A good Hammer can make a huge difference to a hunt, as any Monster Hunter fan will tell you. The combination of huge damage, good mobility and adaptable move set means it can take on any monster without feeling out of place. Then of course, you have that game changing KO that buys your team a few crucial seconds to whittle the beast down. MHGU in particular gives hammer wielders more options than ever, with styles significantly changing the play style. What it doesn’t give you however, is guidance in low rank when you’re learning – that’s where we step in.

Which hammer is best in low rank? And which should you choose when you’re changing styles? Well, look no further, we’re here to answer these questions and more.

3. Skullcrusher

For our first Hammer, we have an unusual recommendation. You can’t get the Skullcrusher until you’re a good distance through Low Rank – don’t worry there are earlier recommendations below – but when you can, we’d certainly advise you do. As you can see, it has very high raw damage for this early stage in the game, in fact it’s probably the highest you’ll see at the base level until you rank up. This means your hits to the head will do some great KO damage, meaning you’re likely to down it quicker.

The yellow sharpness might be an issue before upgrading, so you’ll need to be careful which monster you decide to take on, but for those early rank monsters with a squishy head, this is a great option. That extra defence is a nice bonus, especially when you’re likely to be sitting in front of the monster to learn!

Shopping List:

• Hercudrome: Harvest from bug spots in the Volcano map.
• Monster Bone M: Regularly found in 3 star quest rewards, or carve from Rhenoplos.
• Sharp Fang: 3 star quest ‘Konchu Collector’, or carve from a Konchu, more info here.
• Ioprey Hide: Carve from Ioprey. 3 star quest ‘Sunsnug Isle Rescue’ to find plenty.

2. War Hammer

Our next Hammer is the War Hammer, and you’ll immediately notice that it’s significantly different to our first recommendation: It’s lower in raw damage, has better sharpness and most importantly, it’s available much earlier in low rank. You will need to upgrade an Iron Hammer to level 3 first, but this is not too difficult and we’ll explain this below.

The reason we recommend this Hammer, is mainly due to the sharpness and the fact that it interacts with another option you have at your disposal: Aerial style. When you’re using this style, you’ll be hitting the monster more than usual, so having that extra sharpness isn’t a huge deal. Additionally, since you’re getting two hits, the lower raw damage also doesn’t matter quite as much! So craft it and get double slamming those beasts!

Shopping List:

• Iron Hammer Level 3: Iron Ore x 5, Disc Stone x 5, Malachite Ore x 3, Bealite Ore x 2.
• Bealite Ore x 2: In the D. Island map, more info here.
• Iron Ore: Any mining spot in low rank.
• Brute Bone: Easiest is to carve Bullfango in 2 star quest ‘Bullfango Tango’

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1. Kut-Ku Pick

Alright, as Hammers go, this one only just qualifies as good. The raw damage is OK, but it’s only on par with the War Hammer and it has less sharpness. So we’ll break our reasons down into two parts:

Firstly, the extra slot and affinity are quite nice. 5% affinity means critical hits aren’t going to happen very often, especially when you’re hitting so infrequently, but it’s nice to have. The slot is more interesting, since you’ll likely be quite limited in slots early on, and this can help you reach that ever elusive ‘Focus’ skill, by housing a Charger jewel.

Secondly, who doesn’t love hitting things in the face… with their own face! That’s an opportunity that should not be missed. Especially that damned Kut-Ku. Yes, we can hunt him in our sleep now no matter what rank, but we’ll never forget how hard we found him back when we first met in MH4U…!

Shopping List:

• Giant Beak: 50% quest reward from 4 star ‘Hunt-a-thon: Yian Kut-Ku. Low chance to carve it from any Kut-Ku.
• Kut-Ku Shell: 100% reward from 3 star ‘Stomping Grounds’. Medium chance to carve from any Kut-Ku.
• Kut-Ku Ear: Wound a Kut-Ku’s head for a good chance to get one. Can also be found on shiny drops when wounding it.
• Monster Bone M: Regularly found in 3 star quest rewards, or carve from Rhenoplos.

You can check out more Monster Hunter lists, tips and tricks HERE.