts, as it will allow your Hydras to produce a steady flow of damage.