Help out my hammer build

jon0592

jon0592

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

N/

23 Feb 2007 at 22:01 - 1
Hi guys, created this. BTW it is PvE based :

W/Rt

Attribs aren't necessary at the moment since changes will be made

Weapon of Fury {E}
Staggering Blow
Fierce Blow
Overbearing Smash
Heavy Blow
---
Enraging Charge
Res

Weapon of Fury
For 5...17 seconds, target ally gains 5...41% more adrenaline and 1 Energy whenever that ally successfully hits with an attack.

Staggering Blow
If this hammer blow hits, your target will suffer from Weakness for 5...17 seconds.

Fierce Blow
If Fierce Blow strikes a foe suffering from Weakness, you deal +10...34 damage. Otherwise, you deal +5...17 damage if it hits.

Overbearing Smash
If this attack hits, you deal +5...17 damage. If target foe is suffering from Weakness, this attack cannot be "Blocked."

Heavy Blow
Lose all adrenaline. If this attack hits a foe suffering from weakness, that foe is knocked down and you strike for +1...24 damage.

Basically, I use WoF to quickly gain adrenaline and use the chain in that order. I start off with Staggering to give weakness, and then the other skills to do damage.

I thought about taking out Enraging Charge since I have adrenaline already covered. If I do, that leaves 2 utility slots, and 1 should be a heal but I don't know whether it should be Healing Signet or Lion's Comfort because I'm already using Hammer Mastery and Channeling Magic.

Basically, I don't need energy management, because WoF gives you 1 energy every hit (even if it's blocked, via Whirling Defence). So I could decide to either go with Strength line or Tactics line.

Any insight would be helpful. Thanks.

Morzan_7

Morzan_7

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Feb 2007

W/

23 Feb 2007 at 22:49 - 2
Ok, first off...I'd add a self heal, second, I'd use a sword or axe instead of a hammer (thats just personal preference) and third, its generally impractical to rely on a chain of attacks. If you were to get interrupted you'd need to start the chain over again.

jon0592

jon0592

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

N/

23 Feb 2007 at 22:55 - 3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Morzan_7
Ok, first off...I'd add a self heal
First off, read the entire post.

Quote: Originally Posted by Morzan_7 I'd use a sword or axe instead of a hammer (thats just personal preference) And I'm using a hammer. Deal with it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Morzan_7 and third, its generally impractical to rely on a chain of attacks. So you're saying assassins are "generally impractical"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Morzan_7
If you were to get interrupted you'd need to start the chain over again. Again, read the post. You'd realise that the only requirement to pull off the chain is weakness. After that, I couldn't care less if the others were interrupted.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Morzan_7
Ok, first off...I'd add a self heal, second, I'd use a sword or axe instead of a hammer (thats just personal preference) and third, its generally impractical to rely on a chain of attacks. If you were to get interrupted you'd need to start the chain over again. I said any insight would be helpful, not "garbage would be helpful."

eggs0wn

eggs0wn

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jun 2006

23 Feb 2007 at 23:02 - 4
Looks good to me. Kudos to you for using a Hammer.

@Morzan-Please don't just tell people to use the Swords and Axes. Some people want to be different in PvE. A FDS isn't required in PvE with a 1337 sword build.

Cathode_Reborn

Cathode_Reborn

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2006

23 Feb 2007 at 23:11 - 5
I love using hammers but I myself don't actually use em in pve. Next time I pug though I might try this build (just a variant of a pvp build):

Forceful Blow
Fierce Blow
Heavy Blow
Crushing Blow
Flail

Hammer Bash might be a better replacement for Heavy Blow though, since you don't have to rely on weakness to kd your target and deep wound them. Add in a res, self heal, and whatever else you want. You might wanna try Couner Blow too....I've never used it in pve, but I imagine it'd be good for getting the melee foes of your casters. 16 in hammer is a must of course. This is just a basic damage build. For pvp, replace Forceful Blow with Devastating Hammer, since kd's are very effective in pvp.

Overbearing Smash is a bad skill. Irresistible Blow is better than it, anyday. Hammers function pretty bad without a good elite. Devastating Hammer and Backbreaker are good pvp choices, while Forceful Blow and Enraged Smash are good for pve. Don't use Weapon of Fury with a hammer, it's better off bein on a sword.

Most hammer builds involve using a chain of attacks, similar to a sin. There's nothin wrong with it of course. Just means you can't go random-crazy like you can with an axe/sword, which is probably people get turned off by hammers....they require a tad bit more skill to use. There's that and the loss of a shield.

jon0592

jon0592

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

N/

23 Feb 2007 at 23:24 - 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cathode_Reborn
I love using hammers but I myself don't actually use em in pve. Next time I pug though I might try this build (just a variant of a pvp build):

Forceful Blow
Fierce Blow
Heavy Blow
Crushing Blow
Flail

Hammer Bash might be a better replacement for Heavy Blow though, since you don't have to rely on weakness to kd your target and deep wound them. Add in a res, self heal, and whatever else you want. You might wanna try Couner Blow too....I've never used it in pve, but I imagine it'd be good for getting the melee foes of your casters. 16 in hammer is a must of course. This is just a basic damage build. For pvp, replace Forceful Blow with Devastating Hammer, since kd's are very effective in pvp.

Overbearing Smash is a bad skill. Irresistible Blow is better than it, anyday. Hammers function pretty bad without a good elite. Devastating Hammer and Backbreaker are good pvp choices, while Forceful Blow and Enraged Smash are good for pve. Don't use Weapon of Fury with a hammer, it's better off bein on a sword.

Most hammer builds involve using a chain of attacks, similar to a sin. There's nothin wrong with it of course. Just means you can't go random-crazy like you can with an axe/sword, which is probably people get turned off by hammers....they require a tad bit more skill to use. There's that and the loss of a shield. I like your method. This is what it would look like.

W/any

16 Hammer Mastery
12+1/2 Strength

Forceful Blow
Fierce Blow
Heavy Blow
Crushing Blow
Flail
Enraging Charge (EC)
Lion's Comfort
Res

Again, EC is questionable, but for now, that's what I see. Since there is no secondary, this could stretch very far, maybe Plague Touch or Mending Touch. I think I'll use Heavy Blow instead of Hammer Bash, because my target would already be KD'ed.

Thanks for the reply, I think I'll use this, but I still want to look for more options with WoF.

A Leprechaun

A Leprechaun

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Feb 2006

W/

24 Feb 2007 at 07:38 - 7
I would take hammer bash over heavy blow for the same reason as Morzan stated if they condition doesnt stick its useless, you might want to go heal sig if you are running a skill which cuts all you adrenaline. hammers are awesome and going back to your original build, I have used strength elites in hammer builds before but most of the time while using hammer I pack one of the Juicey hammer elites, they are too scrumy not to use. In higher end PvE I run a build Like this a fair bit and its incredibly fun and pretty effective.

[skill]Devastating Hammer[/skill]
[skill]Crushing Blow[/skill]
[skill]Fierce Blow[/skill]
[skill]Hammer Bash[/skill] or [skill]Counter Blow[/skill] or [skill]Mighty Blow[/skill]
[skill]Healing Signet[/skill] or [skill]Lion's Comfort[/skill]
[skill]Shadow Walk[/skill]
[skill]Dash[/skill]

It works pretty well, and shadow steppng is so fun.

Enjoy.
~A Leprechaun~

Cathode_Reborn

Cathode_Reborn

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2006

24 Feb 2007 at 09:09 - 8
I'd die using a hammer in pve without an IAS. Especially when using an elite like Devastating.

Here's a pve build I was messin around with earlier:

[skill]Earth Shaker[/skill][skill]Berserker Stance[/skill][skill]"On Your Knees!"[/skill]

Use Berserker to quickly charge up Earthshaker. Once you use Earthshaker, use "On your knees" to charge Berserker, then repeat. The point isn't really to do damage, but just kd alota enemies so they can't do anything. Crude Swing can help after Earthshaker to get some adren up. The build didn't work too well just cause Earthshaker only kd's adjcent foes....it'd be worth runnin if it was nearby, er somethin.

dgb

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Sep 2005

Mo/Me

24 Feb 2007 at 12:02 - 9
Crushing Blow will do way more for that build than Overbearing Smash ever will.