Guild Wars 2

Ok fellow warriors, I have a new challenge for us to work on. While I still enjoy using my Mace/Shield + GS build, I find it lacking in TPvP because it honestly isn’t the best “team player.” TPvP in its current state isn’t about dealing with a single target, it’s about affecting as many people as possible. Hammer’s got significantly buffed but also got shipped out with that annoying little Staggering Blow bug. This bug has been fixed but because it was there in the first place even after it was fixed and because Mace has been in the spotlight it hasn’t been discussed as much.

What Hammer brings over mace of course is AoE CC in the form of Earthshaker and Staggering Blow. Using these skills together can push someone trying to deny a capture off the point long enough for it to finish. This is MUCH more useful than what a Mace tends to do because typically chain stunning someone on the capture point is actually a hindrance.

For me a Hammer build needs 3 things, the Merciless Hammer trait, a way to frequently use Earthshaker, and the ability to sustain themselves in a team fight. So here’s 2 builds I’ve been working on:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS8ejkOpwBPGP4wBE0DNsK4iTBlQ9YOsj4A-TsAA1CnICSFkLITQygsBNQYRwWEA

So first of all yes, it’s basically very similar to my Skull Cracker build. The weapons and their sigils are obviously different but other than that I just took 20 points from Arms and put it in Defense. It seems like when it comes to Hammer It’s hard to not have 30 in Defense because you of course want Cleansing Ire but without the Hammer Trait the cooldowns are very lengthy. With mace you never really need the trait but with Hammer if you don’t have it that’s the difference between a 25 second Backbreaker and a 30 second one. I didn’t take Mel runes because I felt that my toughness was high enough as is. I didn’t feel like I was using Hoelbraks Might effects as well as I could though so I added in a Sigil of Battle. I tried Hydromancy as well and it’s also a viable choice because it helps to land Shield Bash/Final Thrust. Speaking of Final Thrust I would suggest focusing on using it when your target is Stunned because it can land 4-6k hits on low HP foes when it crits.

I didn’t use Mace because I feel that using with Hammer not only lowers your mobility but if your target has a lot of stability the Mace 1 chain is very slow. Sword at least gives you some non-CC related damage and Flurry can be used to restrict movement that isn’t Stun based. You can also use Earthshaker as a leap if you switch before you land.

My second build is something I really want to work but am having trouble making the traits work:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS8ejgOVvNPyQ4QCEkCNkLOFUCli5AOSKED0A-TsAA1CnIySllLLTWyssZNQYRw2DA

Fear Me is a fantastic skills for clearing a point, but in order to use it frequently means investing 20 points into tactics. Now you also get Leg Specialist which even after the nerf is still a good trait for both Hammer Shock and Hamstring. That 20 points though is a pretty hefty investment. I really don’t like the idea of losing Unsuspecting Foe because that’s where most of your DPS actually comes from. Hitting a Backbreaker or Final Thrust on a Stunned foe hits hard. This means only 20 points in Defense however which means losing Cleansing Ire. I try to make up for this with Soldiers Runes but with Fear Me being a 48 second CD it basically means your sources for Condi removal are Shake it Off and Mending. However, Mending is probably our weakest heal now even with its low CD but without it a Condi build can roll you.

I really want this build to work, Fear Me can be a giant help in taking a point. You can fear them out, immobilize then with Hammer Shock, then when they try to get back in you can Earthshaker/Staggering Blow. If you have good reaction time you can also use Shake it Off to remove Blind mid Earthshaker/Backbreaker which is awesome.

This would be the variant:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS8ejcOVvNPyQ4wBE0DNsK4Cli5AOSKED0A-TsAA1CnIySllLLTWyssZNQYRw2DA

It be fine except for its lower damage output. To use this you’ll need to build around having it on your team. So, this is the build I want to improve if at all possible. The first build has been working really well for me, Hammer is a lot more challenging to use but has a much bigger pay off.

Alright! Start discussing these builds and your own!

I know this is a tPvP thread, but fwiw your first build is almost exactly what I use in WvW, except with GS offset and Mobile Strikes for better escapes.

Love it. Rapid adrenaline recharge in combat, 7.75s 3-bar Earthshaker spam, ~3.5k ES crits vs 5 players each (tanky T2 & T1 players) as long as they don’t have Stability up, 3 conditions removed every 7.75s.

It’s beast in chaotic zerg and guild battles – both survivable and damaging, especially if you have multiple warriors with the same build landing their ES’s in the same kill zone at the same time. Not sure how/if it translates to the more finesse game of tPvP though.

I also run Heightened Focus instead BM or DoE. Unsuspecting Foe + HF + Fury + 9% base crit = 94% Crit Chance, which means your ES crits almost every time. And that’s without an ounce of Crit Chance on gear, just V/T/P/CD. Also your other skills can benefit from it, not just ES. Have you tried that and decided BM is overall better damage anyway?

Primary problem with hammer: It’s to slow.

Second problem: Weapon skills have long CD’s or are clunky (backbreaker).

Earthshaker is only good if you have Zerker stance up or are in small fights. To many blinds, and it’s animation is so pronounced any person can see it coming (and the good ones will just dodge).

I used to run Hammer Sword Shield a long time ago, but Mace Shield is just so much better. The speed at which you can apply the stun is the important part here.

IMO, Hammer won’t be viable until Blinds are toned down or until the activation speeds are increased.

Nobody will take a hammer warrior over a hammer guardian.

I think Hammer works best with mace, despite the lack of mobility.

The best way to land Heartshaker is to land Skull Crack first.

This way, we also find a role for us:

making the life of Necromancers as miserable as ours.XD

But then you have no mobility, no down state AoE pressure to deny stomps (since good teams do AoE stab before going for a res or a stomp).

And you’re doubling up stuns that any good team will counter it with one boon and suddenly both of your weapon sets aren’t great.

Defektive.7283:

Primary problem with hammer: It’s to slow.

Second problem: Weapon skills have long CD’s or are clunky (backbreaker).

Earthshaker is only good if you have Zerker stance up or are in small fights. To many blinds, and it’s animation is so pronounced any person can see it coming (and the good ones will just dodge).

I used to run Hammer Sword Shield a long time ago, but Mace Shield is just so much better. The speed at which you can apply the stun is the important part here.

IMO, Hammer won’t be viable until Blinds are toned down or until the activation speeds are increased.

I don’t think your statement is fully correct.

tcbear.2357:

Defektive.7283:

Primary problem with hammer: It’s to slow.

Second problem: Weapon skills have long CD’s or are clunky (backbreaker).

Earthshaker is only good if you have Zerker stance up or are in small fights. To many blinds, and it’s animation is so pronounced any person can see it coming (and the good ones will just dodge).

I used to run Hammer Sword Shield a long time ago, but Mace Shield is just so much better. The speed at which you can apply the stun is the important part here.

IMO, Hammer won’t be viable until Blinds are toned down or until the activation speeds are increased.

The best warrior NA Anas Tarcis is using hammer, so I don’t think your statement is fully correct.

Out of curiosity what’s his other set?

tcbear.2357:

Defektive.7283:

Primary problem with hammer: It’s to slow.

Second problem: Weapon skills have long CD’s or are clunky (backbreaker).

Earthshaker is only good if you have Zerker stance up or are in small fights. To many blinds, and it’s animation is so pronounced any person can see it coming (and the good ones will just dodge).

I used to run Hammer Sword Shield a long time ago, but Mace Shield is just so much better. The speed at which you can apply the stun is the important part here.

IMO, Hammer won’t be viable until Blinds are toned down or until the activation speeds are increased.

The best warrior NA Anas Tarcis is using hammer, so I don’t think your statement is fully correct.

Tarcis is a great Warrior, but there’s a reason we’ve never lost to him in tPvP, ever.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/Matale-s-Hammer-sPvP-Duels-and-Strats-1

I posted this a while ago and it works great in both duels and tPvP. If you check the link you have 50 minutes of duels vs some pretty good opponents of all professions and strategies on how you should approach fights vs all professions. I played it for quite a bit of time and still do so it’s very well tested and I have to say I feel really comfortable and strong with it in just about any situation.

Good luck!

Gmtsai.6349:

No offensive or defensive, just feel not right when I see someone slander others in forum.

I appear to be missing the slanderous remark.

However, it would be great if you (or anyone else) could tell us what he’s using for his other weapon set.

tcbear.2357:

Gmtsai.6349:

Defektive.7283:

tcbear.2357:

Defektive.7283:

Primary problem with hammer: It’s to slow.

Second problem: Weapon skills have long CD’s or are clunky (backbreaker).

Earthshaker is only good if you have Zerker stance up or are in small fights. To many blinds, and it’s animation is so pronounced any person can see it coming (and the good ones will just dodge).

I used to run Hammer Sword Shield a long time ago, but Mace Shield is just so much better. The speed at which you can apply the stun is the important part here.

IMO, Hammer won’t be viable until Blinds are toned down or until the activation speeds are increased.

The best warrior NA Anas Tarcis is using hammer, so I don’t think your statement is fully correct.

Tarcis is a great Warrior, but there’s a reason we’ve never lost to him in tPvP, ever.

Anas Tarcis is not a great warrior, he is the best warriot NA, probably the best in
entire gw2 because there is no good warrior in EU. Your statement bascially saying that you are a better warrior compare to Anas Tarcis, which is kind okittenward because that just showed your arrogant attitude, which means that all the thread you made in this forum is just trying to make people think that you are the best warrior, but the fact is you are not. The leaderboard shows everything, Anas Tarcis is currently the highest rank warrior even he doesn’t belongs to an actual team. Also I believe all the top tier players will admit that Anas Tarcis is the best warrior (Hiba, Hman, Davinci, Caed, Folly, Java, etc.), even those Chinese shoutcaster think Anas Tarcis is the best warrior NA.
You are just too far away from Tarcis, please do not slander Anas Tarcis to make yourself look better.

No offensive or defensive, just feel not right when I see someone slander others in forum.

^This guy is telling the truth.

For the upstairs, I think he is using Hammer+Longbow.

That seems an odd choice, LB is a good weapon but it would seem like you would be very dependent on your team because if you get focused on they means of peeling are basically Pin Down and Earthshaker. Of course Pin Down is also good for landing Backbreaker and Earthshaker I suppose.

Interesting. I’ve been running Hammer/Longbow for about 3 months now and I absolutely love it. Lots of group support with AoE cripple, you can stunlock groups trying to rez AND knock them back with Hammer 4, OR drop some AoE pressure via Longbow burst, longbow 3, hammer burst, which also finishes your blast finisher twice for 6 might on your party, which is nice.