I've only entered Hydatos since the nerf, and PW spawns don't seem too terrible. Seems fairly reliable that it'll pop in under an hour (being incredibly generous, don't think I've seen it take more than 20-30 minutes at most).

But, for me, I felt like part of what kept the player count down was actually Pyros. By the time I had finished light grinding for a couple rolls of stats in Pyros, I was already level 54. I already know I max out at 60, and now, I've been trying to aim for some of those special eureka items for further stat boosts, which took me even further. I just didn't have very much strong reason to spend great deals of time in Hydatos. I'll check in for Ceto et al., and sure, I'll stick around if a train is up, crystals is good. Idk. Is an odd thing, but I just don't feel like I need to spend as much time in Hydatos the way I did the others.

Which is a bit of a shame, because I'd honestly say it's maybe probably the best zone of the four. Big wide open space, no more caves or cliffs (though some awkward river banks here and there). Biggest thing for me was seeing that the zone wasn't absolutely packed with mobs. There are some areas/spaces where there's genuinely nothing around you on screen at all. After the mobs' nest that was Pyros, Hydatos feels like a well-maintained park.