Monster Hunter World (MHW)

Best Skills for Hammers

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Hammer Skills Recommendation
This is a guide about the best skills for Hammers. Read on to know which skills to look out for when making a Hammer build and why.

Offensive Skills

Recommendations
Affinity Skills Agitator Slugger
Partbreaker Attack Up

Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit

Affinity Trinity.png
Hammers in general boast incredibly high base damages. It is recommended that hunters take advantage of this by using these Affinity Skills for a gigantic boost in overall damage.

Weakness Exploit is particularly effective with Hammers as two of the charged Hammer attacks can link to a Clutch Claw attack combo. This makes the Hammer one of the best weapons for tenderizing a monster's hide.

Agitator

Agitator.png
The introduction of the Clutch Claw made the Agitator Skill a community staple when making builds. When active, Agitator grants hunters +20 attack and affinity by 10% at level five. (Level six and seven are unlocked via the Agitator Secret Skill.)

The Clutch Claw, specifically its Flinch Shot Attack, gave hunters the ability to enrage the monster whenever the opportunity presents itself. This gave hunters a way to maintain their Agitator's up-time.

Slugger

Slugger.png
Even though they lack cutting damage for tails, Hammers are efficient knock-out weapons!

The Slugger Skill will take this efficiency to a whole new level by increasing Stun Power by 40% at level three and a whopping 60% at level five. Level four and five are unlocked via the Slugger Secret skill.

Partbreaker

Partbreaker.png
Hammers are generally limited by their short range. The areas it can reach (especially when its the monster's head), however, will be subjected to insane amounts of damage due to its ability to perform quick Clutch Claw attacks and precise Hammer swings.

Partbreaker is an excellent skill to pair with the Hammer as it boosts Part Damage by 30% at level three.

Partbreaker's damage increase does NOT reflect in floating damage numbers.

Attack Up

Attack Boost.png
Hunters that go all-out on damage may find themselves in situations where they use all of the skills above and still have vacant slots. Attack Up is definitely a great addition in this case!

Defensive Skills

Recommendations
Divine Blessing Evasive Skills Vitality

Divine Blessing

Divine Blessing Secret.png
Divine Blessing is an amazing defensive skill for weapons that cannot block. When activated, Hunters will receive 50% less damage at level three from the attack that triggered it.

Level four and five are unlocked via the Divine Blessing Secret and will increase the damage reduction by 60% as well as a higher chance of activation.

Evade Extender

Evade Extender.png
Hammers benefit a lot from the Evasion Extender. This skill greatly increases the distance covered by dodge rolls at level three.

These are useful for not only dodging monster roars, but for relocating to better positions during a hunt as well.

Earplugs

Earplugs.png
Earplugs offer complete protection against monster roars at level five and ensures that hunters are uninterrupted mid-swing!

Health Boost

Health Boost.png
It never hurts to pump up one's HP! Vitality increases a hunter's Health by 50 at level three, making it a solid addition to any build - especially early on in the game.

Utility Skills

Recommendations
Mind's Eye/Ballistics Handicraft Protective Polish

Mind's Eye/Ballistics

Mind
Most uncharged Hammer attacks can bounce of a monster's hide when thick enough. Hunters can use Mind's Eye/Ballistics to ensure that their Hammers keep on swinging no matter the target!

Handicraft

Handicraft.png
The majority of Hammers in Monster Hunter: World do not have their sharpness gauges maxed out. Handicraft increases a weapon's sharpness gauge by 50 at level five and is definitely a skill to consider when making a Hammer build.

Take note that Handicraft will NOT exceed a weapon's maximum sharpness.

Protective Polish

Protective Polish.png
Protective Polish is a great skill to address sharpness issues as well because it applies a protective coating around the weapon after sharpening, ensuring that the hunter's Hammer does not lose sharpness for a set amount of time.

Related Monster Hunter World (MHW) Guides

All Skills

List of All Skills

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