Hydra (SG)

Hydra (SG)
jp name	ハイドラ
Item Information
Weapon type	Shotgun
Weapon action	Break-action (3 barrels)
Ammunition	Shotgun Shells
Special guide
Customisable?	Upgradable
Buying price	30,000 Gold
Other
Appears in	Resident Evil 5

The Hydra (SG) is a triple-barrel, sawed-off shotgun available in Resident Evil 5. Compared to other shotguns, it does a lot of damage from long range, and is just as effective at close range, similar to the Jail Breaker. It is the most powerful shotgun in RE5's Campaign Mode.

In-game

The Hydra, when upgraded in its attack range, it can triple or even quadruple its damage at close range. For comparison, the M3, which doesn't have the attack range upgrade, can only double its damage. It has a starting firepower of 280, reload speed of 3.67, a capacity of 4, and an attack range of 0. Fully upgraded, it has a firepower of 550, reload speed of 3.30, a capacity of 10, and an attack range of 2. Note that attack range works by increasing the number of pellets fired. It's only major downside is its very slow reload time, the slowest of all shotguns in RE5, but consider that you can reload via your inventory, which would bypass the reloading animation.

The most notable feature of this gun is its erratic firing stance when used by either Chris or Wesker. Rather than the traditional two-hand grasp while aiming, both characters will instead turn sideways to a side view and hold it in one hand; this technique may need some getting used to upon first trying it out.

The gun becomes available for purchase for 30,000 gold after the Ithaca M37 is fully-upgraded.

After fully upgrading the Hydra, the infinite ammo option becomes available for 20,000 Exchange Points in the Bonus Features menu.

Note that it's not recommended to use both the Hydra and the Gatling Gun at the same time, because it's very hard to aim with the Hydra due to the ammo container of the Gatling Gun blocking the vision.

Upgrade chart

It takes a total of ₦ 125,000 to buy and fully upgrade the Hydra (SG)

Level	Firing Power	Cost	Reload Speed	Cost	Capacity	Cost	Attack Range	Cost
1	280	Default	3.67 sec.	Default	4	Default	7	Default
2	290	2,000Gold	3.30 sec.	2,000Gold	5	1,000Gold	10	6,000Gold
3	310	3,000Gold	N/A	N/A	6	1,000Gold	15	15,000Gold
4	330	4,000Gold	N/A	N/A	7	1,000Gold	N/A	N/A
5	350	4,000Gold	N/A	N/A	8	1,500Gold
6	380	4,000Gold	N/A	N/A	9	1,500Gold	N/A	N/A
7	400	5,000Gold	N/A	N/A	10	2,000Gold	N/A	N/A
8	420	5,000Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
9	440	7,000Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
10	460	7,000Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
11	500	10,000Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
12	550	13,000Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Fully Upgraded Shotgun Stats

Stat \ Shotgun	Ithaca M37	M3	Jail Breaker	Hydra
Range	All equal: after 25 paces all shotguns inflict 0 damage
“Range” Upgrades*	0		2
Max Damage	400	900	350 x 2.14 = 749	550 x 2.14 = 1177
Number of Average Shot Pellets	7		15
Damage per Shot Pellet	58	129	50	79
Rate of Fire**	12s	11s	9s	8s
Reload Speed***	2.4s	2.7s	1.8s	3.3s
Capacity****	25	10	15	10
Critical Chance Multiplier	1*****	0
Spread	Equal: All shotguns spread to the same average circumference

*Attack Range upgrades increase shot pellets by 50% each level - effectively doubling pellets from 7 to 15 when fully upgraded.
**Rate of Fire: the time it takes to fire 10 rounds.
***Each shotgun has a set 2 shell reload animation. With infinite ammo, all reload animations are negated.
****With infinite ammo, all shotgun capacities are infinite.
*****Ithaca: 1 (in comparison, M92F has 3, VZ61 has 2)

These statistics were obtained by firing at a large wall.

Other appearances

• Hydra (Resident Evil 6)
• Hydra (Resident Evil: Revelations)

Further Notes

• At some point in the game's development, this gun was known as the Mad Max.

• If Sheva uses the Hydra, she will hold it in a typical shooting stance while aiming, while if Chris uses the Hydra, he will hold the shotgun straight out with one hand. Wesker uses the same stance to fire the Hydra as Chris, seen when using his S.T.A.R.S. outfit in The Mercenaries.
• While all other weapons in both Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 have a laser module mounted to the weapon via some sort of accessory rail or specialized mounting, the Hydra does not. Instead, the laser is secured to the bottom of the forearm via a piece of tape, further enhancing the unconventional nature of the weapon.
• The single-handed wielding of the fully upgraded Hydra is a reference to Capcom's Devil May Cry, due to Chris and Dante's way of holding their respective shotguns.

Gallery

Chris aiming with the Hydra (PC Version)

Resident Evil Hydra Shotgun

Chris holds the Hydra with a one handed grip.

Reloading the Hydra.

Another reload.

Modded gameplay of Jill aiming a Hydra (PC)

Chris Warrior aiming with Hydra