Monster Hunter Rise Hammer: Best builds, attacks, tips, and tricks

Mhr Hammer About To Swing (Image credit: iMore)

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Hammer fighting style
Controls
Combos
Silkbind Attacks
Switch Skills
Best Builds
Best Skills

The Hammer is one of the more powerful weapon types found in Monster Hunter Rise. Its massive size and power allows it to come crashing down on monsters with a chance to temporarily stun them. Of course, to make the most out of it, you'll want to know the attack controls and the best builds to compliment it. Don't worry I'm here to help.

Monster Hunter Rise is already proving to be one of the best Nintendo Switch games to have released thus far. The ability to access 14 different weapon types definitely plays into that. Without further ado, here's everything you want to know about the Hammer.

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer fighting style

Mhr Hammer Above Head (Image credit: iMore)

A blunt, heavy object perfect for stunning monsters with. The Hammer doesn't slow you down as much as some other high-hit weapons while still allowing you to deal powerful charge attacks.

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer controls

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Controls	Function	Header Cell - Column 2
X	Overhead Smash	Row 0 - Cell 2
A	Side Smash	Row 1 - Cell 2
Hold ZR	Charge	Row 2 - Cell 2
Hold ZR + L Joystick	Charged Attack	Row 3 - Cell 2
A (while charging)	Charge Switch	Row 4 - Cell 2

Charge: Holding down the Charge button willl expend stamina to store up power. Ther are three charge levels, each with their own attack variation.
Charge Switch: Changes Charge Attack action. Activate it again to reset it. Doing so will also set your charge level to max.
Silkbind Spinning Bludgeon: A Silkbind attack that makes you leap forward. You can charge before unleashing the attacky by holding the charge button, massively increasing its power.
Impact Crater: A Silkbind attack that makes you jump straight up and dish out a devastating riing attack that also hits multiple times on the way down. The number of hits you'll land and the damage you'll deal depends how much you charge prior to activation (Cost 2 Wirebug).

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer combos

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Combos	Function	Header Cell - Column 2
X, X, X	Basic Combo: Overhead Smash I > Overhead Smash II > Upswing	Row 0 - Cell 2
ZR Hold L Joystick	Charged Side Blow Combo: Charged Slide Blow > Charged Follow-up > Overhead Smash I	Row 1 - Cell 2
ZR Hold L Joystick	Monster-Stunning Combo: Charge II > Side Smash > Overhead Smash II > Upswing	Row 2 - Cell 2
Spinning Bludgeon Follow-ups	Row 3 - Cell 1	Row 3 - Cell 2
X (during 1st spin)	Spinning Bludgeon Follow-up 1: Charge > Spinning Bludgeon > Spinning Side Smash	Row 4 - Cell 2
ZR Hold L Joystick, L + ZR L Joystick, X (2nd to 3rd spin)	Spinning Bludgeon Follow-up 2: Charge > Spinning Bludgeon > Spinning Follow-up	Row 5 - Cell 2
X (4th to 5th spin)	Spinning Bludgeon Follow-up 3: Charge > Spinning Bludgeon > Spinning Strong Upswing	Row 6 - Cell 2

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer Silkbind Attacks

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Silkbind Attacks	Function	Header Cell - Column 2
ZL + A	Impact Crater: Makes you jump directly up and release a powerful attack that hits multiple times on the way down.	Row 0 - Cell 2
ZL + X	Silkbind Spinning Bludgeon: Uses a Wirebug to send you into a spinning attack. Your Wirebug Gauge will recover quickly.	Row 1 - Cell 2
ZL + X	Dash Breaker: The Wirebug makes you rush forward and smash. Enemy attacks can't hurt you while you're in motion. Your Wirebug Gauge will recover quickly.	Row 2 - Cell 2

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer Switch Skills

Each weapon in Monster Hunter Rise has unique Switch Skills, so called because you can have one of two skills activated for each attack at a time.

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Attack	Switch Skills
Silkbind Attack	○ Silkbind Spinning Bludgeon: Uses a Wirebug to send you into a spinning attack. Your Wirebug Gauge will recover quickly.○ Dash Breaker: The Wirebug makes you rush forward and smash. Enemy attacks can't hurt you while you're in motion. Your Wirebug Gauge will recover quickly.
Regular Attack	○ Side Smash: A side swipe with the hammer tha can be the start of a bludgeoning combo.○ Water Strike: Performing this attack right before you're about to take a hit will make you absorb the impact, negating any damage. If successful, you can follow with an upswing Hammer attack.

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer Best Builds

Mhr Hammer Swinging (Image credit: iMore)

As always, the best builds are a matter of opinion. I prefer to wear gear that offers plenty of defense. Here are the builds that will help compliment the Hammer's abilities.

Best Builds for 2 Star Quests

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Area	Best equipment
Weapon	Iron Devil
Head	Izuchi Helm
Chest	Hunter's Mail
Arms	Alloy Vambraces
Waist	Bone Coil
Legs	Baggi Greaves

Stats & Skills for this build:

Defense: 44
Fire: -3
Water: -2
Thunder: -4
Ice: 0
Dragon: 1
Attack Boost Lvl 2
Critical Eye Lvl 2
Focus Lvl 1

Best Builds for 4 Star Quests

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Area	Best equipment
Weapon	Carapace Hammer
Head	Basarios Helm
Chest	Ludroth Mail
Arms	Ludroth Braces
Waist	Basarios Coil
Legs	Ingot Greaves

Stats & Skills for this build:

Defense: 114
Fire: -7
Water: 3
Thunder: 1
Ice: 2
Dragon: -6
Attack Boost Lvl 1
Defense Boost Lvl 3
Speed Sharpening Lvl 1
Stamina Surge Lvl 1
Marathon Runner Lvl 1
Critical Eye Lvl 1

Best Builds for 5 Star Quests and higher

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Area	Best equipment
Weapon	Izuchi Hammer
Head	Izuchi Helm S
Chest	Kamura Garb S
Arms	Kulu-Ya-Ku Braces S
Waist	Khezu Coil S
Legs	Khezu Greaves S

Stats & Skills for this build:

Defense: 181
Fire: -4
Water: -2
Thunder: 6
Ice: 5
Dragon: 2
Slugger Lvl 3
Critical Eye Lvl 2
Stamina Thief Lvl 2
Wirebug Whisperer Lvl 1
Recovery Speed Lvl 1
Wall Runner Lvl 1

Best Builds for Endgame

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Area	Best equipment
Weapon	Night Eternal
Head	Anjanath Helm S
Chest	Anjanath Mail S
Arms	Rathalos Braces S
Waist	Rathalos Coil S
Legs	Ingot Greaves S

Stats & Skills for this build:

Defense: 283
Fire: 12
Water: -8
Thunder: -2
Ice: -3
Dragon: -2
Attack Boost Lvl 6
Focus Lvl 3
Slugger Lvl 3
Affinity Lvl 2
Marathon Runner Lvl 1
Windproof Lvl 1

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer Best Skills

Monster Hunter Rise Twin NPCs — Source: Capcom (Image credit: Source: Capcom)

As you create your builds and get further into the game, we recommend working on obtaining these skills.

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Skill	What it does
Attack Boost	As you'd guess, this increases the Hammer's attack. You'll be happiest if you get it to level 4 or higher.
Focus	This makes it so you can charge your Hammer faster.
Weakness Exploit	Increases the amount of damage inflicted on Monsters due to exploiting their weaknesses.
Critical Eye	Makes it more likely for your Hammer to land critical hits against monsters.

I'll smash it with a hammer!

The Hammer is a powerful tool that you can really use to bludgeon monsters into a stunned state. If you're playing with others, it will give your team a great chance to hunker down and damage an enemy while it's temporarily immobile.

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Gaming aficionado Rebecca Spear is iMore's dedicated gaming editor with a focus on Nintendo Switch and iOS gaming. You’ll never catch her without her Switch or her iPad Air handy. If you’ve got a question about Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, or just about any other Nintendo series check out her guides to help you out. Rebecca has written thousands of articles in the last six years including hundreds of extensive gaming guides, previews, and reviews for both Switch and Apple Arcade. She also loves checking out new gaming accessories like iPhone controllers and has her ear to the ground when it comes to covering the next big trend.