Are hydras fun?

[BNL]

Hydras are a concept in which two or more players play in a single slot at the same time. While many players on the site like to play as hydras, some players point out that this is cheating, as it allows a player to seek advice from another player, a point which I have since reconciled with.

If I think hydras are cheating, why do I still allow hydras to play in my games? Well, I see hydras as fun, both fun to play as and fun to play against, and I feel like the added enjoyment a hydra brings to games outweighs the marginal advantage of the hydra.

However, I do realize that not everyone sees it the same way as me. Some can't get over the cheating aspect of the hydra, while some find it annoying to deal with hydras and "hydra abuse" like signing issues and dissonance. This is why I'd like to know from the community if hydras are fun and your thoughts about it.

[Ramcius]

My main problem with them is that they are not single slot, but rather lovers - you get different reads from what should be same slot, you can't get answers sometimes, because it was other head who said something you want to discuss, it's especially problematic, when they don't sign posts and you have guess which one is posting. I don't see it as cheating, I don't care how many people are there or if people ask advices, but I want them to solve their differences between them in their thread or whatever and act as 1 slot in main thread

[Krazy]

Hydras have a pretty significant impact on replace-out rates, for the positive. Basically a hydra is a way to take a player that would otherwise probably risk afking, ragetilting out, or otherwise and having a pre-established replacement for the slot that is already caught up. I want to say something like 20% of hydras end up being single-player slots that simply maintains greater game integrity.

That being said the main drawback is that so many hydra players refuse to sign, which somewhat limits your ability to maintain game integrity imo, but on the whole I think the net effect is positive.

[popsofctown]

If we're gonna have a thread about hydras can someone explain/defend/oppose N slot hydra limits to me? I don't get those. Like, either you don't like hydras and you want your game to have zero hydras, or you think they're good, and you want all your slots to be hydras, right?
Head limits, that's different.

[Ramcius]

Even if people dislike hydras, they can accept some of them in their games, they don't ruin game experience that much, most people aren't extreme to the point of "I don't want any hydra in my games"

[Nexus]

No

[popsofctown]

Even if people dislike hydras, they can accept some of them in their games, they don't ruin game experience that much, most people aren't extreme to the point of "I don't want any hydra in my games"

So it's just modding to give players the second best possible experience instead of the best possible experience?
That doesn't give me warm fuzzies.

[Ramcius]

Even if people dislike hydras, they can accept some of them in their games, they don't ruin game experience that much, most people aren't extreme to the point of "I don't want any hydra in my games"

So it's just modding to give players the second best possible experience instead of the best possible experience?
That doesn't give me warm fuzzies.

It's more like trying to compromise - there are people, who like play hydras too, not only hydras haters

[Nancy Drew 39]

No

Can always be 100% counted to hold the exact opposite opinion of me. in everything possible.

[Nancy Drew 39]

Hydras have a pretty significant impact on replace-out rates, for the positive. Basically a hydra is a way to take a player that would otherwise probably risk afking, ragetilting out, or otherwise and having a pre-established replacement for the slot that is already caught up. I want to say something like 20% of hydras end up being single-player slots that simply maintains greater game integrity.

That being said the main drawback is that so many hydra players refuse to sign, which somewhat limits your ability to maintain game integrity imo, but on the whole I think the net effect is positive.

+1

[Ankamius]

I think everybody who doesn't like hydras more hates bad hydras

I don't understand any other reason for hating hydras?

I've noticed over time that any town hydra generally has the same rough effectiveness as a solo player except for the

very

good hydras, which are often more fun to have in the game than without anyways.

There's an argument for scum hydras to have an imbalancing effect on the game since there's more heads to build strategies for winning the game, but even that's kind of muted and really just increases the skill level of a scum team, which requires town to be more skilled to counter it

[Nancy Drew 39]

I’ve so far, only had 2 that didn’t work out, so 100% pro-hydra and Krazy is 100% on point wrt to the replace out rate,

[Irrelephant11]

Being in a hydra is fun most of the time
Being in a game with a hydra is fun (for me) about half the time

[Nancy Drew 39]

Even if people dislike hydras, they can accept some of them in their games, they don't ruin game experience that much, most people aren't extreme to the point of "I don't want any hydra in my games"

I have never been in a game as a single player, resented having hydras in it and contrary to the op, I don’t see how it remotely constitutes “cheating”. Maybe if mafia were a serious sport with actual awards, then maybe but on any amateur site, that’s totally whack.

[Rainn]

If we're gonna have a thread about hydras can someone explain/defend/oppose N slot hydra limits to me? I don't get those.

It's a question of tolerance.

Lots of hydras don't ever bother to sign their posts or have ~roughly~ consensus reads. It's very confusing to sort them sometimes, especially if they aren't very active. Often you need to:

- discover who is posting before trying to understand the post and that sometimes isn't discoverable at all

- look back in their ISO, distinguish between posts and understand from where their read progression is coming from

- ask about who posted X post, and etc


1 hydra like that? Well, fine, we need to have a bit of tolerance in life anyway.

2 hydras like that? Ehhh...that's a bit problematic.

3 hydras like that? Ok, /outing is a attractive option.

The problem isn't hydras itself at all, it's hydras that doesn't really care about being readable to the rest of the playerlist as much as they care about enjoying themselves. I mean, I'm fine with that but I definitely would be against playing with a lot of them that way. They are often even more obscure when they roll scum btw, often obfuscating posts and stuff just so that people won't be able to read them solidly.

[PenguinPower]

No

What about alts?

[PenguinPower]

I've had a non-positive experience with hydra partners, but my favorite game since joining the site had a really fun hydra that helped make it my favorite game. They are a net positive imo.

[Nexus]

No

What about alts?

Don't make me bring back the hashtag. I've worked out where the button is on my new laptop #####

[Alisae]

I don’t sign my posts in hydras because my posting style is very identical to me so its easy to point out when I’m posting.

[PenguinPower]

No

What about alts?

Don't make me bring back the hashtag. I've worked out where the button is on my new laptop #####

Remember when we had a hydra?

[Nexus]

No

What about alts?

Don't make me bring back the hashtag. I've worked out where the button is on my new laptop #####

Remember when we had a hydra?

you swore you'd never tell

[callforjudgement]

I think hydras only really work when they're talking their reads over between themselves and acting as one voice in the main thread. Hydra dissonance is no real fun to play with/against.

[Gamma Emerald]

Actually that's a good way to read a hydra imo. If the dissonance is detracting from their agenda it probably isn't a scum hydra

[Creature]

They're difficult to keep up with considering I gotta log into another account to post in the game. If I could post straight from my main account while also dividing my slot with another player, then sure.

[Creature]

Actually, why tf do we need to create hydra accounts rather than just post individually?