I'll start with this: I think the Slugger skill is overrated. You'll only ever get 3 stuns max in a hunt and all Slugger does is increase how quickly you'll get each stun. A few builds have Slugger built into them, but it is not the core skill in any one of these builds. The only counterpoint to this is that in multiplayer, Slugger is great because of the monster's higher stun threshold. That said, these builds are not oriented towards hunting with others.

Most of the builds use 'high' affinity hammers and weakness exploit. Augments are up to you, but I always recommend simply damage or affinity, though sometimes slot upgrades can be good.

This game is not hard at all when compared to previous MH titles, so some builds are put in here for a bit of fun. Not every build is meant to be perfect, like the elemental ones. Hammers don't really care much for elemental damage. Raw damage is your element as a hammerbro.

The set builder links are provided at the end of every build, so feel free to edit each one to your liking! I encourage fiddling. This is a place to start an idea for your hammer set(s).

By the way, this guide is not for players in low rank. There is honestly no point in building any monster-specific armor sets in low rank, as you should just get out of it as soon as possible with some generic sets. Refer to my other guide if you're just starting out.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1480266068

Affinity allows you a chance to land a critical attack. When you land a critical attack, you do 25% more damage on that strike. Every attack with a hammer is capable of landing a critical (unlike charge blade phials, gunlance shells, etc.), so it is nice to have positive affinity. If you have negative affinity, and deal a weak attack, it'll do 25% less damage. Affinity varies from weapon to weapon, but does it really matter?

The weapons are pretty balanced. Higher raw attack weapons will have lower/negative affinity, and lower attack weapons will have higher affinity. So in the long run, two weapons of comparable rarity, but with positive and negative affinity, will be nearly identical in average damage over a given time period. So the question is: can you get the best of both worlds- high affinity and higher damage? Yes!

For most of these builds, what I do is pick hammers with the largest attacks and factor in higher affinities through armor and decoration skills. This way, you can maintain the insane raw damage of some of the big boi hammers and still have a good chance to crit.

This explains how crits work in detail.[www.forbes.com]

Weakness Exploit gives you a constant increase in weapon affinity when attacking weakpoints. This means that, as a hammer user with level 3 Weakness Exploit, each hit on a monster's head gets +50% affinity. This is why the skill is incorporated into nearly every build. It is incredibly important and most of all, easy to factor in (at least level 2 is).

You're gonna see this guy used a lot:


It's an automatic level 2 Weakness Exploit (+30% affinity on weak points) with good defense. You can get it basically right after you beat Nergigante the first time (put Plunderblade on your cat and you'll get tons of his needed scales, pick up the Nerg's tracks too).

To get level 3 Weakness Exploit, you'll probably have to put in a lot of hours and eventually get a Tenderizer jewel. I got my first at about 130 hours and haven't gotten a single one since. Once you get one, you should be good for any build, as you can just use it on your Dragonking Eyepatch.

Non-elemental boost has one level, and when applied to a weapon with no or a hidden element, the base damage of the weapon is multiplied by 1.1. This doesn't sound like much, but it's a static 10% damage increase. It takes no effort to trigger other than having a non-elemental weapon. Keep in mind that the skill does not stack with anything; it is applied to your weapon's base raw damage.

So, if your hammer has no or a hidden element, try to put an Elementless decoration somewhere on your build. I recommend this decoration over the first two levels of Critical Boost.

This explains Non-elemental Boost in detail.

Note: Added this section because I'm a stubborn dummy and it really is necessary.

Weak earplugs, level 3, negates roars of weak monsters, essentially anything "below" a Rathlalos. At level 5, you will not be affected by any monster's roar.

This is very useful in a hammer build, as it allows you to land a full charge on a monster's head while it's roaring. It's also pretty easy to obtain with some Bazel gear. Most hammer users consider it to be the main skill to build a set around, and I'm inclined to agree with them. You can do without earplugs on a hammer build, but it's essentially free damage to a monster.

I wanted to get better at dodge-rolling through monster roars, so only two sets here contain earplugs. Look to those two sets if you want earplugs (I do recommend it for general purpose hunting). As a side note, if you get the Rocksteady Mantle + Affinity Booster and play well enough, you'll kill every monster in five minutes or less, without the need for earplugs.

Focus decreases the charge time of certain weapons' abilities. For instance, the greatsword's charge, the longsword's spirit gauge, the chargeblade's phials and the hammer's charge.

A lot of people hate Focus on hammer and call it a waste of skill points. At level 3, you will charge your weapon 20% faster. This is good, but some will argue you can put in some more useful skills. It's all a matter of preference. Use it, or don't.

If Focus is on any one of these builds, it's probably just from one or two of the armor pieces containing the skill. Don't fuss about getting it to level 3 unless you want to test it out. You won't notice a huge difference, but your level 2 charged-upswing will feel a lot faster to get to.

In summary, Focus is not essential, but it can be nice to have for some. Use it or lose it- your choice.

The "best" all-rounder hammer?

The -25% affinity is easily ignored with skills, making this hammer insanely powerful. There's some all-rounder builds centered around this weapon that I recommend wholeheartedly.

Your next best choice is a similar hammer.

It's a bit cheaper to obtain, so it may appeal to some of you.

Solid damage, good affinity and decent sharpness. No elementless benefit.


Used this like crazy when I got it.

Looks super cool and has that famed fat Nergigante blue sharpness.

The Deviljho hammer is great. Comparable to the Diablos hammer, but with dragon damage and High elderseal.

Only bad thing is it has no slots and you lose the elementless benefit.


If you don't like the idea of negative affinity, there are plenty of hammers that you can substitute into these builds. There are also a few builds here that take this into account.

Just got to highrank and want to use the hammer? This set does not require any elder dragon parts (just replace the Diablos Shatterer II with the Diablos Shatterer I and the Attack Charm III with the Attack Charm II). The set bonuses are just coincidence. Not entirely useful, but the Odogaron one can be good for initiating a fight.

You will acquire the Attack decoration at some point in the story. All other decoration slots are up to you as you acquire them. But, put on an Elementless decoration as soon as you get it. Weakness Exploit and Critical Boost are very important skills as well.

Feel free to swap out armor pieces as well; the Diablos arms were put in simply for the decoration slots. Focus is not necessary, it's just a sidedish.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Here's the set filled with example decorations:
Bam![honeyhunterworld.com]

No elder dragons required! (Just swap the Diablos Shatterer II with the Diablos Shatterer I and the Attack Charm III with the Attack Charm II.)

Equipping four pieces of Diablos/Diablos Nero gives you the Non-elemental Boost skill without having to farm for the decoration. Additionally, the Diablos set is basically made for hammer users. A lot of the skills that come with it are very useful. If you want Slugger, you can swap in the Diablos chest, but you'll lose Weakness Exploit 2. Also, there's a ton of slots on this set. Have fun.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Here's an example of what you would want the set to be, fully upgraded:
Bam![honeyhunterworld.com]

No elder dragon parts required. Just replace the Diablos Shatterer II with the Diablos Shatterer I and the Earplugs Charm III with the Earplugs Charm II.




Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Here it is with the decorations filled out:
Bam![honeyhunterworld.com]

Maxed earplugs (HGE) is widely valued for a hammer build. It lets you get off a free charge to the head while a monster is roaring. Thanks to user Zhnigo for smacking me over the head with its importance; it really is a great skill to have in a hammer build.

Swap the Diablos Nero arms for Kaiser arms and you'll have Weakness Exploit and Crit Boost maxed, and lose the useless Focus 1.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

An alternate version of this, with maxed Critical Boost: Bam![honeyhunterworld.com]

White sharpness lets your weapon do 130% (?) of its damage. The skill protective polish allows you to not lose sharpness for 60 (?) seconds after sharpening. This is the set. The decoration is pretty hard to obtain, so good luck. If you get one, it's defineably one of the best decorations in the entire game, and you only need one.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Wearing 3 pieces of Teo gives you Master's Touch, which prevents sharpness loss on critical hits. Remember, Latent Power triggers and is active for 90 seconds when you either take 180 damage or fight a monster for more than 5 minutes.

You can totally substitute the hammer for something with much higher affinity to keep sharpness up longer.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

I'm including this because the Nergigante is a pretty common monster to farm and the skills on his armor are good for blademasters. He's an easy fight and the armor is not too difficult to obtain, just fight him a few times and you'll have it.

With the skills provided, you will have pretty high affinity when a monster is enraged and decently high affinity when striking a weak part.

The set bonus is honestly trash, but it's something.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

An alternate to the above section. Still retains the set bonus, which isn't that great, just eh.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Need to break parts? Well here you go. (Not the most optimized set. Partbreaker just makes it easier to break parts.)



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Not the most powerful set, but it can be fun to use. Equipping two pieces of Diablos armor gives you the Bludgeoner set bonus, which increases attack as sharpness decreases. With the Ragefire Magda Floga, this means you will have a good attack boost pretty quickly. Affinity will be positive when a monster is enraged.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Per request. Maxed Heroics increases attack by 30% and defense by 40 points when your health is at/below 35%. Similar to the Bludgeoner build above this section.




Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

If you've played hammer for five minutes in this game, you know how insanely powerful sliding down a slope can be when you charge your hammer and release. You put out so much damage in such a short period it's just not fair to the poor monsties. That's why I put together this cheeky little number.

You'll charge your hammer faster, do 10% more damage with airborne attacks, gain 30% affinity just from sliding down a slope and you can't be knocked out of the air. You can smell the fun, can't you?



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

You'll be at 60% affinity base with this set. All attacks on weak parts are guaranteed criticals. Everyone likes seeing their screen light up with critical hits, right?



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

This was really fun to make. Feel free to gem in whatever resistances you want. Tons of slots on this one.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

NOTE: I do NOT recommend elemental hammer sets. These were added as a novelty. If you do plan on using one of these sets, please pay attention to the weapon's specific element CAP. You can only gem in so much more elemental damage before the weapon reaches its cap and you waste skill points.

Elements aren't your biggest concern using a hammer, but if you want to build a set around a specific element, you're more than welcome to.

You can replace the hammer with the Brazenbreak II if you want a hammer with positive affinity and a 3 slot gem, but far less fire damage. Up to you.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

You can replace the hammer with Daora's Colossus for much higher base damage, better affinity, but only a 2 slot gem and much less ice damage. Up to you, boss.



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]



Set Builder Link[honeyhunterworld.com]

Using a variant of one of the builds here. Very unoptimized but it shows the power of hammer. Boldly attack the face and get rewarded with quick hunts!

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1500767699

Some tips:

• Try to keep weapon affinity zero/positive. It's extra damage that can be factored in with some armor/decoration skills.
  
• Don't waste the Handicraft skill on a hammer with max sharpness (bar filled entirely with color).
  
• Try to fit a Non-elemental decoration on your build if your hammer has no element or the element is greyed out- it's extra damage.
  
• If you find yourself needing a certain skill for an armor piece, don't be afraid to go back in the list and pick out a weaker monster's piece... defense is not your biggest concern as a hammer user. Most of the time you'll cause monsters to flinch from the damage you deal.
  
• Use the set builder provided at the end of every build in this guide! It's super useful.

Skills to use:

• Earplugs
  
• Attack Boost
  
• Weakness Exploit
  
• Focus
  
• Critical Eye
  
• Critical Boost
  
• Agitator
  
• Maximum Might
  
• Handicraft
  
• Slugger
  
• Non-elemental Boost

I'll update this as often as I can. Thanks for reading. Let me know if I'm missing anything or something could be improved.

Happy hunting,
Psychobagger

08/22/2018 - Published guide
08/23/2018 - Edited Nergigante Set, added alternate any element set, added partbreaker vs. critical boost section, added your own set section, added partbreaker & critical boost sets 1 and 2
08/25/2018 - Edited partbreaker vs. critical boost section, edited partbreaker and critical boost sets
08/26/2018 - Edited Teostra set section
08/27/2018 - Added All-rounder Set 2, added The Importance of Weakness Exploit section, updated (fixed) set builder links
08/29/2018 - Added Heroic Slugger set
09/01/2018 - Added HGE and weak earplugs sets and updated the preface, added You Can Do This, and Better section
09/02/2018 - Added Poverty sets 1 and 2, All-rounder Set 3, All-rounder Set 4, Nergigante Set 2, The Importance of Non-elemental Boost, Focus? On a Hammer Build? and The Hammers sections, deleted Partbreaker and Critical Boost Set 2, consolidated all elemental sets into one section, updated All-rounder set names, edited so much I lost track
09/06/2018 - Added All-rounder set (Earplugs), edited Teostra set, removed HGE and weak earplugs set, removed Partbreaker vs. Critical Boost section, updated a lot of the sets to include non-elemental boost, added poverty earplugs set, renamed the poverty sets, added the importance of earplugs section, deleted Alternate Any Element Set, updated the Unshakeable set, updated a lot of things elsewhere
09/07/2018 - Added Deviljho hammer to The Hammers section
09/10/2018 - Edited the all-rounder (handicraft) set
12/08/2018 - Edited title, outdated
12/17/2018 - Added protective polish set, removed some all-rounder sets that conflicted (total sets at 19 now, not 23) and updated a lot of little things throughout the guide (typos, wording, etc.)
01/14/2020 - Edited title in light of Iceborne.
04/01/2021 - Edited title again.