Profane Hydra

Profane Hydra is the Lethality version of the Hydra line in League of Legends: 2,850 gold for 55 Attack Damage, 18 Lethality and 10 Ability Haste in patch 26.21. Its Cleave passive makes your attacks deal physical damage to nearby enemies, and the Heretical Cleave active deals physical damage around you on demand, which is why assassins who also need to clear waves buy it.

What do Cleave and Heretical Cleave do?

Cleave is the passive. Every basic attack also hits the enemies around your target for physical damage, the same idea as Tiamat, which the item builds from.

Heretical Cleave is the active, a burst of physical damage in a circle around you with no target needed. The numbers for both scale with your Attack Damage and are listed in the shop tooltip, since Riot tunes them more often than the base stats. Why does an assassin want an area attack? Waveclear, mostly. A Talon or Qiyana who can shove a wave with one active and leave for a roam is a very different champion from one stuck in lane, and the active also adds a little burst to the all-in itself, especially when it resets an auto attack in a combo (that part is a timing trick, and it takes a few games to get right).

Is Profane Hydra gold efficient?

Yes: 104% on stats alone, or 2,965 gold of value for 2,850 gold. That breaks down as 55 Attack Damage worth 1,925 gold (35 gold per point from basic items), 18 Lethality worth 540 gold and 10 Ability Haste worth 500 gold.

The passive and active come on top of that, which makes it one of the better-priced Lethality items, particularly after the patch 25.17 price cut. To be fair, the stat line is identical to Hubris, so the real choice between the two is Cleave and an active against a kill-based damage buff. Need waveclear? Hydra. Already clearing fine and ahead on kills? Hubris. For a third angle, Youmuu’s Ghostblade trades the area damage for Move Speed.

Who should build Profane Hydra?

Assassins and AD casters who want to push waves fast: Talon, Qiyana, Zed, Naafiri, Kha'Zix in the jungle, and Rengar or Nocturne in some builds. It is also a common pick on Pyke players who want more clear in a solo lane rather than in the support role.

Marksmen rarely touch it, and melee fighters prefer the Health of Ravenous Hydra or the size scaling of Titanic Hydra. In practice the item goes first on most of the champions above, often right after boots, because the waveclear changes how they play the map from minute ten onward, and the Lethality still delivers a sharp early power spike. Thing is, it also means your first item is partly a utility buy, so a second damage item is usually not far behind.

What does the build path look like?

Tiamat (1,200 gold) and The Brutalizer (1,337 gold), finished with a 313 gold combine, one of the cheapest in the shop. Tiamat first if you need the waveclear now, The Brutalizer first if you want the early Lethality for kills. It builds into nothing else.

How has Profane Hydra changed over the patches?

It arrived in patch 14.1 at 3,400 gold and has only gotten cheaper:

• Patch 14.2: cost 3,400 → 3,300, effect text changed.
• Patch 14.19: cost 3,300 → 3,200, Ability Haste 20 → 10.
• Patch 14.21: effect text changed.
• Patch 25.17: cost 3,200 → 2,850, Attack Damage 60 → 55.

Honestly, the 25.17 change is the one that mattered: a 2,850 gold first item lands several minutes earlier than a 3,400 gold one did, and Lethality items are all about the timing of that first spike. The table above has every entry, and the LoL items database lets you compare the three Hydras patch by patch.

When is it the right buy?

When your champion deals physical burst with abilities and you want to shove and roam. If you spend most of the game in side lanes clearing waves alone, Profane Hydra earns its slot quickly. Not sure whether your pick is a roamer or a lane bully? Our guide to LoL roles covers what mid laners and junglers are expected to do with their time.

FAQ

How much does Profane Hydra cost?

2,850 gold in patch 26.21, with just 313 gold of that being the combine. The sell value is 1,995 gold.

Which stats does it have?

Lethality 18, Attack Damage 55 and Ability Haste 10.

Does the active need a target?

No. Heretical Cleave damages every enemy in a circle around you.

Can ranged champions use Cleave?

Yes, the passive works for ranged users as well as melee, although the area damage is usually smaller for them. Check the tooltip for the current split.

What does it build from?

Tiamat and The Brutalizer.

Profane, Ravenous or Titanic Hydra?

Profane for Lethality assassins, Ravenous for fighters who want Life Steal, Titanic for tanky champions who scale with Health.