Hunting Horn the real K.O Meta?

[Death-Insured]

I have done quite a bit of tinkering around with this concept. I have probably spent too much time reading forums, examining damage, status, and motion values, practical applications and combos, etc... and not enough time sharing my findings with other Hunters for thought!

This sum of which leads me to believe HH to be a better Stun weapon, due to output pace, practical combos, and playstyle.

Now before all you Ham Heads get worked up, just remember, I'm not disputing that Hammer has the highest base Stun damage. I want to make that clear. (I am factoring in translated exhaust damage as well)

But...

Research in damage data will show that Hammer has a very broad range of Stun output, anywhere from 15-25 for side swings, and upwards of 60-90 with charged Big Bangs, Spins, and Uppercuts. This, depending on player skill, provides an inconsistent output.

This is an issue with stun damage as a result of it being a Status, requiring frequent application, lest you loose what you've put in. As we all know, if you want to slog the beasties out, you gotta hit em' hard and fast.

The HH however, while it trends to a lower combined Stun value, (again, exhaust included), they range from about 35-45. This output is consistent with all but %5 of the available moves, (hilt stab, etc.) This means more consistent output on not only your basic attacks, but each hit of the performances, encores, and you guessed it, the Lawnmower.

To cover application, again with the hammer, most of the higher Stun values are found in the highest Motion value moves, for obvious reasons. Such as the Charged Spin, Big Bang, Uppercuts, etc. All of these are high commitment, and the Stun values increase as the combos MV does. So unless your landing all of the big hits, (player skill), you're not getting all of the big gains from swinging that hammer around that you could be.

With HH, there aren't as many strict "combos", such as Big Bang or Charged Spin, but rather falls into two categories. One- in a general sense, whatever basic attacks you use to get your melodies stacked up, and Two- the actual performances themselves. (I will leave out the Lawnmower for now, really a combo in itself). The Stun values within both parts again being lateral and consistent. (Performance Stun value is the same for each hit, depending on direction)

Now, the spin attack, aka The Lawnmower. This is an ace in the hole, as it does about as much Stun damage as a performance, (On par, if not better comparatively to full Big Bang because you can move based on directional input), in a fraction of the time. This hit-box is also gigantic, 360°, and pretty darn tall. Allowing me to rapidly apply Stun, at high value, to a wider range of effective use. (Knocking down something that is flying your way, which feels awesome)

Then we come to playstyle... A bit of a disclaimer: this conjecture does not involve those Corner Horns that give most of us a wimpy reputation, but to my fellow Dooters on the front lines and in the face of danger! ... Now I will limit the playstyle portion because this largely depends on you... however, mobility and combo-sustainability, are universal for everybody.

Basic movement speed? No contest with the movement speed buff the HH gets standard. Sheath times are about the same, HH a hair longer I think. The HH also does not have any "rooting" combos, like the Overhead beat-down, (I suppose Lawnmower could be considered "rooting", but for a fraction of the time... and you can roll out of it). Many of the high commitment moves, actually, most moves in general, have an evasion window in them, so you can roll out in need. This can be said of most weapons, but unlike most others, doing so doesn't jeopardize any combos, you just go on to the next note and play on. The combined movement speed, evasion windows, and combo sustainability allow me to accomplish two objectives; getting my buffs up-n-out, and staying on the monsters head, where I am most valuable. This makes for a fluid, consistent, and often forgiving playstyle.

In conclusion, Hammer certainly has the highest stun values in the game, but no-one puts em' down like a good Hunting Horn!

A couple things I left out on purpose...

-Impact Echo Wave- nuff said.

-Builds- I left build related factors out because I wanted this to be a comparison between the weapons, not what can be made of them... but there is one thing that stands out. That's Exhaust. Again, I had been factoring that in above in terms of overall stun values, but build potential changes things a bit; Slugger is an obvious first for anyone putting together a K.O. build, and Stamina Thief a common second, both buildable with both weapons. However the Hammer's total stun value is about 85/15 stun/exhaust, whereas the HH's is more like 60/40. This means that the HH gets a much better benefit from both.
...

I personally love the Hunting Horn, if you couldn't tell, and hope that despite my passion for this magnificent Sax-a-Boom, this serves as an unbiased analysis of Stun potential between the two.

I'll be posting a breakdown of my favorite Doot build soon for critique.

Happy Hunting!

[★ Moonlight ★]

I have not looked into stats, but I FEEL like HH gets more KOs the hammer, especially when using an echo wave. And I have more experience with the hammer then the HH.

[Veritas]

it's not really that you get more KOs per hunt with hunting horn so much as you get them faster.