Game:

Elden Ring (2022)

Duration: 40:08

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74

Background: Hammers as a class tend to be overlooked when compared to more popular options like Greatswords, Katanas and Spears. On top of that, Physical/Holy weapons also get overlooked because at least 30% of the PvE player base is allergic to Holy Damage. But believe me when I say, Marika's Hammer slaps.

For this Build: This is a Strength/Faith Build centered around the weapon, Marika's Hammer using charged heavy attacks and its weapon skill, Gold Breaker to deal incredible amounts of stance damage and raw damage to pulverize bosses. First, to discuss the scaling of Marika's Hammer, at +10, it has a B in Strength (scaling value: 99) and a C in Faith (scaling value: 72) for its primary scaling stats so Strength should be your main priority as its highest scaling stat, increases the amount of Physical Damage the weapon deals (Faith scales the Holy Damage) and would get even more damage while two-handed because of its decent Strength scaling. Next, its weapon skill, Gold Breaker has a relatively length animation so it isn't always very safe to use but: a) it has hyper armor so once you're in the air, you can't be hit out of it, b) it can send humannoid enemies flying and c) the damage of Gold Breaker scales off of Marika's Hammer's Attack Rating (AR) with Strength and Dexterity scaling its Physical Damage and Faith scaling its Holy Damage. With my stat spread of 70 Strength and 39 Faith, Marika's Hammer and Gold Breaker deals mostly physical damage. Speaking of, with 70 Strength and 39 Faith, Marika's Hammer has an AR of 740 when two-handing (68.2% physical to 31.8% holy). So, as I mentioned, Gold Breaker does solid stance damage but isn't always safe to use, which is where charged heavy attacks act as the bread and butter of this build because hammer's heavy attacks come out pretty quickly and deals 40 stance damage when fully charged. The talisman set-up and physick set-up for this build is centered around fostering charged heavy attacks, dealing higher stance damage and having enough stamina to attack consistently. The final piece of the puzzle is using Golden Vow and Howl of Shabriri before boss fights begin for maximum damage.

Relevant Stats:
Vigor: 40
Mind: 20
Endurance: 30
Strength: 70
Dexterity: 12
Faith: 39

Talismans:
1. Shard of Alexander- Increases the power of weapon skills by 15%
2. Axe Talisman- Increases the power of charged heavy attacks by 10%
3. Green Turtle Talisman- Increases Stamina Regen
4. Ritual Sword- Increases attack power by 10% when at full health
Flex 1. Claw Talisman- Increases the power of jump attacks by 15%
Flex 2. Old Lord's Talisman- Increases the duration of spell buffs

Physick:
1. Spiked Cracked Tear: Increases the power of charged heavy attacks by 15% for 3 minutes
2. Stonebarb Cracked Tear: Increases Stance Damage by 30% for 30 seconds

Drip: Commoner's Headband (altered), Goldmask's Rags, Gold Bracelets, Sanguine Noble Waistcloth

How to Improve this build: If you were to take this build and weapon beyond 150, there would be plenty of room for growth because Marika's Hammer scales well in three stats, Strength, Faith and finally, Dexterity. Even though it is only a D, the scaling value is 55, so it would actually be worth while to level it.

AR for Marika's Hammer at various levels of Strength, Dexterity and Faith (two-handed, before buffs and talismans)

My stat spread (70 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 39 Faith)
AR: 740

Last Soft Caps for Strength and Faith (80 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 80 Faith)
AR: 784 (5.7% stronger than mine)

Last Soft Caps for Str, Dex and Fai (80 Strength/Dexterity/Faith)
AR: 888 (16.7% stronger than mine, 11% stronger than 80 Str/Faith)

Upon having 80 Faith, you could also add various incantations into the mix as well. Golden Order Incantations and Lightning Incantations would be particularly neat to commit to the cosplay of Marika, that being said, Marika's Hammer would benefit from having stronger armor to be able to better tank damage during charged heavy attacks and Gold Breaker. Per usual, add as much Vigor as you want.



Chapters:
0:00 Margit (No Damage)
0:45 Godrick (No Damage)
2:13 Radahn
3:43 Draconic Tree Sentinel (No Damage)
4:29 Goldfrey (No Damage)
5:29 Morgott (No Damage)
6:27 Mohg
10:13 Niall
14:20 Loretta (No Damage)
16:26 Malenia (4 Pointblank Waterfowl Dances)
23:39 Fire Giant
27:22 Maliketh (No Damage)
30:07 Hoarah Loux
34:08 Radagon (No Damage)
35:30 Elden Beast

Other Statistics