Guild Wars 2

Hey guys,

Just wondering if a balanced hammer spec would be a viable way to level a warrior.

I’m level 28 now and I’ve tried pretty much all the weapon combinations. Due to the warrior having fairly plain looking weapon attacks, I was hoping to spice things up with the hammer (the hammer attacks have the best visuals imo).

I tried a few things out on the training dummies in the mists and the damage felt kind of weak.

Any of you guys have any luck leveling with the hammer?

I’ve leveled from 1 to 39 using only the Hammer, though I keep a rifle on-hand in case I need to range something.

The damage is decent, but you won’t kill as fast as a GS or axe user. The control on normal mobs is really great, though.

There’s nothing that’s not viable for leveling..

I have used a hammer for the past 5 levels or so and find that it is not as fast at killing as the greatsword but the ability to knockdown/back multiple enemies is a fair trade-off.

So yes, perfectly viable for levelling provided you dont mind it taking about 5 seconds longer to kill your regular enemies.

Very viable. I knew coming in from day 1 I was going Hammer/Rifle build. Got one early on and have been using them since. You won’t do the damage a Greatsword can do but you have more control…which can be far more important.

I am currently level 45, my 6-0 slots are Signet of Healing, Signet of Rage, Signet of Precision, Signet of Might, and Signet of the Dolyak. I also have unlocked things like banners and shouts I can switch to for more group oriented events. I have enough of the Arms traits unlocked to gain +40 Precision for unused Signets which is putting my crit chance about 65-70% in my current gear. Also going Defensive to unlock the Hammer trait at 20 points in.

Having said all that…Veteran mobs are no different to me than standard mobs and I have on 3 occasions now taken down non-event Champions with just a 3 man group.

For normal mobs…swing will do. If you have multiple targets reposition so they’re all in a 180 degree line in front of you…your swings will cleave and hit all targets. Knockdown (5 slot) whenever up. Saves you some damage and you can get synergistic traits to increase damage against disabled mobs. Cripple is obvious too when to use…particularly good on centaur archers that try to run back to shoot at range.

Veterans…about the same deal. Knockdown as necessary…keep Weakness (2) on cooldown. Don’t forget your dodge…watch those big attacks. A trick is that your 2 slot has a “cast bar” before making contact. As you get more comfortable with the hammer and your own pacing…you can time it to hit the button just before you reach the target, and hit just as you enter combat so Weakness is on from the start.

Champions are tough…you won’t solo them with a hammer though I doubt you’ll solo them with any build. Same rules as Veterans but keep Cripple on too. If you’re like me and often find yourself the focus of their ire…duck and move. They may have stability stacks but those can be worn down by using your Cripple and Knockdown which I advise doing as possible. Just try to keep them weakened, crippled or on the ground while your teammates work the body. Or if you’re not the focus, help your allies the same way by making it hard for the Champ to get them.

I can’t say you’ll be immortal, but with some skill and practice a hammer in PvE can devastate. Good luck and hope you enjoy it!

thanks for replying guys

lots of good info

I started out thinking that 2 one handed swords will not only look awsome but feel awsome. It was good at first but the secound hand ax skills were just too good to pass up. Sword in one hand and ax in the other give you 2 combo finishers and fast frequent damage.

So how do you top that all off? With a big hammer of course. Its too bad back breaker isn’t a reliable smash finisher combo. Only earth shaker is. I get a lot of shocked faces in WvW when I use whirling blade to gain up my adrenilin in a huge crowd then switch to hammer to smack them all with a 2 secound stun. Needless to say the aoe comes next from my mates and we tend to take out a large force with just a couple of guys.

I keep a mace and shield for tanking dungeons and a bow for ranged. I have tried some other combos but the one im using now I find I like the best. If your going to stick whith hammer though I know there is a rune out there for increasing stun duration. Superior Sigil of Paralyzation. +15% Enough time for people to react to what you just did.