2H Hammer: are Berserk & Killing Frenzy useful?

[Goblin King]

Most guide say 2-handers should have Berserk & Killing Frenzy.

Does this apply to 2H hammers bro as well? I figure they get less kills because they concentrate on enemies with armor.

[gphotopoulos]

They can still kill stuff, especially if you find a named 2H Hammer. And Berserk especially is good for clearing trash that's on the way to the big bad guy. Also, when you are in contact with both a trashmob and the armored enemy you want to hit, having B+KF allows you to hit the trashmob, kill it, and then get the +25% damage against the armored enemy's armor. I tend to give Hammers to my highest Matk guys so that strategy works reliably. Finally, it's not like there are a ton of other choices. The one I would skip for Hammer is Reach Advantage especially since I often give my 2H Hammer guys a 2H mace (without proficiency) and use them to debuff dangerous enemies without much armor. I've also taken to giving my 2H Hammer guys adrenaline so I can destroy enemy armor in two consecutive moves when I absolutely need to. But on a more general note, while guides are very helpful when starting out (I know I used them a ton) don't be afraid to experiment, especially considering that the goal is not to build the 12 best possible bros, but the best possible team.

[moikka434]

Before the new DLC I had a guy with famed 2H hammer (increased damage) with berserk and killing frenzy. He was very reliable at one shotting most humans and ancient legionaries because his attacks bypassed a lots of armor.

[Ozymandias]

Berserk is almost always a good perk to take, extra ap on kills is good for all sorts of things: switching weapons, repositioning, applying bandages, etc. And of course, extra ap can be used to keep killing.

Killing Frenzy is less useful, but also has synergy with most builds. Killing one thing makes the next thing easier to kill.

2H hammer has three moves: Smite, Shatter, and Split Shield.

Practically, split shield should be something you avoid using unless you have axe mastery (and an axe).

Smite operates with a 20% damage increase against a single target with 15 fatigue cost.

Shatter operates as an aoe (3 tille) version without the damage buff, with 30 fatigue cost.

To me, the biggest differences between this set and the greatswords set is there is no Split skill and all the hammer attacks deal less damage with greater armor penetration/damage. Also, Smite is slightly less accurate than Overhead Strike (the greatsword equivalent) but it also staggers the target. Shatter has a knockback effect.

I think it is impractical to make a hammer bro the biggest killer because it generally deals less damage, and is slightly less accurate. However, the utility of picking up berserk to adapt to a tight situation where maybe your brother is surrounded and can use a second hit to Shatter and knock back some of the nearby enemies after a kill.

Also consider that Smite can stagger enemies (ruining their initiative), which means you might be able to pull off two hits in a row against a slow enemy, then retreat using the berserk ap.

I like berserk; killing frenzy works well with berserk but is less essential, imo.

[BEEN]

Of course they are good. Hammer has one of the highest damage output in the game. Pick em

[Armin]

Yes. often my hammer zerkers have a higher kill count than my sword wielders. reason being: to wield a hammer in my crew you have to be a real god because they guard my flanks. so maybe by that that statistic is a bit off.

but what berserks allows is 2 round swings to hit those 6 attacks. and because my hammer wielders always have 100+ melee stuff dies >:D