User blog:Lord Loss/Discussion of the Week: Hammers

Welcome to Discussion of the Week: Hammers!

Sorry it's a day late, but I'm sure you'll cope...

Anyway, Hammers, another weapon introduced in the original Monster Hunter.



Overview
Hammers are large, heavy weapons which are capable of dealing the vast amounts of damage in a single combo. They, along with the Hunting Horn, exclusively deal Impact-type damage. Their tremendous size only slightly hinders mobility, and Hunters are still able to run with them, unlike with the Great Sword and Lance. These fierce weapons have several moves: a simple pound and a related combo, a "golf" swing, a revolving spin, and a charge-up Superpound that crushes anything it connects with. On the downside, Hammers cannot block and cannot cut monster's tails off. Since Monster Hunter 2, Hammers have had the ability to K.O opponents after hitting a target on the head multiple times. Hammers are only slightly changed in third Generation games; however, they now have more fluid combos and a new charged upper-cut move.

Specific Games
Monster Hunter: Erm, I'm not too sure what they were like in the first MH. Probably not in the same league as the over-powered Lances, though. Monster Hunter Freedom: ? Monster Hunter 2: I think - correct me if I'm wrong - that charged attacks for the Hammer were introduced in this game, as well as the KO mechanic. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite: Top-tier weapons. Easily. Juggernaut just makes the first two levels of G Rank a breeze, because it's effective against basically everything. Then at the end game there's Chaotic Order, which is pretty damn mighty.

Oh, and the Superpound has an almost brokenly big hit-box in Unite.

Let's not forget the Gravios/Basarios Hammer with the really cool 'spikes popping out when charged' animation, though.

Monster Hunter 3: Interesting. Lots of people thought they were nerfed here, and certainly they don't seem to kill things as quickly as they used to, but they're certainly more fluid. It's nice to move on from the charge - superpound - recharge routine, and they combo very well. Plus they make monsters tired quicker!

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd: Not sure if any changes. There was that weird Event Hammer with really high raw power, awful sharpness and awful affinity, though. Did anyone use much other than the final Alatreon Hammer or Jinouga Hammer?

Monster Hunter 3 G: I don't have Tri G, I'm not sure if there's anything new. If there is it's not very noticeable.

Monster Hunter Frontier: They do have some unique moves; there's a side-to-side swinging bash attack, which looks only mildly effective, and the jumping Superpound, which Art tells me is tremendously powerful.

Questions

 * What monsters do you find Hammers work well against?
 * Have you ever tried them against something on a whim, and found it to work surprisingly well?
 * What monsters do Hammers really not work on? (I'm thinking Kirin, maybe, because you can't KO it and the horn is a pain to hit).


 * What game do you most enjoy using Hammers in?


 * What's your favourite Hammer to use, for any reason?
 * Which would you say the best-looking Hammer from any game is?


 * How do you feel Hammers compare to other weapons? Do you enjoy using them?