Background:
It is very apparent that one of the most popular boss ideas is the Hydra. While mobs are the second most requested thing on the Minecraft Feedback Website, behind only blocks (which in Minecraft usually refers to terrain, ores, furniture, and appliances), bosses are more or less special monsters. The Hydra is a Greek mythological monster which only appeared in one tale: the Tale of Heracles (or Hercules if one were to believe in those Disney movies).
According to the myth, Heracles killed his entire family and, as a result, was forced to serve Eurystheus of Tiryns as penance for his crimes. Eurystheus gave Heracles 12 labors that are deadly to any mortal who attempts them. After killing and skinning the Nemean Lion and returning to Eurystheus, Heracles was given the task to kill the Hydra: a monster that resided on the Island of Lemea.
The monster itself had a single immortal head, but it also has the ability to regrow its heads as soon as they get decapitated. The Hydra's teeth are capable of raising skeletons from the dead, and it has a poisonous breath.
Heracles had to call his nephew and lover (because of course Greek myth writers had to throw incest in there), Iolaos, for help. As a result, what Heracles and Iolaos did was, while Heracles chopped off the Hydra's heads, Iolaos set the neck stumps on fire so the heads won't grow back. Heracles buried the immortal head underneath a heavy rock. Once the battle was over, Heracles collected the monster's blood and used it as deadly arrow poison in future labors.
The Mob:
Let's get to the suggested Minecraft Hydra itself. In terms of size, the Twilight Forest mod's Hydra would make for the best size reference. It'll be a little difficult to implement a dragon-sized monster that roams on the ground because the physics engine will need to be adjusted to account for large monsters without bugging out.
As it stands, currently there are three bosses: the Ender Dragon, the Wither, and the Elder Guardians. The Ender Dragon is located in the end and uses three mechanics: flight, healing itself with Ender Crystals, and a breath that can be harvested for Lingering Potions. The Wither is a spawnable boss and has spawning invulnerability, projectile explosives, perpetual levitation (which it loses at 150 HP), and the deadliest status effect: wither. The Elder Guardians aren't really that special beyond a curse that causes Mining Fatigue III. Ender Dragons drop a dragon egg, Withers drop a nether star, and Elder Guardians don't exactly drop anything special.
For the location, the overworld would be the ideal choice, preferably in a cave (in order to allow the Hydra to spawn in skeletons) or an island (which would be more true to the Hydra's part in the 12 Labors of Heracles).
To avoid making the Hydra unbeatable, it would be recommended that the Hydra have three heads. Each Hydra head would have 120 or 150 HP (for a total of 360 or 450 HP at a minimum). For its mechanics, the Hydra would reproduce any head that gets killed after a short but lenient timeframe (5-10 seconds, I think?). Each new head would have full health (again, 120 or 150 HP). Beyond the reproduction mechanic, the Hydra would have a breath much like the Ender Dragon's, except it has a chance of inflicting Poison on you. Lastly, the Hydra can go for a bite into the ground. When this is done, the Hydra will spawn in a group of Hydra Skeletons. Hydra Skeletons are much like regular skeletons, except they are immune to being cooked by the sun and their arrows have a chance of being tipped with poison. To allow for counters, let's go for these.
Potion of Fire:
This potion is pretty much does a longer version of what the Flint and Steel already does. Since this is a potion, however, turning it into a Splash Potion would allow you to safely torch neck stumps from a distance (a Hydra would probably try to kill you if you tried to Flint-and-Steel it). That and the Splash Potion of Fire would make for a fun pretend Molotov Cocktail for PVP servers. Turning it into a Lingering Potion would allow you to make Fire Arrows.
Crafting Recipe: Thick Potion (because oil/kerosene in Molotov Cocktails) + Blaze Powder
Potion of Poison Resistance:
This potion allows you to take the Hydra's poisonous breath, poisoned arrows, spider bites, and the consumption of unprepared fugu without getting poisoned. Since antivenom is a thing that allows the body to resist the effects of venom, I recommend the following recipe.:
Crafting Recipe: Water Bottle + Puffer Fish
Rewards:
Let's compare the Hydra to the other bosses. The Ender Dragon is the most rewarding monster, and that's due to the difficulty of killing one and the fact that its meant to be the "End Boss" of the game. It only provides 12,000 EXP on the first kill; it gives off 500 EXP normally. Comparing the possible difficulty of the Hydra, I would expect it to provide an EXP reward of 1,000. Beyond 1,000 EXP, the following drops would work.
Poisoned Arrows: 100% of getting 1 to 3.
Hydra Head: 100% of getting 1. The Hydra Head is a trophy and thus has no functional use, much like the Dragon Egg. To reflect the immortal head of the real Hydra, if one were to mount the head on a wall on top of a block, the head would have a "breathing" animation.
Hydra Blood: 100% of getting 1 to 3. Alternative drop to poisoned arrows. Used as an alternative crafting ingredient to the Lingering Potion of Poison in the creation of Poisoned Arrows. (Sorry; couldn't come up with a unique effect).
Hydra Bow: Rare item; 5% chance of getting 1. The Hydra Bow has the charge time of a regular bow. The Hydra Bow, however, is slightly stronger than a regular bow, but without the restrictions of a crossbow and a durability of 576. This item can be crafted with 1 bow and 4 Hydra Blood arranged in a crosshair formation. Here are the damage values for the Hydra Bow.:
0-0.2s: 1.5 damage
0.3-0.9s: 8 damage
1s (fully charged): 12 (13 on critical) damage.
Conclusion:
This is my first suggestion for Minecraft. It's strange how, although Hydras are a popular monster choice, they aren't suggested through the Minecraft Feedback Website. Feel free to vote on, provide feedback (which would help balance the concept more), or share your views on the concept.
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