Revamping Hammer Gameplay

[jonesy.1470]

Just wanted to chat about the Hammer in PvP/WvW – it needs a bit more love, especially when you're all up in someone's face. Feels a bit clunky at times.

I've played with the new maces, and man, they're smooth compared to the Hammer. Checked out the range on their skills, and guess what I found? Skill 2 is 180 range, skill 3 (600-leap) with 180 range, skill 4 on maces is 240, and skill 5 is 180 range. Most of those skills have a baseline range of 180.

Now, back to the Hammer – the ranges are all over the place:

• Auto: 130
• Ambush: 240
• Wild Swing: 130
• Overbearing Smash: 180
• Savage Shock Wave: 120/240/360
• Thump: 180

I think anet should keep auto at 130, but give the other skills a baseline boost to 180 or 200. Nothing too crazy, just enough to make the Hammer more enjoyable to play.

Let me know what you fellow Rangers think ❤️

[Mell.4873]

I 100% agree. I feel like Hammer was build for Fervent Force since It had two stuns which no other Weapon combo has on Ranger. 

They really need something more to capitalising on rather than just CC someone and unleash to do more damage. It's so odd since by the time you flip the hammer you only get one skill off before they CC break.

Maybe the unleashed weapon mechanic should be a cooldown reduction on a Crowded Controlled targets, much like how it is with certain Mesmer traits. 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Mell.4873

[Beddo.1907]

Im not sure how this change helps in PvP/WvW, but let's set that aside for now.

Now, since Hammer previews are scuffed. This is the range and area of effect of the skills:
Auto 1 and 2: 130 in front of the player.
Auto 3: 130 AoE around the player. 
Ambush: 240 AoE around the player, every tick.
Wild Swing: 130 AoE around the player.
Overbearing Smash: 130 in front of the player. Unleashed Overbearing Smash: says 180, is 130 in front of the player.
Savage Shock Wave: 120/240/360 AoE from the point in front of you. (First wave hits a mob at ~200)
Thump: 600 leap, then creates AoE with 180 radius. (Hard to tell where the center of the AoE is) 

[jonesy.1470]

2 hours ago, Beddo.1907 said:

Im not sure how this change helps in PvP/WvW, but let's set that aside for now.

Now, since Hammer previews are scuffed. This is the range and area of effect of the skills:
Auto 1 and 2: 130 in front of the player.
Auto 3: 130 AoE around the player. 
Ambush: 240 AoE around the player, every tick.
Wild Swing: 130 AoE around the player.
Overbearing Smash: 130 in front of the player. Unleashed Overbearing Smash: says 180, is 130 in front of the player.
Savage Shock Wave: 120/240/360 AoE from the point in front of you. (First wave hits a mob at ~200)
Thump: 600 leap, then creates AoE with 180 radius. (Hard to tell where the center of the AoE is) 

yeah i should have said AOE range. thanks for clearing that up.

but yeah the tool tips are crazy. i put the blish hud Aoe rings on and your totally right ! the hammer ranges dont even match.

No wonder hammer doesnt feel great

[DarkFlopy.8197]

To be honest I really like the hammer and the way it plays, I am being very careful with how I use the skills and It does give me great results regardless of the situation I am in,
I am gonna be sad swapping hammer when maces come out since maces at least to what we had in the beta had very high damage and the numbers were almost on par with unleashed #2 #4 #5 hammer skills which is very surprising.

But that's for roaming, for bombing I am still going to rock that hammer, that weapon alone can down a full party 😂

Edited December 23, 2023 by DarkFlopy.8197

[jonesy.1470]

On 12/23/2023 at 12:54 PM, DarkFlopy.8197 said:

But that's for roaming, for bombing I am still going to rock that hammer, that weapon alone can down a full party 😂

You are not wrong there my friend ahah 🤣

[BumboJumbo.1308]

On 12/23/2023 at 11:54 PM, DarkFlopy.8197 said:

To be honest I really like the hammer and the way it plays, I am being very careful with how I use the skills and It does give me great results regardless of the situation I am in,
I am gonna be sad swapping hammer when maces come out since maces at least to what we had in the beta had very high damage and the numbers were almost on par with unleashed #2 #4 #5 hammer skills which is very surprising.

But that's for roaming, for bombing I am still going to rock that hammer, that weapon alone can down a full party 😂

what build do you use for bombing?

[DarkFlopy.8197]

1 hour ago, BumboJumbo.1308 said:

what build do you use for bombing?

The build is: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?POgAEJllyWZtsMmLOqK6RvS+RaA-DWRYBRFBuYoPHSvShgVAVICM7fggEG7h3h+MAA-w

If you want to see what I do with it you can check my channel on YT: https://youtube.com/@BlueFlopy?si=8WgkVrfMh2ZKT6NV

But please be aware that this is a bomb build, it's NOT a roaming build or a sustainable build of any kind, it is used to generate downs and get out therefore it won't be easy out of the box to learn how to use properly.

if you know what you are doing and know you can relay on others around you for some kind of support or backup you should be fine.

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by DarkFlopy.8197
Was incorrect build

[BumboJumbo.1308]

18 hours ago, DarkFlopy.8197 said:

The build is: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?POgAEJllyWZtsMmLOqK6RvS+RaA-DWRYBRFBuYoPHSvShgVAVICM7fggEG7h3h+MAA-w

If you want to see what I do with it you can check my channel on YT: https://youtube.com/@BlueFlopy?si=8WgkVrfMh2ZKT6NV

But please be aware that this is a bomb build, it's NOT a roaming build or a sustainable build of any kind, it is used to generate downs and get out therefore it won't be easy out of the box to learn how to use properly.

if you know what you are doing and know you can relay on others around you for some kind of support or backup you should be fine.

 

Thank you

[Oahkahmewolf.6210]

I usually play hammer on Druid or Soulbeast as I find the ability to select what form you want to be very versatile, The amount of daze you can stack with druid can be rather annoying to deal with ontop of hammer usually prevents people from doing anything.

Ontop of that, using an Opening Strike build utilizing [Remorseless] with ether Beast-mastery [Two-handed Training] or Relic of the midnight king can make that weapon very formidable.

Edited December 29, 2023 by Oahkahmewolf.6210