Syldra, also known as Hydra, is a character and a level 4 summon from Final Fantasy V. She is Faris Scherwiz's pet sea dragon and childhood friend, and though Syldra is a sea dragon and cannot talk, Faris always knows how she is feeling.
Her signature attack is a wind-elemental Thunderstorm, which she shares with some lightning-elemental summoned monsters.
In the Anthology release, she is incorrectly referred to as male. In the defunct mobile and Steam versions, the player earns the "Say Hello, Syldra!" achievement after obtaining the pirate ship.
History[]
Syldra saves Faris and her friends from the sinking Walse Tower.
When a young Faris fell overboard, Syldra saved her and became friends with the beast. Faris was raised with Syldra, and likened their relationship to that of siblings.[1] When Faris later became captain of the pirates who took her in, she used Syldra to help them out by pulling the pirate ship through the water.[note 1] This made it one of the two known ships on Planet R that didn't need wind to move.
Syldra helped the party cross the seas of Tycoon to reach the Wind Shrine. While crossing the Torna Canal the ship was attacked by Karlabos. Though Karlabos was defeated, it dragged Syldra inside a whirlpool, separating her from the party and letting the ship run adrift is the waning currents of the open sea. The ship stalled in the Ship Graveyard shortly thereafter.
Faris meets Syldra's spirit in the Pirates' Hideout.
Later, Syldra sacrificed herself to save the party from the sinking Walse Tower, and Faris broke down in tears.[2] Upon visiting the Pirates' Hideout in the merged world, Faris saw Syldra's spirit in the cove. Bartz Klauser and Lenna Charlotte Tycoon did not see anything, but Krile Mayer Baldesion, who could understand Syldra, told Faris that even in death, Syldra wished to help.[3] These words comforted Faris, and the party was given Syldra to summon.
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Syldra is a large lavender sea dragon with a long neck and a tail. Her body is mottled in red spots and her limbs are fins. She has small fins on the back of her neck and on her back. Only her face appears in the field, poking out from the water, but in her summon scenes her entire body can be seen. She has golden eyes.
Personality[]
Syldra wss a caring sea dragon who saved and befriended a young Faris when she fell overboard a ship. She feels a strong bond with Faris and always does her best to look out for her, allowing her to move the pirate ship at the absence of wind. The strength of their bond was demonstrated when Syldra risked her own life to save Faris's.
Gameplay[]
Obtained[]
Syldra is obtained as a summon by visiting the Pirates' Hideout in the merged world. This means the summon is available as soon as the airship is.
Stats[]
| Ability | MP cost | Power | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm | 32 | 165 | Wind-elemental damage to all enemies. |
Thunderstorm's damage is calculated as follows:
As a summon, there is no split damage property, and Thunderstorm is not affected by reflect.
If the target absorbs wind, it is healed instead of damaged; if it is immune to wind, the attack misses. If the target resists wind, the Attack modifier in the formula is halved, but if it is weak to wind, the modifier is doubled and the attack ignores the target's Magic Defense.
Syldra's damage can be boosted with the Air Knife or Magus Rod, or the mix Elemental Power.
Use[]
Syldra's Thunderstorm (Pixel Remaster).
Syldra can be summoned via the Summon and Call commands, as well as the Magic Lamp; the latter two spend no MP.
Syldra's attack deals strong wind-elemental damage to all enemies. The damage is greater than that of Titan (and unlike Titan, does not miss aerial enemies) and other lower-level summons. It is a little below the damage of level 5 summons, who deal more damage for a greater MP cost. Syldra's damage is below that of Odin's single-target ability, Gungnir, but Syldra costs less MP to summon and targets all enemies.
The later level 5 summons, Leviathan and Bahamut, each deal more damage than Syldra. Leviathan's damage and MP cost are only a little higher than Syldra, but nonetheless, Leviathan outclasses Syldra when not considering elemental affinity. Bahamut's damage on the other hand is non-elemental, and while Bahamut is much costlier, its damage is also greater. Both Leviathan and Bahamut are much harder to obtain than Syldra, meaning that Syldra is a great choice until the player obtains them.
Syldra can still remain useful when her damage is boosted by the Air Knife or Magus Rod. This allows her to deal almost as much damage as Bahamut, for half the MP cost. Syldra is stronger than the Blue Magic spell Aeroga.
Other appearances[]
Final Fantasy XIV[]
The Syldra is a mount available to players who purchased the Collector's Edition of the Stormblood expansion. The mount is capable of ground, flying, and underwater travel.
A separate creature called 
Syldra can be caught by 
Fishers in Lower La Noscea.
Final Fantasy Dimensions II[]
Faris and Syldra.
Faris in a Summoner job accompanied by Syldra appears as a summon.
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy[]
Syldra summon in Dissidia 012.
Syldra is a summon whose Thunderstorm will instantly negate any other summon ability that takes effect over a period of time or takes time to charge up, such as Shiva, Leviathan, or Tonberry. Summons that take effect instantly are unaffected. She can be purchased from certain Moogle Shops for 120 KP.
There is a trade accessory called "Syldra Spine".
Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia[]
Syldra uses Thunderstorm in Opera Omnia.
Syldra is summoned for Faris' EX Ability Thunderstorm.
Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]
This section about an ability in Pictlogica Final Fantasy is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.
Pictlogica Final Fantasy ≒[]
This section about an ability in Pictlogica Final Fantasy ≒ is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]
Syldra appears, using Thunderstorm, its signature attack from Final Fantasy V.
- Ability Cards
- Legend Cards
Final Fantasy Artniks[]
Syldra appears as an obtainable card.
This section in Final Fantasy Artniks is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]
Syldra is a Rank 4 summon ability obtainable by crafting. Syldra's summon attack is Thunderstorm, which deals two heavy magic lightning attacks to all enemies. In addition, Syldra occasionally accompanies Faris during certain Soul Breaks.
Record Dungeon storyline[]
Syldra also appears during the events of the Record Dungeon series. Her role remains the same as in Final Fantasy V, eventually meeting her end after saving the party from the sinking Tower of Walse. If the player selects the dialogue option to cherish their memories with Syldra, the player will unlock the "Syldra's Spirit" side dungeon on the "Shadow of Suspicion" island. After completing this side event, the player will earn a free Syldra ability.
Magicite[]
A stronger version of Syldra also appears as a boss and an Esper as part of the magicite system. The summon is a rank 5 wind-elemental magicite and players must first defeat Syldra (Savage) in the fourth wind magicite dungeon in order to obtain her.
When Syldra is summoned into battle she will cast Ultra Thunderstorm, which deals magic wind-elemental damage to all enemies, and temporarily lower their wind resistance level by 2. Ultra Thunderstorm can break the damage cap.
- Magicite effects
Syldra’s magicite provides the following effects in battle:
| Name | Starting Value | Max Value |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Boon | Lv. 10 | Lv. 20 |
| Increases the Magic of all allies, proportional to combined magicite stats. | ||
| Dampen Earth | Lv. 4 | Lv. 10 |
| Increases the earth resistance of all allies. | ||
- Abilities
Syldra also has a chance of using the following abilities after being summoned into battle:
| Name | Trigger Rate (Start) | Trigger Rate (Max) |
|---|---|---|
| Body Slam | 70% | 0% |
| Deal two physical attacks to one target. | ||
| Maelstrom | 10% | 100% |
| Deal magic wind damage to one enemy. Can break the damage cap. | ||
| Aeroga | 20% | 0% |
| Deal three magic wind attacks to one target. | ||
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]
This section about an ability in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Mobius Final Fantasy[]
A once-malicious sea serpent who was redeemed through its friendship with a human.
Ability Card Description
Syldra appears as a water-element ability card. Her ability is Ice Burst which is a warrior ability that allows an area water attack. She produces six water orbs in battle. She possesses the extra skills Bloodthirst, Elemental Retrieval and Guard Breaker. Her auto-ability is Magic Up+3%. She can be obtained from the Ability Card Shop or through Summoning.
World of Final Fantasy[]
Syldra appears with Faris and fights in conjunction with her. After Lann and Reynn lose a confrontation against Syldra and Faris, only to face off against a Federation Guard, Tama comments "out of the hydra..." a possible reference to Syldra's being known as "Hydra" in some translations.
Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]
Syldra appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Wind- and Water-elemental Summon cards.
Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances[]
Itadaki Street[]
Syldra is a chance card in Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable, the card's ability: Can buy empty place or house from other owners with 4x cost.
Other media[]
The Shildra Inn in Cosmo Canyon from Final Fantasy VII is named after Syldra.
Behind the scenes[]
Syldra concept art by Yoshitaka Amano.
The initial design documents for the game mention that Syldra was originally supposed to be the boss within the Sunken Walse Tower. The documents also mention that Syldra would be having an internal struggle, which served as the catalyst for the boss encounter.[4]
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
The Hydra was one of the spawn of Echidna, a many-headed serpentine monstrosity in Ancient Greek mythology. It could breathe poison, and indeed its very blood was deadly. The Hydra was killed as one of Heracles's Twelve Labors.
See also[]
Notes[]
Anotations[]
- ↑ Bartz, Lenna, and Galuf spy the pirate ship sailing without the wind, but when they try to take over the ship and meet Faris, they learn Syldra is the one pulling the ship.
