Warframe Hydroid Guide - How to Obtain, Craft, and Best Builds

The corsair Hydroid is a versatile warframe capable of taking an offensive stance with his many aggressive abilities that can help with mobility and crowd control as well. Similar to Nekros, he can also be used to easily farm materials from any endless mission, so we will talk about that on the builds below.

His Prime version also displays higher shields, armor, and energy capacity, as well as an additional polarity. However, right now Hydroid Prime is unobtainable until the Vault brings him back, so you may need to roam around the Trade Chat in case you want him.

How to Craft Hydroid?

Hydroid's main blueprint can be purchased from the Market, and his component blueprints can be obtained from defeating from Councilor Vay Hek on Oro, Earth.

Building Requirements
Hydroid Blueprint Price - 50,000 Credits
Hydroid Neuroptics - Drop Chance 38.72% (Oro, Earth)
Hydroid Chassis - Drop Chance 38.72% (Oro, Earth)
Hydroid Systems - Drop Chance 22.56% (Oro, Earth)

Building Time
Warframe- 72 Hours
Components - 12 Hours

Hydroid Overview and Best Weapon Options

Hydroid can be a very versatile warframe, especially against large crowds of enemies. His four abilities are either offensive ones or tools for crowd control that also can add mobility, which makes him extremely fun to play, especially accompanied by other warframes like Nekros (more on that later).

Abilities
Passive
Hydroid's melee slam attacks have a 50% chance to spawn a tentacle that lasts for 15 seconds. The tentacle senses nearby enemies within 5 meters to grab and thrash them, dealing 200 True damage per second bypassing shields and armor; captured enemies are released upon death or tentacle expiring. Up to 3 tentacles spawned by this passive may exist at once.

Tempest Barrage
Target an area and call down a barrage of liquid fury. Charge to increase the lethality of this attack.
Strength:
50 / 75 / 100 / 150 Impact base damage
100 / 150 / 200 / 300 Impact charged damage
Duration:
2 / 3 / 4 / 5 Seconds (base)
4 / 6 / 8 / 10 Seconds (charged)
Range: 5 Meters of explosion radius
Misc:
Infinite cast range
4 Salvos per sec
3 / 5 / 8 / 10 Meters of barrage radius

Tidal Surge
Crash through enemies in a ferocious wall of water.
Strength: 100 / 200 / 250 / 300 Impact and Slash damage
Duration: 20 / 25 / 27.5 / 30 Meters per second
Range: 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 Meters of striking radius
Misc:
1 Second of wave duration
50% Undertow travel distance

Undertow
Become a water trap and drown unsuspecting enemies.
Grab Cost: 5
Meters per Energy: 0.2 Meters
Strength:
10 / 15 / 20 / 25 Impact damage per second
1 / 1.5 / 1.7 / 2 % Damage increase per second
Range:
1.5 / 2.5 / 3 / 4 Meters of puddle size
10 / 12 / 13 / 15 Meters of grab range
Misc:
50% Tidal Surge travel distance
200% Tentacle Swarm damage bonus

Tentacle Swarm
Tap to spawn watery tentacles from all nearby surfaces to wreak havoc. Charge to increase the number of tentacles and spawn area. Use while in Undertow to have the tentacles emerge from the pool.
Strength:
75 / 150 / 225 / 300 Magnetic contact damage
50 / 100 / 150 / 200 True capture damage per second
Duration: 10 / 13 / 18 / 20 Seconds
Range:
3 / 3 / 5 / 5 Meters of base radius
9 / 9 / 15 / 15 Meters of charged radius
Misc:
Infinite cast range
4 / 6 / 8 / 10 Tentacles
8 / 12 / 16 / 20 Charged tentacles
200% Damage bonus from Undertow

Recommended Weapons

Hydroid doesn’t have a need for any specific weapon as long as they have a good reach and hit hard and fast. Glaxion, Akbolto, and Nikana will serve that purpose, and of course, if you can afford the Prime or Vandal versions, the better. Use as many Forma on them as you see fit to achieve the desired build, and you'll be good to go!

Primary Weapon - Glaxion

Secondary Weapon - Akbolto

Melee Weapon - Nikana

Hydroid Best Builds

Hydroid - All-Rounder Build

Mods List
Aura Mod - Corrosive Projection
Exilus Mod - Cunning Drift
Loadout

• Intensify
• Blind Rage
• Flow
• Power Drift
• Transient Fortitude
• Narrow Minded
• Overextended
• Continuity

The idea of this build is to make Hydroid work as an all-rounded crowd control unit by using Tentacle Swarm, Undertow, and Tidal Surge for mobility and control, focusing on Range to maintain a decent radius of effect, enough Duration and Strength to eliminate enemies as fast as you can, and Flow to compensate for the lack of Efficiency.

Farm Puddle Build

Mods List
Aura Mod - Corrosive Projection
Exilus Mod - Power Drift
Loadout

• Intensify
• Blind Rage
• Flow
• Pilfering Swarm
• Transient Fortitude
• Narrow Minded
• Streamline
• Continuity

Similar to the last build, this one has a few differences with a sole focus in mind: farming. To do that, you need to ditch the range and efficiency for more Duration and Strength. The strategy is extremely simple, you need to go to a dead-end room in any endless mission, spawn Tentacle Swarm on the floor, and Pilfering Swarm will help you to get a massive amount of materials dropped while also blocking the entrance, protecting you. If you team up with a Nekros, I can’t express how many materials you will have at the end of that mission.