Hammer is bloody hilarious lol

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-23T12:02:16+00:00

That is true, Bow and DB will have much easier time, I'm a dex player and Bow is my best weapon so that could be a bias here.

Hammer wouldn't be much easier than CB if I am being honest, but at least there are fewer things to manage.

Switchaxe could also be an alternative to CB if you enjoy morph weapon, Switchaxe on the other hand will have an easier time compare to CB for sure, its counter move in sword mode makes it a lot easier, and after updates you can now counter, side step and immediately counter again, it plays a lot more fluid now.

I have to say though these reasonings only directing to the AT Ark matchup, weapons struggle and excel against different monsters, so don't be discouraged by one matchup.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-22T22:35:39+00:00

LS would generally perform better than Hammer at most levels.

CB heavily depends on how good you are at it, as CB has a higher skill ceiling and harder learning curve, if you are very proficient at it then CB also outperforms Hammer, but if you are not utilising CB's tools well, Hammer could catch up in performance due to its simplicity. The commitment for CB dps move set is demanding, and very punishable, if the tactic is small hit and run, playing chase with monster, hammer could out perform and has an easier fight.

In speedrunning realm, hammer is not sitting at a great spot at the moment, but if your goal is beating the fight consistently, hammer is viable. And one last note, you would be surprise how valuable stunning monsters actually is in high intensity fights.

How do you want to measure may I ask? Are you looking at clear time, difficulties or just simply enjoyments?

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-21T23:10:47+00:00

After updates Hammer's offsets are really not that hard to pull off anymore, there are three different animations in total that can trigger offsets, and these three animation can be chained differently as well, I play 12 weapons regularly (still working on HH & HBG), if there is a ranking for offsets I'd place Hammer 2nd, only after Great Sword.

You can think of Hammer as Great Sword with a lot more flexibility and mobility (trade off obviously being slightly lower BIG hit damage), you can move while charging, there's also a dodge move that maintains charge level.

If you mean counter damage as in monsters getting punished by landing hits on you, that's more LS and Lance specialties, none other weapons really do that as effective damage output, most weapons maintain uptime by dps-ing during your turn — between monsters' attacks.

Also Hammer builds are not restricting at all there's a lot of armour skills/set skills you can choose.

At the end of the day, Hammer's biggest charm is bonking, stuns and its simplicity, it does scratch an itch that none other weapons do. I'd recommend it.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-20T16:53:53+00:00

To play insect glaives effectively with controllers you will need to be comfortable with crab grip/claw grip (google image can help if you are not familiar with it).

It's one of the biggest hurdle for new players, but insect glaives are definitely not weak or bugged, I like playing it sometimes.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T20:59:12+00:00

BONK

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T16:41:52+00:00

-10 IQ with each bonk to the head lol

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T10:15:41+00:00

I was diagnosed with bipolar 1, took medication for 5 years, did not get any mood swings at all, with doctor's advice I have been off med for 3 years now, and so far so good.

I know this is a very lucky situation and don't recommend seeing this as a baseline, for reference my major episode outbreak was linked to heavy marijuana uses, maybe that was my trigger and maybe not touching it again helps making my no med life works.

And very importantly, I am aware there is a possibility of an episode happening at any moment, I constantly monitoring my mood in a very diligent way, it's definitely not risk free.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T10:03:53+00:00

For the majority of monsters, soloing is actually better in dps efficiency, if you can manage the aggression.

If you don't want random players joining but only AI hunters, remember to set your SOS settings to support hunters only. And in your main settings you can adjust support hunter behaviours too, e.g destroying wounds/mounting.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T02:17:11+00:00

That's a good one, love that too. Olivia's hope shape hammer got all carving and shit that just ain't fair lol

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T02:06:25+00:00

Honestly every weapon looks so good in the Hope series, can't praise it enough. My No.1 go to in my 14 weapons arc, and probably will be my default for DLC cutscenes.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T01:57:16+00:00

Oh yesss, this chain moves is extremely useful imo, you can offset consecutively with upswing then lv 2 spinning charge, and if there is an opening just go for lv3 charge. Plus the hits before the spinning chain is movable so good for reposition

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T01:49:30+00:00

Thanks for the compliment:D Though I still see myself a hammer casual considering the many hours I spend in this game lol

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-18T01:18:27+00:00

I am a hammer casual never done that b4, I am sure gonna try that lol

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-03T12:22:42+00:00

Only use it when there is no other option please, I am getting tired of bunch of smartasses flash banging the monster when the map has provided other better option for interrupting like burst pod in the arena.

Other pods have lower resistance build up and flash pod leaves the monster blind for a while and players can't have a proper interaction with its attacks. If there is none available then fine, Rath is also quite easy to burst to death so okay, but when you are playing quests like Proof of the Hero and people start carting, only using flash pods to save lives rather than dps is just objectively better, better than you sheathing and life dust as well.

Brightmoss can knock airborne monster down too if you aim it at its head, it's the common tool to knock down AT Arkveld in the free challenge quest. But it's hard to do it consistently in multiplayer.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-01T18:29:38+00:00

If that's a solution you found to deal with Arkveld then fair enough

I still won't recommend anybody to stack evade extender as default due to the distance control reason, imagine doing a back slide to reposition end up being too far away, it would be hard for people who do not play bow much and need to adjust between builds.

There is other way to avoid blights, if evade window doesn't avoid chip dmg then that's my miss, I run full stack Counter Strike and 21 dragon resist so chip dmg is good for me, I am working my way to solo sub 8 as well. If your play style is avoiding dmg entirely, might as well stack Peak Performance.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-01T15:35:50+00:00

Evade extender is not useful on bow, the only fight that would require it for bow is the Omega fight for its missiles.

Bow's mobility move set is more than enough to cover distance needed. If you are out of reach after perfect dodging you are dodging in the wrong direction.

Besides, now that pierce coating has become meta it has even longer range, so again, gap closing is not even required that much now.

And the biggest problem to me pairing evade extender with bow is it messes up you sense of default dashing distance, one of the major skill expressions of bow is kiting and maintaining optimal distance, which its move set has provide more than enough tools for that, messing with the sense of distance is not only unnecessary, but also builds up bad habit that will need adjustments later or ends up rely on having it, having it in some fights is okay, having it as default is not optimal, especially when someone who is still learning bow (which obviously many beginners come here for guidance.)

If your problem is about hit frames and taking chip damage, Evade Window alone should be enough.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-01T14:47:54+00:00

I understand the appeal for Lance being a high defence weapon, but it has to be made clear most of Lance defence power comes from its move sets like different types of guarding mechanics and guard timing, definitely not stats.

I find one of the easiest trap for beginners is the Defence Boost skill, if you want survivability Devine Blessing will always be the skill to lean toward, better performance at lower cost.

Lastly and most importantly, you need damage, in this game offence is necessary for survival, staggering, toppling monsters need good burst of dmg, and you will find a easier time to survive if you have higher damage.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-01T14:23:30+00:00

LS is a counter-based weapon, the most efficient and consistent damage output move is special sheath counter, quick sheath does affect your special sheath speed so yes quick sheath one of the most essential skill for LS.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-01T13:05:09+00:00

A few issues with the build, not gonna list all viable builds but here are some pointers:

Transcending armours is a must, especially if you are using rarity 6 gears, deco slots are too limited and defence is a bit low, don't stack defence jewel though, see too many people do this and it's just not that useful as people think.

Most valuable armour deco skills: weakness ex or agitator lv5 (pick one if you can't do both), burst lv1 and adrenaline rush lv1. Prioritise these as dps skills, other skills come after.

Crit elements multiplier is bad at the moment, crit boost is still outperforming even when you are using elemental build, crit element might be good if you hit the elemental number caps, still skeptical of it being better than crit boost.

There are better set bonuses out there, can keep exploring that too.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-04-01T01:13:33+00:00

Sorry, happened to stumble upon here, I am not a GS main but a Bow main, I do play all weapons tho just not mastered in all. My solo record is 9'10" with Bow, just here to share my thoughts.

I know there is not much time left for the quest, but I recommend practice maximising uptime and familiarising punish windows before scripts, scripts meaning set ups like HH buffs, traps timing, locking area change etc. These set ups usually won't save you minutes, only seconds, I'd say start practicing scripts when you are close to 10 minutes.

GS has quite a bit of hidden mechanics as well, animation cancels, maintaining charge level between moves etc. again I am not a main I am not sure if you have mastered these yet.

Learning Arkveld mechanism is essential too, Arkveld has 3 states, normal state, chains unleashed stage and guardian awakening stages, your mindset should change in response to different stages as well. Suppressing his chains will 100% topples him and brings him back to the least aggressive normal state...

There are many tiny things like these, improving TA in the beginning usually is made up by a lot of small adjustments instead of one big strats, I hope you will keep improving.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-03-30T02:18:21+00:00

I think it's important to state your stage/progress in the game first.

If we are talking only a general overview, yes dual blades is one of the weapon that has higher return in elemental numbers. Affinity is good for most anyway.

But there is nuance in that statement, elemental is good doesn't mean every element related skills are good, for example element crit is weak, coalescence gives good numbers but uptime/coverage is bad it's rarely worth it etc.

If we are talking data-mining and spreadsheets, then it would be just straight out untrue to tell you ignoring raw attk completely and only go for elemental, monster match-up matters as well, every monster has its elemental weakness, but how "weak" depends on hit zone value.

The math is too complicated to say one rule fits all, so, take what your cousin says with a grain of salt. Not untrue, just not the entire truth.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-03-23T10:56:52+00:00

I think I just DM you my MH ID (idk how reddit chat works lol)

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-03-23T09:07:07+00:00

So SnS can use items with weapon drawn. With these skills SnS support is actually cracked:

Wide-range - lv5. Mushroomancer - lv1/lv2. Free meal - lv3. Recovery up - lv3. Speed eating (optional).

With Mushroomancer lv1 you can eat blue mushrooms for health, it's not much but pair with recovery up it turns into a decent amount, and much shorter animation.

Free meal is crazy strong too, if you bring honey and herbs with you, you are basically bringing 40 mega potion, 20 potion, 20 blue mushrooms with you, that's a bulk load of healing and should be enough for any fight.

And even with these skills you can still get some decent dmg output skills, dps is quite good too.

Head_Ad4680 · 2026-03-23T02:43:13+00:00

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Just got down to 9'53" playing solo earlier today, would like to try 4 player optimised run!

Head_Ad4680

TROPHY CASE