Hammer Builds and Best Equipment | Monster Hunter Rise | MHR (MH Rise)

This is a guide to the best builds and equipment for Hammer in Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise) for the Nintendo Switch. Learn about the best Hammer, and the best Skills and Armor pieces to use with the Hammer for Low Rank, High Rank, and endgame.

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Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

High Rank Build: Post-Game (Hub Quest 7★ Cleared)

Best Hammers

Best Hammer Stats (Post-Game)

Night Eternal

Night Eternal
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	180	45	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Affinity Boost II Master Rider

Sinister Shade Hammer

Sinister Shade Hammer
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	200	0	Blast 25
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②①ー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Blast Boost II Magnamalo Soul

These hammers sport the highest raw damage output from all the hammers available at the end of the game. Night Eternal focses on affinity while Sinister Shade Hammer focuses on inflicting blast + raw damage. Both hammers are great options but Night Eternal is the better choice due to it being usable against all monster types.

Best Armor

Affinity and Knock-Out Power

Improves Hammer DPS by increasing crit damage & affinity. Maxed Slugger is added to improve KO speed during hunts — Also effective on multiplayer scaling. Best used with Night Eternal since it reaches 95% base affinity with it (Reaches 125% affinity when Latent Power is active).

Set has 5 free lv.1 slots after equipping all listed decorations. Can use these slots to include QoL skills such as speed sharpening and elem / status resistances.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Zinogre Helm S	62	Latent Power Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Torso	Zinogre Mail S	62	Latent Power Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Arms	Anjanath Vambraces S	60	Attack Boost Lv. 2 Slugger Lv. 2
Waist	Golden Obi	70	Heroics Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1 Critical Boost Lv. 1
Legs	Golden Hakama	70	Latent Power Lv. 1 Critical Boost Lv. 2
Talisman Skill		Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 +1 Lv. 2 jewel slot or more
Decorations		KO Jewel 2 x1 Brace Jewel 1 x1

High Rank Build: Endgame (Hub Quest 6★ to 7★)

Best Hammers

Best Hammer Stats (Endgame)

Night Eternal

Night Eternal
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	180	45	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Affinity Boost II Master Rider

Sinister Shade Hammer

Sinister Shade Hammer
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	200	0	Blast 25
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②①ー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Blast Boost II Magnamalo Soul

Both Hammers are share the top spot at all the way to 7★ Hub Quests. It could be argued, however, that Night Eternal edges out the Sinister Shade Hammer due to its high affinity rating and is relatively easier to craft.

Best Armor

Best Talisman Skills

Critical Hammer

A hammer setup that aims for max affinity with the Nargacuga's Night Eternal hammer and max Weakness Exploit for a flat 90% affinity when hitting the monster's head. Affinity is over 100% with Latent Power which guarantees max damage against monster weakspots and together with Slugger, every head hit you'll land will definitely count.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Anjanath Helm S	60	Focus Lv. 1 Slugger Lv. 1
Torso	Zinogre Mail S	62	Latent Power Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Arms	Anjanath Vambraces S	60	Attack Boost Lv. 2 Slugger Lv. 2
Waist	Skalda Elytra S / Spio Elytra S	32	Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Legs	Golden Hakama	70	Latent Power Lv. 1 Critical Boost Lv. 2

High Rank Build: Late game (Hub Quest 4★ to 5★)

Best Hammers

War Basher's Solid Stats

War Basher
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	5	180	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	①ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Defense Boost III Silkbind Boost

War Basher is a great Hammer to go for in the early stages of the game due to its great stats across the board.

Best Armor

Starter

A simple affinity starter set for Hammers. What it lacks in QoL skills, it makes up for with high affinity and raw damage to end hunts faster.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Izuchi Helm S	36	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Torso	Izuchi Mail S	36	Critical Eye Lv. 2 Recovery Speed Lv. 1
Arms	Kamura Braces S	30	Critical Eye Lv. 2 Heroics Lv. 1
Waist	Skalda Elytra S / Spio Elytra S	32	Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Legs	Ingot Greaves S	40	Attack Boost Lv. 2 Critical Eye Lv. 2

Low Rank Build: Mid Game (4★ to 6★ Quests)

Best Hammers

Sinister Hammer I to Get Things Started

Sinister Hammer I Stats

Sinister Hammer I
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	3	130	0	Blast 15
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Blast Boost I Magnamalo Soul

Magnamalo's Sinister Hammer I is a great weapon to use at the start of this stage of the game! Its solid stats paired with Blast Damage makes it an excellent weapon for most hunts in the mid game.

Hidden Breaker I Has High Affinity!

Hidden Breaker I Stats

Hidden Breaker I
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	3	130	40	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Affinity Boost I Master Rider

Those who prefer to pump as much affinity as possible will love the Hidden Breaker I. This particular hammer boasts a generous bar of green sharpness and an insane 40% affinity rating. You can take it further by activating its Affinity Boost I Rampage Skill!

Cyclo-Hammer I is a Raw Damage Monster

Cyclo-Hammer I Stats

Cyclo-Hammer I
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	3	160	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Defense Boost II Master Rider Spiribird Doubled

Cyclo-Hammer I offers one of the highest base attack ratings (160) in the game at this stage of the game. Paired with its generous green sharpness bar, this raw damage monster is great for all hunts and scenarios!

Basarios Blow II Offers Damage With A Bit of Defense

Basarios Blow II Stats

Basarios Blow II
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	3	160	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	15	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Defense Boost I Attack Boost II Dulling Strike

Those who prefer a more defensive approach to the game can consider making Basarios Blow II. This Hammer is on par with the Cyclo-Hammer I in terms of attack rating (160) but only has a thin bar of green sharpness.

Basarios Blow II has a +15 defense rating on the weapon itself. You can further increase the defense bonus by activating the Defense Boost I Rampage Skill.

Best Armor

Maximum KO

This set sacrifices a bit of damage for utility. The Slugger skill increases stun power by 40% at level 3, making it the perfect compliment for the Hammer's playstyle!

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Anjanath Helm	26	Focus Lv. 1 Slugger Lv. 1
Torso	Nargacuga Mail	26	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Arms	Anjanath Vambraces	26	Attack Boost Lv. 1 Slugger Lv. 1
Waist	Khezu Coil	16	Focus Lv. 1 Slugger Lv. 1
Legs	Aelucanth Crura / Rhopessa Crura	24	Critical Eye Lv. 2

All-Out Damage

Those who prefer straight up damage can go for this set instead. Pairing this with Hidden Breaker I will easily net you 100% Affinity when Lv. 2 Latent Power is activated.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Zinogre Helm	28	Critical Eye Lv. 1 Latent Power Lv. 1
Torso	Zinogre Mail	28	Critical Eye Lv. 1 Latent Power Lv. 1
Arms	Barioth Vambraces	20	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Waist	Barioth Coil	20	Critical Eye Lv. 2
Legs	Aelucanth Crura / Rhopessa Crura	24	Critical Eye Lv. 2

Low Rank Build: Early Game (1★ to 4★ Quests)

Best Hammers

War Hammer I is a Great Starter Weapon

War Hammer I Stats

War Hammer I
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	2	110	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Affinity Boost I Defense Boost II

The War Hammer I. much like the other hammers within the Ore Tree, provides great stats for relatively cheap materials. You can start with these hammers early on!

Kulu Bludgeon I For Affinity Lovers

Kulu Bludgeon II Stats

Kulu Bludgeon II
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	2	110	10	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Affinity Boost II Small Monster Exploit Spiribird Doubled

Kulu-Ya-Ku's Kulu Bludgeon I offers a generous bar of green sharpness and 10% affinity rating. Go for this hammer if you prefer to pump as much Affinity as possible into your builds in the early game.

Five-Pronged Hammer I into the Mid Game

Five-Pronged Hammer I Stats

Five-Pronged Hammer I
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	2	120	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost I Anti-Aerial Species Silkbind Boost

Bishaten's Five-Pronged Hammer I pretty much covers the road to the mid game with solid stats across the board. Activate its Silkbind Boost Rampage Skill to increase the Hammer's silkbind attacks!

Best Armor

Attack-Oriented Set

An armor combination that compliments the Hammer's straight-forward playstyle. The skills within this set goes all in on damage.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Izuchi Helm	10	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Torso	Izuchi Mail	10	Critical Eye Lv. 1 Recovery Speed Lv. 1
Arms	Alloy Vambraces	10	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Waist	Izuchi Coil	10	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Legs	Ingot Greaves	18	Attack Boost Lv. 1 Critical Eye Lv. 1

Best Skills for Hammer

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