Grabbing yourself the best Hammer is critical in the early game of Monster Hunter Rise. In fact, much like it’s slow moving cousin the Greatsword, we’d argue that it’s one of the most critical weapons to get right. Where other, quicker options can get away with relying on additional elemental damage or the build up of status, these two behemoths rely on one thing, and one thing only: Raw Damage. This does limit their choices of course, and we’re not about to claim that you can’t do well with just about any model, but if anything this makes said choice more critical than ever. Amplifying this even further is the early portion of any Monster Hunter title, which can be a very daunting proposition for new players, and the last thing we want them doing is giving up because they chose the wrong thing to swing. Hence today’s article, in which we’ll attempt to detail the three Hammers that we consider at least help you on your way.
Five Pronged Hammer
In the very early game of Rise you’re no doubt going to be getting plenty of use out of the regular Hammers – those upgraded simply by using Ores and such. Soon enough however you’ll be jonesing for something a little better, a little more interesting, and if we’re honest you’re not exactly going to have a lot of options. It’s not until the 4 Star quests open up that things really get interesting, and for us the absolute best option to shoot for here is the Five Pronged Hammer, or the model that requires Bishaten parts. We certainly had a lot of fun taking down this newcomer to the series, and having helped quite a few new players by now we don’t consider it to be the pinnacle of difficulty, so we’re pretty comfortable recommending this particular model first.
It doesn’t exactly come with any special frills or such, but it’s one of the absolute best options at this point in the game, specifically because of its raw damage. Starting at 120, you’ll be able to deal very significant blows to the head as you learn to chase that elusive KO. By the same token, hunts will naturally take a little longer in the early game, so the fact that this particular model comes with a good chunk of green sharpness means that you can focus on those head shots for a good while before any downtime.
Early Features
- Good level of raw damage for the early portion of Low Rank.
- Significant chunk of green sharpness to keep you going for longer between Whetstone uses.
- Comes with the Silkbind Boost Rampage Skill, which increases damage done by Silkbind attacks – something you should be using frequently with the Hammer.
Crafting Requirements
- Bisha Tailcase x 2
- Bishaten Horn x 1
- Bishaten Fur x 4
- Jumbo Bone x 2
Phew, looks like the developers have continued with the tradition of making good weapons difficult to craft with this one. The Tailcase isn’t too bad, since breaking its tail will guarantee one in the rewards, however the Horn requires a head break, which can be a little more annoying to target. Happily the Fur is quite a regular reward, though getting 4 may necessitate a few hunts at least, and the Jumbo bones do have quite a low drop rate, however they’re likely to show up from 2 star onwards, so you should have a few by the time you reach Bishaten.
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Hidden Breaker
Compared to numerous previous Monster Hunter titles, it feels like we’re recommending very few models that originate from the Nargacuga. Such was their power in previous titles that every single one of the 14 types can claim to have had essential weapons that originate from the beast. Much has been learned in the art of balance since then of course, but despite the power tweaks the general trend remains; take a weapon type, remove a small amount of raw damage and exchange it for a huge chunk of Affinity. Such things can be a little controversial when it comes to the Hammer, after all you’re simply meant to grab as much raw damage as possible, but when a model such as the Hidden Breaker exists, it’s sometimes a little too good to ignore.
The real draw here is of course the huge 40% Affinity which, combined with the equipment you’re likely to be amassing by the time you reach this point, will enable you to regularly achieve a critical strike. That said, whilst the initial raw damage is only a small upgrade on our last choice, it will regularly deal significantly more thanks to the Affinity. Further to this, it has a positively massive amount of green sharpness and even the Attack Boost II Rampage Skill, meaning you’ll be able to multiply even more raw damage with your criticals.
Early Features
- Huge 40% Affinity.
- Reasonable 130 raw damage.
- Massive amount of green sharpness.
- Access to the Attack Boost II Rampage Skill.
Crafting Requirements
- Nargacuga Blackfur x 3
- Nargacuga Scale x 3
- Nargacuga Fang x 2
There is a very good possibility that the developers didn’t make this weapon too complex to craft due to its popularity, after all early affinity versions will medium raw aren’t the favourite of most. Still, such ease benefits us here, because the Blackfur and the Scale can be gotten in large amounts from Wyvern Riding. The Fangs will be a little more awkward, mainly because breaking the head isn’t a guarantee like with some other monsters, but this is offset slightly by their slightly higher chance to drop as rewards.
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Cyclo-Hammer
Finally we’ve found a weapon that doesn’t focus on any of the big, bad and often purple beasts that must be taken down… Alright so one of the items required does necessitate the hunting of a Tigrex, but who doesn’t love taking down the spinning roar machine? Anyway, what we’re recommending here is an investment, one for the future. That doesn’t mean it’s bad for the early game, far from it, but it’s upgraded versions scale very well and will likely keep you knocking out opponents all the way until the end game. The only real negative is the weapon model, which looks a little… Underwhelming. It’s nice enough, and there’s little reason to care when it’s so good at hammering things that need to be hammered.
In terms of the actual weapon, the real star of the show is it’s raw damage, which at 160 is pretty high for the end of Low Rank. It’s possible to get higher, through Goss Harag for example, but we prefer the upgrade route with the Cyclo-Hammer and it’s quite simple to craft at first. It also comes with a significant amount of green sharpness, ensuring you keep hammering for as long as possible, and whilst it does not naturally upgrade to blue throughout it’s path, you can force this through the use of Handicraft. All in all, the Cyclo-Hammer is just a simple, high damage hammer that will serve you very well throughout the game.
Early Features
- Great raw damage of 160.
- Long period of green sharpness.
- Excellent upgrade path.
- Unusual Rampage Skills, including the rather random ‘Spiribird Doubled’, which is remarkably interesting but ultimately useless.
Crafting Requirements
- Massive Bone x 2
- Dragonite Ore x 4
- Tigrex Claw x 3
Clearly one of these ingredients isn’t quite like the others. Yes, the Massive Bone is a little awkward, because you’ll have to head into the Low Rank hub quests to have a good chance at seeing them in the rewards screen, but this is balanced somewhat by the Dragonite Ores being collected by simply mining in the later maps. The real elephant in the room are the Tigrex Claw, the drop rate for which aren’t too bad just from hunting Tigrex itself, and of course you can improve your chances by breaking its claws, but the fact that you need three is likely to necessitate quite a few hunts to retrieve.
Welcome to the world, Elliot
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