Forum discussions are now taking place on Discord. For all account questions and concerns, please continue to contact Customer Support directly.

Keep updated on Pirate101 on Twitter @Pirate101, Facebook, Discord, and @KI_Alerts!

 Search  Updated Topics  Hottest Topics  Rules

Hydra Phobia- A Tale of Nearly Being Castaway!

AuthorMessage
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
Hello One-Eyed Jack! I have come to report a bug that has been reported before, but this is the first time that I have witnessed it in all it's horrific-ness. First, a tale of the most heinous glitch my eyes have seen!

Just sit right back
And you'll read a tale
A tale of a dreadful glitch,
It occurred in the Hydra's Cave
And it made my face twitch.
First Mate was a mighty sailin' bird,
The Cap'n brave and sure,
Four Crewmembers fought a beast that day,
Over a one hour chore,
A one hour chore.

The battle started easily,
The Ebon head was tossed.
Then came the three boss heads,
Amethyst, Scarlet, Cobalt.
But the crew valiantly fought.

The Ebon came back for some more
Crew couldn't attack it for a while.
Not Pelican,
Nor Temujin.
Or Eagle Merc,
Captain's Pet.
A Henchman could,
But only with The Big Guns,
Five rounds of denial.

So this is a tale of crewmembers,
They were running for their lives.
They finally got to that beast,
Faced with an uphill climb.

The Cap'n then could not move,
Couldn't even be clicked.
It began to get uncomfortable,
More heads spawned in that crypt.

No moves, no fight, no power use,
Four rounds immobilized.
Then the same for Khan and Merc.,
Tears nearly fell from my eyes.

So I came to you on the boards my friend,
To report a glitch so vile.
From father and son Buccaneers,
There on Achaea Isle.

Sorry, couldn't resist. All joking aside this was the 1st time in the Spiral that I was truly frustrated. My son had been defeated by the Hydra 3 times prior, so I told him that I would help. We paid 65,000 gold to get Peter Quint & Temujin back. Then, after some pleading, I allowed him to get Eagle Mercenary from the Crown Shop- he swore that would do the trick.

We entered into battle with those 3 & I also let him hire the Level 60 Privateer Henchman for added security. The battle went very smoothly as we made the Ebon disappear & began to work on the Major Amythest, Scarlet & Cobalt heads. We did this with very little to no damage done to our crew and then the Ebon popped back up. That's when the glitches, or first of the glitches began to manifest.

For 5 rounds no crewmember could attack the Ebon. Only the henchman could in 1 round, but only by using The Big Guns. We could click on Ebon & it showed we would attack, but nothing happened after hitting done. Then sporadically, none of the crew would move at all after selecting attacking moves. At one point, for about 3 or 4 rounds, we couldn't even click on his pirate at all. Then back to the no moves from the other crew members.

Meanwhile, the lesser heads had begun to litter the board. We didn't attack them, but due to Vengeance Strikes & Relentless kicking in (& their low health) they kept dying & bringing friends back. By then the glitch-induced, immobilized crew was now immobilized from being surrounded.

I was able to fight them off and finally get to Ebon & obtain victory. I am going to provide a more proper glitch/bug report and try to reproduce the bug, and better document it.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
ValkoorTheVictorio... on Jul 29, 2014 wrote:
Hello One-Eyed Jack! I have come to report a bug that has been reported before, but this is the first time that I have witnessed it in all it's horrific-ness. First, a tale of the most heinous glitch my eyes have seen!

Just sit right back
And you'll read a tale
A tale of a dreadful glitch,
It occurred in the Hydra's Cave
And it made my face twitch.
First Mate was a mighty sailin' bird,
The Cap'n brave and sure,
Four Crewmembers fought a beast that day,
Over a one hour chore,
A one hour chore.

The battle started easily,
The Ebon head was tossed.
Then came the three boss heads,
Amethyst, Scarlet, Cobalt.
But the crew valiantly fought.

The Ebon came back for some more
Crew couldn't attack it for a while.
Not Pelican,
Nor Temujin.
Or Eagle Merc,
Captain's Pet.
A Henchman could,
But only with The Big Guns,
Five rounds of denial.

So this is a tale of crewmembers,
They were running for their lives.
They finally got to that beast,
Faced with an uphill climb.

The Cap'n then could not move,
Couldn't even be clicked.
It began to get uncomfortable,
More heads spawned in that crypt.

No moves, no fight, no power use,
Four rounds immobilized.
Then the same for Khan and Merc.,
Tears nearly fell from my eyes.

So I came to you on the boards my friend,
To report a glitch so vile.
From father and son Buccaneers,
There on Achaea Isle.

Sorry, couldn't resist. All joking aside this was the 1st time in the Spiral that I was truly frustrated. My son had been defeated by the Hydra 3 times prior, so I told him that I would help. We paid 65,000 gold to get Peter Quint & Temujin back. Then, after some pleading, I allowed him to get Eagle Mercenary from the Crown Shop- he swore that would do the trick.

We entered into battle with those 3 & I also let him hire the Level 60 Privateer Henchman for added security. The battle went very smoothly as we made the Ebon disappear & began to work on the Major Amythest, Scarlet & Cobalt heads. We did this with very little to no damage done to our crew and then the Ebon popped back up. That's when the glitches, or first of the glitches began to manifest.

For 5 rounds no crewmember could attack the Ebon. Only the henchman could in 1 round, but only by using The Big Guns. We could click on Ebon & it showed we would attack, but nothing happened after hitting done. Then sporadically, none of the crew would move at all after selecting attacking moves. At one point, for about 3 or 4 rounds, we couldn't even click on his pirate at all. Then back to the no moves from the other crew members.

Meanwhile, the lesser heads had begun to litter the board. We didn't attack them, but due to Vengeance Strikes & Relentless kicking in (& their low health) they kept dying & bringing friends back. By then the glitch-induced, immobilized crew was now immobilized from being surrounded.

I was able to fight them off and finally get to Ebon & obtain victory. I am going to provide a more proper glitch/bug report and try to reproduce the bug, and better document it.
Dang it, Valkoor. That song is going to be stuck in my head all night!
Gunner's Mate
Jun 22, 2011
208
An epic and a bug report all in one. You, sir, are one skilled pirate.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
ValkoorTheVictorio... on Jul 29, 2014 wrote:
Hello One-Eyed Jack! I have come to report a bug that has been reported before, but this is the first time that I have witnessed it in all it's horrific-ness. First, a tale of the most heinous glitch my eyes have seen!

Just sit right back
And you'll read a tale
A tale of a dreadful glitch,
It occurred in the Hydra's Cave
And it made my face twitch.
First Mate was a mighty sailin' bird,
The Cap'n brave and sure,
Four Crewmembers fought a beast that day,
Over a one hour chore,
A one hour chore.

The battle started easily,
The Ebon head was tossed.
Then came the three boss heads,
Amethyst, Scarlet, Cobalt.
But the crew valiantly fought.

The Ebon came back for some more
Crew couldn't attack it for a while.
Not Pelican,
Nor Temujin.
Or Eagle Merc,
Captain's Pet.
A Henchman could,
But only with The Big Guns,
Five rounds of denial.

So this is a tale of crewmembers,
They were running for their lives.
They finally got to that beast,
Faced with an uphill climb.

The Cap'n then could not move,
Couldn't even be clicked.
It began to get uncomfortable,
More heads spawned in that crypt.

No moves, no fight, no power use,
Four rounds immobilized.
Then the same for Khan and Merc.,
Tears nearly fell from my eyes.

So I came to you on the boards my friend,
To report a glitch so vile.
From father and son Buccaneers,
There on Achaea Isle.

Sorry, couldn't resist. All joking aside this was the 1st time in the Spiral that I was truly frustrated. My son had been defeated by the Hydra 3 times prior, so I told him that I would help. We paid 65,000 gold to get Peter Quint & Temujin back. Then, after some pleading, I allowed him to get Eagle Mercenary from the Crown Shop- he swore that would do the trick.

We entered into battle with those 3 & I also let him hire the Level 60 Privateer Henchman for added security. The battle went very smoothly as we made the Ebon disappear & began to work on the Major Amythest, Scarlet & Cobalt heads. We did this with very little to no damage done to our crew and then the Ebon popped back up. That's when the glitches, or first of the glitches began to manifest.

For 5 rounds no crewmember could attack the Ebon. Only the henchman could in 1 round, but only by using The Big Guns. We could click on Ebon & it showed we would attack, but nothing happened after hitting done. Then sporadically, none of the crew would move at all after selecting attacking moves. At one point, for about 3 or 4 rounds, we couldn't even click on his pirate at all. Then back to the no moves from the other crew members.

Meanwhile, the lesser heads had begun to litter the board. We didn't attack them, but due to Vengeance Strikes & Relentless kicking in (& their low health) they kept dying & bringing friends back. By then the glitch-induced, immobilized crew was now immobilized from being surrounded.

I was able to fight them off and finally get to Ebon & obtain victory. I am going to provide a more proper glitch/bug report and try to reproduce the bug, and better document it.
Lol Very well documented Valkoor and I have got to say that this is the very first Bilge Pump report that I sang in my head. Just brilliant
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
anecorbie on Jul 29, 2014 wrote:
Dang it, Valkoor. That song is going to be stuck in my head all night!
You forgot to thank me for that! Good luck with the catchy tune removal! If you sing it with a Popeye-ish accented "la-da-dit-dit-deedle-de-di-da-dish", it's even that much better!
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
AlphaWolf02 on Jul 29, 2014 wrote:
An epic and a bug report all in one. You, sir, are one skilled pirate.
Why thank you AlphaWolf. If we are going to reporting bugs, why not SQUASH some fun in there as well. Although, I don't know if One-Eyed Jack would feel the same way about that. But I promised Chrissy that I would never STIFLE the goofy urges, and a promise is a promise. Thanks again!
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
Chrissy Th'Blesser on Jul 30, 2014 wrote:
Lol Very well documented Valkoor and I have got to say that this is the very first Bilge Pump report that I sang in my head. Just brilliant
Thank you Chrissy! There's always a first time for everything. You know all to well with me that every moment in life presents an opportunity for at least some attempt at humor, laughter and creativity. Gotta keep this lump on my shoulders in shape you know! Thanks again and glad you enjoyed it!
Commodore
May 31, 2009
894
ValkoorTheVictorio... on Jul 29, 2014 wrote:
Hello One-Eyed Jack! I have come to report a bug that has been reported before, but this is the first time that I have witnessed it in all it's horrific-ness. First, a tale of the most heinous glitch my eyes have seen!

Just sit right back
And you'll read a tale
A tale of a dreadful glitch,
It occurred in the Hydra's Cave
And it made my face twitch.
First Mate was a mighty sailin' bird,
The Cap'n brave and sure,
Four Crewmembers fought a beast that day,
Over a one hour chore,
A one hour chore.

The battle started easily,
The Ebon head was tossed.
Then came the three boss heads,
Amethyst, Scarlet, Cobalt.
But the crew valiantly fought.

The Ebon came back for some more
Crew couldn't attack it for a while.
Not Pelican,
Nor Temujin.
Or Eagle Merc,
Captain's Pet.
A Henchman could,
But only with The Big Guns,
Five rounds of denial.

So this is a tale of crewmembers,
They were running for their lives.
They finally got to that beast,
Faced with an uphill climb.

The Cap'n then could not move,
Couldn't even be clicked.
It began to get uncomfortable,
More heads spawned in that crypt.

No moves, no fight, no power use,
Four rounds immobilized.
Then the same for Khan and Merc.,
Tears nearly fell from my eyes.

So I came to you on the boards my friend,
To report a glitch so vile.
From father and son Buccaneers,
There on Achaea Isle.

Sorry, couldn't resist. All joking aside this was the 1st time in the Spiral that I was truly frustrated. My son had been defeated by the Hydra 3 times prior, so I told him that I would help. We paid 65,000 gold to get Peter Quint & Temujin back. Then, after some pleading, I allowed him to get Eagle Mercenary from the Crown Shop- he swore that would do the trick.

We entered into battle with those 3 & I also let him hire the Level 60 Privateer Henchman for added security. The battle went very smoothly as we made the Ebon disappear & began to work on the Major Amythest, Scarlet & Cobalt heads. We did this with very little to no damage done to our crew and then the Ebon popped back up. That's when the glitches, or first of the glitches began to manifest.

For 5 rounds no crewmember could attack the Ebon. Only the henchman could in 1 round, but only by using The Big Guns. We could click on Ebon & it showed we would attack, but nothing happened after hitting done. Then sporadically, none of the crew would move at all after selecting attacking moves. At one point, for about 3 or 4 rounds, we couldn't even click on his pirate at all. Then back to the no moves from the other crew members.

Meanwhile, the lesser heads had begun to litter the board. We didn't attack them, but due to Vengeance Strikes & Relentless kicking in (& their low health) they kept dying & bringing friends back. By then the glitch-induced, immobilized crew was now immobilized from being surrounded.

I was able to fight them off and finally get to Ebon & obtain victory. I am going to provide a more proper glitch/bug report and try to reproduce the bug, and better document it.
Valkoor, you are quite the poet. It takes talent to turn a dreadful, horrible, terrifying bug into a poem.
Lieutenant
May 24, 2009
160
The Hydra can be pretty dang frustrating with all of its glitches, but that song of yours just made everything all better for me.
Administrator
I wonder how many of these Pirates even know that tune, Valkoor. I am sorry about the frustration caused by the Ebon Hydra head. As I'm sure you're aware, it's been a difficult bug to pin point.

Thanks for your efforts!
*One-Eyed Jack, Your Pirate101 Community Manager*
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
One-Eyed Jack on Jul 31, 2014 wrote:
I wonder how many of these Pirates even know that tune, Valkoor. I am sorry about the frustration caused by the Ebon Hydra head. As I'm sure you're aware, it's been a difficult bug to pin point.

Thanks for your efforts!
Yeah, it sure can be a bit rough as we further distance ourselves from our own births....sometimes no one knows what we are talking about. Shows of that time period may have been a bit goofy, but they sure were enjoyable- along with the catchy theme songs! But I know that there are many other finely vintaged pirates here on the boards that the tune may have sparked in them a bit of nostalgia! < ooh, the red, squiggly line just told me that vintaged isn't a word, (but I'm a bit rebellious so I'll use it anyways)>

Absolutely no need to apologize, Jack. I understand that sometimes computers and programming just don't like to play nice. I knew that this has been a recurring and tricky problem, but I wasn't sure if any progress had been made on it, or if the highly talented KI crew had been able to put the Hydra back on a leash! I am quite sure that it's been tough what with all of the extra programming going on in that particular instance: spawning heads, extra dialogue, two variances of same type heads (Amethyst, Scarlet, Cobalt), a boss head that pops in and out with health determining when it does, extra obstacles and traps on the board, players casting Hoodoo spells on the computer screen, a plethora of special powers by each type of head and the Ebon, debuffs of varying types by the Hydra heads' attacks......

Yeah I can definitely see where it would get tricky in regards to programming!

Just a couple of questions though. Do you still require additional information or documentation from us the players for this glitch? Or at this point, being that it has been a reoccurring and common issue, is it solely in the programmers hands and they are just trying to pin point and identify the problem? If you need more documentation, I would gladly take it upon myself to keep throwing my pirate into the Lion's Den to help provide as much detailed, info as possible (no more reworked theme songs, of course!)

Also, I was curious as to what KI did if the Hydra glitch happened to cause players lost Crowns or companions? We hired a henchman and easily could have lost several companions due to the glitch(es). I am sure other players have tried using henchman or have lost companions (and had to spend gold to revive them) due to the fault of the glitch. We were lucky and managed to escape unscathed, despite all of the glitches working against us. I was just simply curious as to whether KI had a policy or anything like that where a player could recover any monetary losses, such as Crowns, if a well-known glitch was the root of the problem. This is just a curiosity that popped in my head- because I was sure that the glitch would spell our eminent doom, and the 750 Crowns for the henchman would have been wasted.

I can imagine it would be something determined and based upon each, individual experience. Just thought I would ask to quell my curiosities.

Thanks for the response Jack and for all that the KI team is doing to work on this epic and rascally glitch!
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
MistyDragon13 on Jul 30, 2014 wrote:
Valkoor, you are quite the poet. It takes talent to turn a dreadful, horrible, terrifying bug into a poem.
Thank you Misty, but I can't take full credit for that delightful ditty. You probably already know that, or perhaps don't, but that tune came from the Gilligan's Island them song- just Valkoored up a "wee" bit!
Admiral
May 30, 2010
1221
One-Eyed Jack on Jul 31, 2014 wrote:
I wonder how many of these Pirates even know that tune, Valkoor. I am sorry about the frustration caused by the Ebon Hydra head. As I'm sure you're aware, it's been a difficult bug to pin point.

Thanks for your efforts!
Any pirate above a Certain Age will have grown up with the tune. The others have probably heard it on whatever they call the rerun -- sorry, classic TV -- channels now.

Indigo and I find that the theme tune to Wallace and Gromit does a lot to remove earworms without getting stuck in the ear instead, although I find myself thinking "Help Gromit! It's the wrong trousers!" for a little while after removing the earworm.
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
DrParrot on Jul 31, 2014 wrote:
The Hydra can be pretty dang frustrating with all of its glitches, but that song of yours just made everything all better for me.
Indeed DrParrot.

I can only imagine the frustration of players that have experienced multiple glitch-filled attempts to defeat the Hydra. My first time fighting the Hydra, I was very fortunate and was able to best the beast without any glitches (at least I think so). I may have experienced a glitches and not even realized, just passing them off as nasty "side-effects" of the Hydra's attacks. I barely escaped my first time on my pirate and it very well could have been due to a glitch or two- it couldn't possibly be because I almost "ate dirt" in that foul smelling cave!

When introduced to the glitches on my son's pirate I thought "HOLY HOUNDS OF BASKERVILLE!" (yeah, I think really loudly). I can't imagine what those that experienced the glitches multiple times thought. But I try to find humor in most everything and turn something that could have been truly frustrating into a chance to laugh at it and say "oh well, I'm still breathing- now let's laugh!"

I am happy that my bug report at least turned the Glitchy Hydra's heinous-ness into a brief moment of positive thinking!