Increasing knockdown time?

I'm loving my current build, but I need help increasing my knockdown time.
I use Berserker Stance, then Hammer Bash, then Crushing Blow, but it seems Crushing Blow never hits the enemy, as the enemy has already started to stand as the attack connects. I already have stonefist gauntlets, but even that seems to not be effective enough.
It could be that the attack just doesn't have a very good indication that it hits, but I'm pretty sure it's not doing anything.
I'm a level 18 W/E with 6 Earth magic, 8 Strength, 10 Hammer Mastery, and 7 tactics.
Tips?

berserker stance will end if you use a skill. try going with a damage speed increaser that doesnt do that

Uhhh, use backbreaker, 4 sec knockdown time. Or any of the hammer elites, they all work, but backbreaker has the longest. Knockdowns present heaps of oppurtunity on a target, so they never last for long.

Drop the tactics. It's a weak line for PVP, with the exception of "Fear Me!" which is much better on swords or axes (faster attacking = more adrenaline = more "Fear Me!" uses = more energy denial)

I believe Backbreaker doesn't get the knockdown duration increase from Stonefists. It's something like they only increase knockdowns IF the knockdown is <= 2 or 3 seconds originally. I may be incorrect on this. When Stonefisters do work, they add a full second of knockdown time which is absolutely invaluable.

I'd use Devastating Hammer because it's only 7 Adrenaline compared to Backbreaker and Earth Shaker at 10.

An attack speed increase is probably a bad idea except for charging up Adrenaline since it may throw your knockdown chain timing off.

Try this:

Devastating Hammer -> Crushing Blow -> Hammer Bash/Heavy Blow -> Aftershock or some other attack.

If this is for PVE, Earth Shaker+Aftershock could be seriously ruinous as a pretty decent AOE spike

Is there any way to increase knockdown time with my current skills by adjusting attributes or am I screwed until I can get Backbreaker or Devastating Hammer?

Something seems off if I'm basically required to have an Elite Skill just to use Crushing Blow to its full extent.

if u can't get the elite hammer hits yet cause you're not far enough, that's ok. [well not really but...]

Irresistable Blow, Crushing Blow, Hammer Bash, knockdown finish...

The poorman's chain combo if the enemy is blocking... Poor results too ;_;

I think the key here is to just hit the buttons earlier. My Hammer Bash into Crushing Blow is fine at 12 hammer and ugly at 16 hammer. Best combo I've come up with in terms of efficiency was:

w/mo

Devastating Hammer, Crushing Blow, Mighty Blow, Heavy Blow, Holy Strike, Irresistable Blow. If it's a monk, and the other monk/healer isn't watching him, it's pretty much 80% dmg or so with 16 hammer. Best part, it ignores armor. So things like warrior armor or ranger armor don't resist the 70+ dmg you're dealing through Holy Strike. 70 might not sound like much, but when Aftershock deals 20 damage at 10 energy vs. Holy strike's 70 armor ignored at 5 energy, you'd get the idea...

[too many people kept resisting my aftershock combo so I vyed for W/Mo smiter with Holy Strike and found that Smite Hex is excellent to start off your combo... ^_^ 60 dmg in yo faces f00!]

You can replace mighty blow with sprint if you're going to run smite hex and res sig. [which you should. in 8v8, I sometimes run restore life, but then I end up with 14 hammer, 9+1 strength, 10 smite, 7 healing] Not as offensive damaging as it would be but it really depends on your reflexes and your enemy's thoughts.

Ignore the W/Mo, he sux... Oh yeah, now that's the time to bring the hard res...

Staggering blow -> heavy blow-> crushing blow -> hammer bash -> aftershock would be ok if u havent got any of the elite hammer attacks (devastating, backbreaker). I'd use berserker stance for the adrenaline. Doesnt have the negative effect of Frenzy but does end when u use skill, so just dont use a skill when u got berserker on. After it ends ur adrenaline skills will probably be ready to blow.

I activate crushing blow before my Hammer Bash even finishes, and it's still not fast enough.
So Hammer Mastery does indeed improve the speed of a hammer skill or its knockdown time?

Since Healing Signet can often get you more damage than it heals, should I drop it in favor of another hammer skill? I use Healing Signet fairly often in PvE, and I want to be able to use this character for both PvP and PvE fairly flexibly.

Get the stonefist gaunlets from either amnoon oasis, or droknars forge when you ascend. The gauntlets increase knockdown time and are a must for any pvp hammer warrior.

I have them.

:EDIT: Now that I've dropped my tactics to almost none in order to raise hammer mastery to 12, I've realized that maybe Crushing Blow is very, very badly animated, making it hard to tell if your attack has connected. Every time I use it I see the numbers indicating damage above an enemy's head, but I'm still unsure if this is my attack connecting or someone else's.
How can I tell Crushing Blow is connecting?

Watch their hp bar. If you see the dark arrow pointing down [not the purple one], then you've nailed them with a condition, deep wound, and your attack was successful.

I don't know about you, but when I knockdown with my stonefists, they are down for well over 2s.

Never tested this but has backbreaker got a longer kd time wearing stonefists?

Alright, I'll have to check that next time. I sometimes forget to look at HP bars and only watch the ones above their heads.
The animations make it appear as if they've stood up halfway right as the attack hits though.

Do you use a female character? The skill animations for female hammer warriors are bugged. Bugged by meaning, there are none. If you're not sure if crushing is hitting or not, just see if the enemy now has a condition on them by just looking at their health bar.

Well, I spin to hit the enemy when I use the attack, but it doesn't appear to connect or make a sound. However, I checked the health bar and it would appear that it does indeed work. Any idea when ANet will fix this?

If you see the numbers over thier head, its your attack. You don't see the damage numbers of an ally's attack, only your own. The only other numbers you should see are for damage and healing you're taking.

if you are a female warrior, which im guessing by your avatar, i agree completely. with a hammer its terribly animated and do NOT look at your character attacking. its patheticly slow while actually the same speed as a male warrior and may mess up your timing. my advice: hit one skill and immediately hit the next so it doesnt bother you.

gw should really fix that.

Anyway, I use Backbreaker + Stonefist, It gives just enough time(weird as it should be more, maybe a bug in backbreaker?) for me to connect crushing and aftershock(they are just about to stand). Although I'm looking into more innovative ways to prolong knockdowns.

Lately I use Back breaker then crush + aftershock then follow it up w/ hammer bash then irresistable blow. I'm thinking glyph of less energy in there and add skills like shock/gale for more knockdowns, but that would have to be revised and fine tuned. Honestly I think hammer either A: Do slightly do more damage or B: Attack slightly faster.

Also Back breaker doesn't last all 4 seconds, only seems to be when a pve boss hits you w/ it, if you use it, opponents get up at after 2 seconds or so, and thats w/ stonefist, think they need to fix that.

Glyph of lesser energy doesn't prevent exhaustion, so using it with shock/gale is useless.

opps, I mean glyph of energy