Obviously there are major advantages for both weapons. Greatsword dmg is wtf crazy. I created this thread to get perspectives from other players to see who uses and which weapon and why. I am stuck between the two. Being I am NOT glass cannon and pull kittenty dmg with GS I said “hell, might as well just go hammer for the CC and to be different” (I’ve always been that kinda person who doesn’t wanna be the same as everyone else, call me a kitten but ehhh its whatever). So I did. And I liked it a lot. I had that feeling of uniqueness and originality by not rolling into a dungeon with full zerker build, dying in 2 hits like most of them did. I had survivability, I supported the group, I took down/ controlled mobs with ease. Although the dmg is no where near as good as GS zerker warriors I still loved being able to support the group and face kitten mobs. I want to hear your take on your weapon choice and why you use it.
Been running this build for a while now, and I can’t change to anything else. I actually tank 10+ mobs with it because of CC and toughness. Damage is slightly less with this build but I feel Im far less squishier and still deal a considerable amount of dps/CC wit this build. Its far more effective in WvW and large aoe mobs, but against single target bosses I alternate between rifle/Hammer/sword-shield depending on whether I need to deal pure dmg, or both defiant stack controling and some dps.
Raw damage usually beats cc in PvE due to Defiant and the fact that killing stuff quickly negates having to tank them any longer.
This is very true. As I am very cheap and don’t like to change traits often, I found that hammer is still very fun and some what damaging in PvE. Of course GS herderblades melts most bosses faster and thus reduces dmg taken over all and time it takes to deal with the bosses. I just enjoy Hammers skills more and its far more fun for me in most situations. I mostly WvW, and I definitely see more usefulness in with Hammer over GS, especially in small groups and zerg play.
from AC Scavengers leaping skill to breaders to fractal harpys knockback shoot to removing defiant of bosses,… I’ll always prefer a good hammer buddy than a full dps with no other use. Specially for dungeons.
Zerk is the average Joe build. Don’t pat yourself in the back too hard.
from AC Scavengers leaping skill to breaders to fractal harpys knockback shoot to removing defiant of bosses,… I’ll always prefer a good hammer buddy than a full dps with no other use. Specially for dungeons.
Problem is that situations where CC is “nice to have” are far rarer than situations where just bulldozing through with as much damage as possible is preferable. Mobs like AC Scavengers are in the minority, sadly. It would make for a more diverse and interesting gameplay if there were more like them.
from AC Scavengers leaping skill to breaders to fractal harpys knockback shoot to removing defiant of bosses,… I’ll always prefer a good hammer buddy than a full dps with no other use. Specially for dungeons.
Problem is that situations where CC is “nice to have” are far rarer than situations where just bulldozing through with as much damage as possible is preferable. Mobs like AC Scavengers are in the minority, sadly. It would make for a more diverse and interesting gameplay if there were more like them.
Having good AOE CC makes things not only easier but more fun. One of the best (apply fun criteria) fights in this game IMO is final bosses of AC path 1 and 3… get in there and just charge the whole room. Pull every single breeder and have lots of fun making little scavengers fly around the room all the time while you fight the boss. Lol many pugs tears but my friend and me have so much fun doing it that way (both hammering things down).
But yes… more fights where CC and team strategy is needed would improve this game so much.
Zerk is the average Joe build. Don’t pat yourself in the back too hard.
I use both, usually start with Greatsword, build up a bunch of Might, switch to Hammer, 5>2>4 for 3-5K hits depending on my Might stacks, then go back to Greatsword
from AC Scavengers leaping skill to breaders to fractal harpys knockback shoot to removing defiant of bosses,… I’ll always prefer a good hammer buddy than a full dps with no other use. Specially for dungeons.
Problem is that situations where CC is “nice to have” are far rarer than situations where just bulldozing through with as much damage as possible is preferable. Mobs like AC Scavengers are in the minority, sadly. It would make for a more diverse and interesting gameplay if there were more like them.
QFT, I love the hammer but there are a lot more times where a GS comes in handy than a Hammer. It’s not just the defiant stacks, the coordination of the team to ensure that they don’t simply throw out CC, only to mess interrupting the boss during the sweet period of lack of defiant. Besides that, the fact that there are bosses where you simply don’t interrupt as it is quite useless or you can’t really judge it’s skill animations. i.e. Arah dungeons.
Here is my suggestion if you love hammers, play a hammer +axe/shield, it utilizes the same trait slot i.e. 20% reduction in hammer/shield cd, if you’re worried about dmg. Remember to bring a range weapon just in case. But TBH, most groups I run with aren’t strict about what weapon (and build) you’re running if you can carry your own weight, unless you’re in COF p1 farm (very anal people imo) and Arah p4.
The way PvE is right now, DPS is king.
If they made CC more of a necessity, it would be more fun and hammer would play a bigger role… as it is…
Hammer is best saved for PvP where it is king (well, in conjunction w/ GS lol)
i use hammer+gs in spvp :p hammer’s aoe knock down and aoe stun is so useful in group fight and killing thieves and mesmer :p
“i think it’s an underserved nerf. now we have to slot a stun breaker??”
“berserker stance clears all CC on you and you’re still immune to CC for 8 seconds”
-Excalibur.9748
Hammer is definitely much better in some situations, i.e. when CC is essential to prevent wipes (vs masses of mobs that spam 10k hits etc), but falls back in other situations where CC isn’t necessary.
But that’s why we get to swap weapons out of combat.
Been running this build for a while now, and I can’t change to anything else. I actually tank 10+ mobs with it because of CC and toughness. Damage is slightly less with this build but I feel Im far less squishier and still deal a considerable amount of dps/CC wit this build. Its far more effective in WvW and large aoe mobs, but against single target bosses I alternate between rifle/Hammer/sword-shield depending on whether I need to deal pure dmg, or both defiant stack controling and some dps.
Been running this build for a while now, and I can’t change to anything else. I actually tank 10+ mobs with it because of CC and toughness. Damage is slightly less with this build but I feel Im far less squishier and still deal a considerable amount of dps/CC wit this build. Its far more effective in WvW and large aoe mobs, but against single target bosses I alternate between rifle/Hammer/sword-shield depending on whether I need to deal pure dmg, or both defiant stack controling and some dps.
(well, in conjunction w/ GS lol)