Elden Ring - Great Hammers

The stance-breaking class: 16 weapons of two-handed Strike damage whose Sta figures (154-218, up to 239 on Heavy) beat every class here except Colossal Weapons, at 8.5-12.5 weight instead of 15-26.5.

Combat

Pros

• Highest stance damage of the five classes by a wide margin: max standard Sta runs 154 to 218, with Brick Hammer reaching 239 and Black Steel Greathammer 237 on Heavy. For comparison the same tables give Giant-Crusher (Colossal) 224/246, you get roughly 90% of colossal stance damage at half the weight.
• Strike damage across the entire class except the Pickaxe, which is Pierce, Great Hammers are effective against heavily armoured enemies and at destroying shields.
• Best raw Strength scaling of any class here: Brick Hammer is B at +0, and lists Battle Hammer, Brick Hammer and Great Mace all reaching S Str on max heavy.
• Guard boost is the best of the five: 38 (Large Club) to 48 (Brick Hammer, Cranial Vessel Candlestand), against 20-24 for Flails and 27-43 for Axes.

Cons

• Strength requirements start at 18 and reach 31 (Brick Hammer): there is no cheap way into this class.
• Patch 1.08 reduced Great Hammer poise damage outright, with no two-handed compensation of the sort Hammers received.
• Heavy affinity is a trap on raw damage here: 's max-heavy attack rating (AR) is lower than max standard on every Great Hammer listed, and dramatically so on Brick Hammer (259 heavy vs 298 standard) which has no Dex scaling to waste in the first place.
• Best Dex scaling in the class at +0 is only D, so there is no Dex path; Beastclaw Greathammer and Devourer's Scepter reach C Dex only at max standard.

Builds

22-24 Str / 10-12 Dex is the sweet spot and gets you Curved Great Club (145 base, 355 max standard), Pickaxe, Great Stars and Greathorn Hammer, four of the class's best five.

• Push to 26 Str for Battle Hammer and Black Steel Greathammer, or 28 Str / 0 Dex for Great Mace if you want an S-scaling Heavy weapon with no Dex tax.
• 31 Str for Brick Hammer buys the highest Sta in the class but costs you 23 base physical against the Curved Great Club, take it only if stance-breaking is the whole plan.
• Faith hybrids have real options here that the other classes lack: 18 Fai for Beastclaw Greathammer or Envoy's Long Horn, 17 Fai for Black Steel Greathammer, 22 Fai for Cranial Vessel Candlestand.
• Do not reflexively take Heavy affinity, on 's tables it costs attack rating (AR) everywhere and only pays back in Sta (Brick Hammer 218 to 239, Great Mace 200 to 220, Black Steel 216 to 237).

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Curved Great Club		145	10	24	10	-	-	-	Highest base physical in the class at 145, and the highest max-standard attack rating (AR) on at 355. Costs only 24 Str / 10 Dex and 10 weight, it beats weapons demanding 28 and 31 Str. The only thing it gives up is Sta (194, mid-pack). 4% drop from large Albinaurics in Liurnia, so it is farmable long before the requirement is met.
Pickaxe		144	10	22	10	-	-	-	The only Pierce-type Great Hammer, so it is the only one that can land a thrusting counterattack off a guard counter. 144 base physical (second in class), 352 max standard on, 190 Sta, at 22 Str / 10 Dex. 2% drop from miners, meaning it is farmable in any mining tunnel from mid-Limgrave onward.
Black Steel Greathammer		140 + 42 holy	12	25	11	-	17	-	Shadow of the Erdtree weapon. 140 physical + 42 holy at +0, C Str / D Fai, and 's second-highest Great Hammer Sta at 216 max standard and 237 on heavy, with a 47 guard boost. Costs 25 Str / 11 Dex / 17 Fai. Guaranteed (not random) drop from the Black Knight in the Church of Consolation, minutes into the Realm of Shadow, the strongest early-DLC Strength pickup in the class.
Great Stars		135	10	22	12	-	-	-	Carries 55 blood loss buildup and, per its in-game description, landing attacks slightly restores HP, the class's only sustain, stacked on top of a status effect. 135 base physical at 22 Str / 12 Dex and 10 weight, with Endure as its native skill. Found in a troll-hauled carriage between Road of Iniquity Side Path and the Writheblood Ruins.
Brick Hammer		122	12.5	31	-	-	-	-	The class's stance-breaking ceiling: B Strength at +0 (best in class), no Dex requirement at all, and 's highest Great Hammer Sta at 218 max standard rising to 239 on max heavy with S Str. The cost is 31 Str, 12.5 weight, and the lowest base physical of any pure-physical Great Hammer (122). Found on a corpse in Stormveil Castle past the Stormveil Cliffside grace.

Notes

• Class summary: Great Hammers perform slow heavy attacks, are effective against heavily armoured enemies and at destroying shields, and require high Strength. Consensus framing.
• This class was called "Warhammer" in the English release and was renamed to "Great Hammer" in a later patch, older guides and build videos will use the old name.
• Patch 1.08 reduced Great Hammer poise damage. Patch 1.09 increased their speed, range, recovery time and guard-counter speed.
• Sta at max standard: 154 (Devourer's Scepter, Envoy's Long Horn, Large Club), 172 (Greathorn Hammer), 182 (Beastclaw Greathammer, Celebrant's Skull, Great Stars), 190 (Pickaxe, Cranial Vessel Candlestand), 194 (Battle Hammer, Curved Great Club, Rotten Battle Hammer), 200 (Smithscript Greathammer, Great Mace), 216 (Black Steel Greathammer), 218 (Brick Hammer).
• Heavy affinity is a Sta upgrade, not a damage upgrade: on 's tables Brick Hammer goes 218 to 239 Sta while attack rating (AR) falls 298 to 259, Great Mace 200 to 220 while AR falls 328 to 283, Black Steel 216 to 237 while AR falls 343 to 292.

All Great Hammers

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Battle Hammer		131 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	10	C 26	E 8	0	0	0	200	Braggart's Roar
Beastclaw Greathammer		116 62	0 33	0 33	0 33	75 45	100 42	9	D 20	D 10	0	D 18	0	500	Regal Beastclaw
Black Steel Greathammer		140 72	0 38	0 38	0 38	42 45	100	12.0	C 25	E 11	0	D 17	0	100	Endure
Brick Hammer		122 74	0 40	0 40	0 40	0 40	100 48	12.5	B 31	0	0	0	0	100	Barbaric Roar
Celebrant's Skull		138 63	0 34	0 34	0 34	0 34	100 40	8.5	D 18	D 12	0	0	0	100	Barbaric Roar
Cranial Vessel Candlestand		98 71	0 37	98 51	0 37	0 37	100 48	12.5	D 26	E 8	0	D 22	0	200	Surge of Faith
Curved Great Club		145 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	10	D 24	D 10	0	0	0	100	Barbaric Roar
Devourer's Scepter		112 62	0 33	69 45	0 33	0 33	100 42	11.5	D 24	D 20	0	D 25	0	1000	Devourer of Worlds
Envoy's Long Horn		120 58	0 31	0 31	0 31	78 42	100 39	9.5	D 23	D 11	0	D 18	0	100	Bubble Shower
Great Mace		134 71	0 38	0 38	0 38	0 38	100 46	11.5	C 28	0	0	0	0	100	Endure
Great Stars		135 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	10	D 22	D 12	0	0	0	100	Endure
Greathorn Hammer		134 65	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 42	10	D 22	D 10	0	0	0	100	Barbaric Roar
Large Club		131 60	0 32	0 32	0 32	0 32	100 38	8.5	C 22	0	0	0	0	100	Barbaric Roar
Pickaxe		144 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	10	D 22	D 10	0	0	0	100	Endure
Rotten Battle Hammer		126 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	10	C 26	E 8	0	0	0	200	Braggart's Roar
Smithscript Greathammer		141 65	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100	9.0	D 20	E 10	E 11	E 11	0	100	Endure