Hammer worth it?

[Honorable_D]

Only just started Rise and thinking about maining Hammer—the play style seems fine too me. However, I watched a bunch of Youtube vids on weapon ranks/tier lists from different people and Hammer isn't...ranked so hot.

Like C tier and lower from most. They say it does too little damage for how slow it is and attack range sucks.

[815|Shouldabeen]

Honestly every weapon in the game comes back to hammer and I can prove it.

Great Sword- Longer Range Sharp smashy hammer
Long Sword- No stun, Sharp, counter based hammer
Charge Blade- Sometimes a sword and shield, sometimes a big boom hammer
SnS- Sword with little hammer
Insect Glaive- Fast spinny aerial hammer
LBG/HBG- Long range boom hammers
Bow- Medium range multi-hit hammer
Swaxe- Flashy, Spinny, Explosive hammer
Lance- Pokey, Blocky, Divey hammer
GL- Pokey, Blocky, Boomy hammer
Hunting Horn- Faster, Spinnier, Musical hammer
Dual Blades- Shorter Range, Faster, Slashier, No Stun hammer
Hammer- The king of all hammers. Why wouldn't you play this hammer?

You see? All roads lead to hammer. Better to play what you want than follow some dude's tier list on youtube. You'll enjoy the game a lot more if you play what you want.

[EerieAriolimax]

Hammer was terrible in the base game. I've played it in 4U, GU and World and it's easily the worst version of it. You had to spam Impact Crater to do any real damage and even then it wasn't that much. Even in speedruns by people who can land Impact Craters frequently it was near the bottom. It had utterly pitiful damage when playing sub-optimally, and barely better optimally.

I don't know if that's still the case (it pretty much killed my interest in the weapon and I've since moved on), but if it is I certainly wouldn't recommend it. But I know they made some changes (I think Courage is better now, for example) so maybe it's worth using now, idk.

[F.O.A.M]

Honorable_D eredeti hozzászólása:

Only just started Rise and thinking about maining Hammer—the play style seems fine too me. However, I watched a bunch of Youtube vids on weapon ranks/tier lists from different people and Hammer isn't...ranked so hot.

Like C tier and lower from most. They say it does too little damage for how slow it is and attack range sucks.

i played alot of hammer and it feels amazing, with the new wirebug stuff you get in sunbreak you can combo heavy hitting charge attacks infinitely. it is awesome.
besides i think tierlists in a game where every weapon is fine is stupid. thats one of the things mh has going for it, every weapon is good in its own way. nothing is as defensive as lance and gunlance, nothing has the aerial mobility as the insect glaive, hammer is the king of stuns and greatsword is the strongest hitting weapon when you land the hits

[Dreams of Fury]

TheEerieAriolimax eredeti hozzászólása:

Hammer was terrible in the base game. I've played it in 4U, GU and World and it's easily the worst version of it. You had to spam Impact Crater to do any real damage and even then it wasn't that much. Even in speedruns by people who can land Impact Craters frequently it was near the bottom. It had utterly pitiful damage when playing sub-optimally, and barely better optimally.

I don't know if that's still the case (it pretty much killed my interest in the weapon and I've since moved on), but if it is I certainly wouldn't recommend it. But I know they made some changes (I think Courage is better now, for example) so maybe it's worth using now, idk.

Sunbreak changed everything and its amazing again.

[Siamese55]

As you can see, people have a lot of different opinions on different weapons. I understand what you mean by trying to consider "meta" rankings if you will, but it really all boils down to subjectivity and preference. For example, let's just say for argument's sake that hammer has the highest DPS in a game. Problem is, if it doesn't sync with you it won't be worth running regardless since you won't be able to make the most of it.

If you want to hear hammer praise (which is admittedly a little dated now that Sunbreak is out), check out Monster Hunter Rise with a Side of Salt on YouTube. Plenty of praise there (and I think he even has his own weapon tier list). However, I wouldn't really sweat this decision too much.

If hammer feels good, give it a shot. If it falls short for you, switch to something else. I personally try to keep DB, Insect Glaive, and Bow viable in my equipment box, but even if you don't you will be collecting similar materials anyway. It rarely crippling to have to craft another similar tier weapon.

I'll also give another example, but this time more grounded: insect glaive. I like it; think it is a cool concept. It is the most mechanically/mentally interesting weapon to me. However, I typically hear a lot more trashing than praise for it. Generally along the lines that it's historical specialty (aerial combat and monster mounting) being no longer exclusive makes Insect Glaive practically obsolete in comparison to its peers. Do I care? Not a lick. Aerial combat and kinsects are fun.

So give it a shot. You can always decide it is garbage later.

[Mastodon_2]

The only reason I'd pay any attention to "meta" weapon lists is if you're looking to be a speedrunner and want to know what has the fastest clear times, or you're struggling with the game and want to know the easiest / most effective weapon in the hope it will help you progress.

I am a hammer main and I made it all the way through Rise and Sunbreak without any issues. Admittedly, the hammer is a weapon that used to be considered quite easy to use because the move set is relatively small and the usage method is simply "bonk head".

It's tougher now in Rise / Sunbreak, with the fight pace being faster and monsters being balanced are silkbind skills, wirefall etc. The hammer silkbinds aren't great with the exception of impact crater (the new fast hitting one from SB where you spin the weapon in silk is particularly underwhelming). especially when compared to what other weapons have, but that doesn't mean that you can't hunt effectively with it.

Personally, the hammer gameplay is my favourite. I love rolling through openings, charging attacks and unleashing big hits into the heads of the monsters, getting the KO and letting the team wail on the stricken monster for a while. Sure, there are easier ways to play - you could go heavy bowgun and just spam sticky ammo all day, or use LS and just counter every move the monster throws at you. You could play bow and be in a position to pump out damage while having so much mobility that monsters struggle to keep up with you, let alone hit you.

However, Monster Hunter games aren't just about taking the safest or fastest route to the finish line. People play these games for a sense of mastery too; while that may come from setting extremely fast clear times, there is another sense of satisfaction in taking something like the hammer and learning the monster's moves so that you're adept at avoiding damage and always in the right position to deliver that big charged strike.

For me, MH isn't just about blowing through every quest in the game, making the meta build of the month and being done with it - if that were the case, I'd never go back and hunt lower or mid tier monsters for fun. For me, the satisfaction in MH comes from learning the weapons and the monsters, to the point where I feel like I can hunt with finesse instead of brute forcing through, chugging loads of healing potions or abusing busted tactics - you may remember the utterly broken heavy bowgun cluster bomb builds from MHW, you'll be unsurprised to hear I never used them, even when they could trivialise the hardest hunts in the game.

[lolschrauber]

Tiers are about one thing

Mentally handicapped morons eredeti hozzászólása:

HURR DURR MUH DPS

When that's a dumb metric. It doesn't have the best damage but excels at stunning and breaking monster parts however.

Either way, play what you want and what plays well for you.

[Nyxtus]

what are you chimps crying about? Courage hammer is busted.

[Honorable_D]

There are some well put together posts in this thread, thank you for that.

I've decided to roll with Hammer...if I reach a point that I'm just not having fun, then I'll try a different weapon. Worst case scenario is a waste a couple hours figuring that out.

Though I am a bit discouraged by the fact that you all tell me that Hammer is a bit too "old school" for its own good and has failed to adapt to modern Monster Hunter mechanics and speed, unlike most other weapons...

[karl-emil]

Nyxtus eredeti hozzászólása:

what are you chimps crying about? Courage hammer is busted.

Courage hammer is absurdly good in Sunbreak

[Eguzky]

I'm still trying to find ANY guides on the Hammer that explain what the color-changing hammer icon is for. The in-game info pretends it does not exist.

[NiamhNyx]

DaBa eredeti hozzászólása:

If you choose your weapon based on a youtube tier list, you're better of just playing Long Sword and not asking people any questions... Please stop doing that, tier lists do not matter even if you're a speedrunner since every weapon has it's own leaderboard, you're just being cringe.

And yes, as to if it's worth using Hammer? HELL YES! Hammer is at the same time one of the simplest and also one of the most nuanced weapons in the game. The whole gameplay is about figuring out ways to keep attacking the monster's head as efficiently as possible. Which forces you to actually learn every single fight and the monster's moveset because, unlike almost every single weapon in Rise now, Hammer does not have any kind of jail out of free card type of move, no invincibility frames for days, no powerful blocks, no long distance dodges or insane counters. You only have a single move that can counter attacks and honestly you don't really want to use it much anyway because it breaks up your flow a lot. No, you have to do it the old way: dodge out of the way of attacks, learn where you can stand and how you can get to the monster in the best way while death keeps swinging over your head all the time.

Well actually, I guess they added keeping sway, but even that doesn't feel like a free dodge, you actually have to time it since it's not very generous with iframes.

Water strike can actually be worked with if you know how to play hammer, and it actually quite easy and rewarding to use in certain situations.
Charge switching FROM Strength or Courage gives you Iframes.
Dash breaker has Hyper armor and is amazing as a medium distance repositioning move that preserves your charge.
Keeping sway is kinda like a smaller Dash breaker, with out the attack at the end, it has iframes and preserves your charge.

If you are going to talk about hammer and pretend its some "OG OLD WAY BADASS ONLY WEAPON" at least know what you are talking about....

[Dreams of Fury]

Honorable_D eredeti hozzászólása:

There are some well put together posts in this thread, thank you for that.

I've decided to roll with Hammer...if I reach a point that I'm just not having fun, then I'll try a different weapon. Worst case scenario is a waste a couple hours figuring that out.

Though I am a bit discouraged by the fact that you all tell me that Hammer is a bit too "old school" for its own good and has failed to adapt to modern Monster Hunter mechanics and speed, unlike most other weapons...

Welcome to the Church of Bonk my friend, and its not as oldschool as some make it out to be, it just isnt on its way to rehab for the 30th time like some of the other weapons appear.

Just learn the dance, what attacks work best for you and dominate everything.

[Heru Ra Ha]

Honorable_D eredeti hozzászólása:

Only just started Rise and thinking about maining Hammer—the play style seems fine too me. However, I watched a bunch of Youtube vids on weapon ranks/tier lists from different people and Hammer isn't...ranked so hot.

Like C tier and lower from most. They say it does too little damage for how slow it is and attack range sucks.

My friend played through base rise with hammer, still uses it in Sunbreak and he has lots of fun with it. After playing greatsword for a while i will probably go on to use hunting horn so we can bonk in style.

I think it should be irrelevant to you what somebody on youtube says. The only factor that should count is whether you have fun with the weapon, when that is the case it is good for you. Will hammer be a speed runner weapon? probably not, does it have to be? no.

[DaBa]

NiamhNyx eredeti hozzászólása:

Water strike can actually be worked with if you know how to play hammer, and it actually quite easy and rewarding to use in certain situations.
Charge switching FROM Strength or Courage gives you Iframes.
Dash breaker has Hyper armor and is amazing as a medium distance repositioning move that preserves your charge.
Keeping sway is kinda like a smaller Dash breaker, with out the attack at the end, it has iframes and preserves your charge.

If you are going to talk about hammer and pretend its some "OG OLD WAY BADASS ONLY WEAPON" at least know what you are talking about....

Yes, I know all that but the main problem I have with water strike is that it breaks your current charge, which sucks. Especially in Sunbreak, Hammer is all about charge attacks now. If it was more integrated into that playstyle, let's say you can interrupt the charge with a water strike and go back into charging then yes, it would be cool. It has some interaction with courage since you can shortcut into level three from an uppercut, but you still have to break your combo to even use it. Not a well integrated move I'm afraid, it's mainly usable if you're not doing anything else, and you're almost never doing nothing since holding charge is better than nothing.

But, no matter, keeping sway solved this problem completely. It's a gap closer when you're charging, and also you can use it to dodge through attacks if you time it well, all while holding your charge. No need for awkward waterstrike anymore.