The Ultimate Hammer Guide for Monster Hunter Wilds
If you’re looking to turn monster skulls into fine powder while asserting dominance in Monster Hunter Wilds, the Hammer is your best friend.
This absolute unit of a weapon delivers bone-crunching blows, sends monsters into dizzy spells with KO damage, and keeps your hunts refreshingly violent. But swinging a giant hunk of metal and/or bone isn’t just about brute force—you need strategy, positioning, and the right setup to truly master the Hammer.
So, let’s get into it: from general gameplay tips to hammer combos, decorations, and the best Hammers for each monster, this guide will make sure you’re wrecking shop in style.
Image Source: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
Hammer Gameplay & Recommendations
Playstyle and Positioning
The Hammer is all about charged attacks and stunning monsters by bonking them on the head.
Forget cutting tails—you’re here to crush skulls. Aim for the head as much as possible.
Unlike other weapons, the Hammer doesn’t rely on fancy footwork or blocking. Instead, your mobility comes from charging your attacks while moving and whatever you can muscle out of your Seikret for engages and tactical retreats.
Use charged spinning attacks on slopes and Seikrets to yeet yourself into the air like a war-craving gymnast.
Learn monster attack patterns so you can position yourself for those meaty headshots.
Start getting used to aiming for the dome with the new Focus Mode.
Essential Potions & Items
Demon Drug / Mega Demon Drug – Free damage boost, why not?
Might Seeds / Might Pills – Extra attack power for short bursts.
Dash Juice – Keeps your stamina from draining like a broken faucet.
Armorcharm / Powercharm – Don’t forget your free, passive buffs for just carrying these!
Shock Traps / Pitfall Traps – If you KO a monster near one of these, congrats, you’ve won the lottery.
Hammer Combos: Smack with Style
Yea, the Hammer doesn’t feel like it has the same oomf as previous MH titles, but if you think Hammer gameplay is just “press heavy attack until it dies,” you’re…ok well, you’re halfway there—but there’s some nuance to it!
Image Source: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
Here are some essential combos to master and just for reference I’m going to use “Normal” for Left Mouse/Y/Triangle, “Special” for Right Mouse/B/Circle, and “Charge” for R/R2/RT.
Basic Combos
Overhead Smash: Normal x3 – The bread and butter of Hammer play.
Big Bang: Special x5 – Chain for up to 4 additional hits with optional finisher. Great for exposing wounds and breaking parts.
Charged Side Blow Combo: Hold Charge to Charge lvl 1 > Normal > Normal.
Advanced Combos
Overhead Smash + Spinning Bludgeon: Normal x3 > Special (press special again before the fifth spin for a finisher or you’ll get too dizzy).
Spin to Win Aerial Smash – If a slope is nearby or you’re dismounting off your Seikret, abuse this for some easy and stylish mid-air bonks.
Charged Big Bang: Hold Charge until your guage fills up to lvl 3 and release.
Mighty Charge: Charge until lvl 3 and while holding charge hold both Normal and Special to start another windup charge for another two guages. Release and enjoy the damage!
Pro Tips: Charge Positioning & OffSet Attacks
Charging your Hammer while moving allows you to reposition without losing damage potential. Take advantage of the new Charged Step (LMB/Circle/B) while charging to quickly maneuver for a minor stamina cost.
Let go at the right time to deliver optimized strikes with Monster Hunter Wilds new Offset Strikes system. Basically, if you land a decisive attack during an enemy’s attack, you can fill up an invisible meter that can do additional damage and has a chance to topple your monstrous foe.
Hammer Decoration (Jewels & Skills)
Your armor decorations can make or break your hunts. Here are the must-have skills for any Hammer main:
Image Source: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
Core Skills
Slugger (Higher stun damage = more KOs)
Weakness Exploit (Bonus damage when hitting weak points, like monster heads)
Focus (Speeds up charge time, letting you bonk faster)
- Critical Eye (Pumps your affinity and crit rate, great with a Frenzy build)
Stamina Surge (Helps manage stamina drain from constant charge attacks)
Situational Swaps
- Charge Up (Increases your power to bring on the stuns)
Flayer (Easier to inflict wounds means bigger damage and easy setups)
Earplugs (If a monster’s roar is too annoying)
Evade Extender (For better repositioning if needed)
Frenzy Hammer Build
Just a note: these are from a late-game armor set that drops off of Gore Magala and focuses on gaining and curing the Frenzy status ailment for buffs.
Black Eclipse (Infects you with Frenzy vs. Large Monsters and buffs as skill ranks progress)
Antivirus (Easier to cure Frenzy and gives Affinity buffs when cured at higher skill ranks)
Gore Magala’s Tyranny (Armor set bonus; I would only recommend going for Rank 2)
These are just my personal recommendations based on playing, but you can tweak these based on what monster you’re fighting.
Best Hammers in Monster Hunter Wilds
Not all Hammers are created equal. Picking the right element can turn a tough fight into a massacre.
Image Source: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
I recommend all tiers of the Jail Hammer/Bind Hammer as a general “go-to” hammer through low and high rank (because just like in Worlds, paralysis OP), but for specific elemental weaknesses –here are some solid picks:
Fire Weak Monsters
Kut-Ku Pick – Great against beasts like Gypceros and Guardian Doshaguma. You do get access to the Nu Pulpo first, but switch out ASAP or skip altogether because of the negative affinity.
Water Weak Monsters
Balahara Hammer – Slams down hard on troublesome enemies like Guardian Fulgur Anjanath and Guardian Ebony Odogaron while also having an extremely early entry point to its tree and upgrades.
Ice Weak Monsters
Blan Gada – Ideal for molten nightmares like Guardian Doshaguma and Xu Wu. Small negative affinity is outweighed by high base damage, Slugger rank 3, and decent jewel slots.
Thunder Weak Monsters
Crashing Fulgur – Not available until High Rank, but the Crashing Fulgur line zaps watery foes like Yian Kut-Ku and the Chatacabra into oblivion. Decent affinity, 3-2-1 decoration slots, high base elemental damage, and comes out of the box with Critical Element lvl 3. Niche, but highly effective!
Dragon Weak Monsters
G Veldian Malleus – Excellent for taking down dragon-weak menaces like Rathalos and Rathian while also buildable pretty early on (when you get access to Guardian parts).
Watch The Troll Hammer Guide
Video Source: ReportAFK | Best Hammer Guide for Monster Hunter Wilds | YouTube
Embrace That Bonk Life Hammer Bros!
If you’re a Hammer main, you already know the truth: there’s no greater joy than watching a monster flop to the ground in a dazed stupor after a well-placed smack.
Whether you’re KO’ing monsters back to the prehistoric era, charging attacks for devastating finishers, or pulling off sick aerial slams, the Hammer is all about impact, brutality, and making every swing count.
Assuming you made it through the Monster Hunter Wilds Steam launch issues – get out there, grab your biggest, baddest Hammer, and start making some monsters regret their life choices. And remember—if it ain’t bonked, it ain’t hunted.
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Entei
March 14, 2025
Slopes are shit in Wilds, really disappointing for hammer these days
Ayefkay
March 14, 2025
Agreed Entei! I don’t know why they decided to change the conditions for initiating slides in Monster Hunter Wilds tbh, but that was one of the first things I noticed and was pretty bummed about that.
They do sort of (not really) make up for it with the Seikret, but just being able to constantly call it and do the dismount attack is SO much less fun and kinda feels dirty.
Treble
March 15, 2025
Its not bad but it doesnt feel the same as the older games
Ayefkay
March 19, 2025
Hey Treble, agreed about the damage but it’s still fun so I’ll still keep my hammer.