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Discover how to create the best Great Hammer build in Avowed, with recommendations for skills, attributes, weapons, companions, and leveling progression!
Avowed is a first-person RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. Set in the Pillars of Eternity universe, the game occurs in the Living Lands, where you uncover a secret mystery. A Great Hammer build in Avowed focuses on wielding a Great Hammer to deliver powerful melee attacks. Selecting the right Great Hammer is crucial as your damage-dealing potential relies on it. This setup offers a balance between damage, reach, and crowd control. Selecting the right companion is essential as they can save your life and give you opportunities to stagger the enemies. Attributes play an important role in this build as your gameplay mostly depends on them, so allocate the points wisely. In this guide, we’ll cover the best Avowed Great Hammer build and the gameplay tips along with gear to choose from.
Everything You Need To Know About Great Hammer Build Guide in Avowed
Great Hammer build in Avowed is a massive damage-dealing setup that can dominate enemies to control the battlefield. Our Great Hammer build includes Inevitability and Just Pestle as the weapons to deal damage in combat. Inevitability is your primary weapon, and Just Pestle can work as a secondary weapon. Might, Constitution, and Dexterity are the best attributes to invest your points in. Might increases all damage types and Dexterity improves attack speed and ability usage. You can also invest in Perception to increase critical hit chance and extend the attack range.
Skills like Stunning Blows, Devastating Criticals, and Brawn can complement your playstyle while equipping Great Hammer. We include the gear that enhances stamina regeneration as your weapon consumes more stamina while attacking. Marius and Kar are the best companions for the Avowed Great Hammer build. Adding the best consumables like Tani Cream and Beetle Pie is essential for maximum stamina and additional damage.
| Great Hammer Build Pros | Great Hammer Build Cons |
|---|---|
| High Damage | Slow Attack Speed |
| Stun Potential | High Stamina Consumption |
| Crowd Control |
Great Hammer Build Features & Mechanics
Below are the essential best Great Hammer build features and mechanics for Avowed:
- Background: War Hero
- Attribute Points: Might, Constitution, Dexterity
- Weapon Choices: Inevitability, Just Pestle
- Best Skills: Stunning Blows, Barbaric Shout, Clear Out, Brawn, Bear Ally, and Charge
- Recommended Companions: Marius and Kai
- Best Consumables: Tani Cream, Beetle Pie, Krakenhorn
Related:
Background
War Hero is the best background for the Great Hammer build in Avowed. This background is the best choice for players aiming to maximize their damage and stun capabilities. Select the War Hero background to unlock unique dialogue options that reflect the character’s military history and esteemed position within the emperor’s forces. War Hero offers a robust foundation for players seeking a formidable melee combatant. The War Hero initiates with a spear, showing their specialized training and combat experience. This background has more health, stamina, and resistance to status effects. This is the best background to choose if your playstyle favors a stunning effect during combat.
Background plays a pivotal role in shaping your role-playing experience. It affects your dialogue options and determines your starting weapon during the tutorial. Your initial allocation of attribute points across six stats is also influenced. However, they do not restrict your access to any equipment or abilities as the game progresses. Regardless of your background, you can use any equipment and abilities. Avowed enriches your character’s backstory and provides initial attribute distributions and dialogue options by selecting the background.
Attribute Points
Might, Constitution, and Dexterity are the best attributes for the Avowed Great Hammer build. These attributes emphasize physical prowess and durability, essential for a damage-dealing build. Invest more points in Might to enhance overall damage output, which amplifies the impact of stun attacks. It ensures that your attacks are both powerful and effective in applying stun effects. Constitution boosts your maximum health and resistance to poison and bleed effects, allowing you to maintain pressure on enemies.
Dexterity, on the other hand, increases attack speed and action speed. This creates the opportunity to stagger enemies using the equipped weapons. This is particularly beneficial when using weapons like Superb Great Hammer or abilities that have stun potential. You can earn additional attribute points upon leveling up, offering opportunities to customize your build. Enhance your attribute points by using the consumables you acquire while progressing. You can select 27 attributes at a maximum level of 30. Below is the distribution of the attribute points for the Great Hammer build in Avowed.
- Intellect: 1
- Might: 11
- Constitution: 4
- Dexterity: 5
- Perception: 3
- Resolve: 3
Weapon Choices
Great Hammers are the best choice for the Avowed Great Hammer build, allowing you to deal heavy damage in tough encounters. However, this weapon type consumes more stamina than the one-handed weapons. You can combine the Great Hammer with the stun abilities to make it more effective in combat. They are particularly effective against heavily armored enemies, shields, and guards. However, their considerable weight results in slower attack speeds. You can acquire Great Hammer through exploration, defeating specific enemies, or purchasing from merchants. Upgrade them at the workbenches using the required materials to make them more powerful in the fight.
Inevitability is the best Great Hammer to include in your Avowed Great Hammer build. It deals high physical damage and comes with special enchantments. Implacable Foe enchantment allows you to gain a 3% damage reduction for 8 seconds when dealing the damage to the enemies. Unavoidable Fate enchantment enhances your power attack damage by 10% against enemies with low health. These enchantments boost your survivability along with the damage output. Death March and See the End are the two distinct upgrade paths that you can choose. See the End allows you to taunt the nearby foe after killing one of the enemies. Death March allows you to gain movement speed and damage reduction for a brief time.
Secondary Weapon
Just Pestle is another best Great Hammers that you can consider for this build. It deals extremely high damage and runs in combat. It has a passive ability called Stunning that allows you to deal an additional 15% stun effect on nearby foes. Grinding Mortar is the basic enchantment of Just Pestle, allowing you to gain fast attack speed along with massive damage after completing a combo. Upgrading the Grinding Mortar into the Nothing Left to Chance allows you to get additional critical hit chances after a power attack for a brief time. You can also upgrade it to the Give and Receive enchantment that provides more attack speed and damage output.
Stun
Weapons like Great Hammer can inflict stun damage per hit. The weapon you use to inflict stun status of effect on the enemy determines the rate at which the stun meter fills. Weapons like Axes can deliver moderate stun damage with normal attack speed. You can upgrade your weapons to boost their stun potential.
Skill Selection
Charge, Barbaric Shout, Devastating Criticals, Brawn, and Shadowing Beyond are the best skills to unlock at the initial levels. Invest skill points to gain the skills that can keep you alive in the initial stages of the game. Passive skills are used to increase damage or survivability, while active skills require essence, and you can’t use them due to their cost.
Levels 1-10 Skills
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Great Hammer Build for Avowed from levels 1 to 10:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | None | ||
| 2 | Charge Rank 1 | Fighter | Dash forward and smash into anything in your way, interrupting enemies and dealing Explosive Damage to break enemy Blocks, destroy walls, and shatter frozen enemies for bonus damage. |
| 3 | Toughness Rank 1 | Fighter | Increases your Maximum Health by 20%. |
| 4 | Evasive Rank 1 | Ranger | Reduces the Stamina cost of Dodge by 25%. |
| 5 | Shadowing Beyond Rank 1 | Ranger | Channel the Beyond, becoming Invisible and draining Essence until your next combat action. |
| 6 | Barbaric Shout Rank 1 | Fighter | Let out a fearsome roar that interrupts enemies and empowers you against larger foes. Your weapon attacks become Uninterruptable and deal higher Stun. |
| 7 | Devastating Criticals Rank 1 | Fighter | Critical Hits with melee weapons deal 30% more damage. |
| 8 | Brawn Rank 1 | Fighter | Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons by 25%. |
| 9 | Scavenger Rank 1 | Ranger | When picking herbs, occasionally receive an extra Upgrade Material. |
| 10 | Power Slide Rank 1 | Ranger | Your slides pass through enemies and knock them down at the cost of 20 Essence. |
Levels 11-20 Skills
Stunning Blows, Bear Ally, and Power Jump are the best skills to use while fighting enemies in mid-game fights. Upgrade your equipped abilities to make them more effective in combat. You need to enhance the damage effectiveness as you’ll encounter high-level enemies equipped with heavy armor.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Great Hammer Build for Avowed from levels 11 to 20:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Charge Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases the distance traveled during Charge by 100% |
| 12 | Barbaric Shout Rank 2 | Fighter | Barbaric Shout grants Temporary Health and Taunts all nearby enemies. |
| 13 | Power Jump Rank 1 | Fighter | Press crouch while in the air to slam to the ground, interrupting nearby enemies. The area of effect and amount of Stun dealt increases based on your fall height. |
| 14 | Stunning Blows Rank 1 | Fighter | Power Attacks with maces and two-handed hammers deal +25% Stun. |
| 15 | Retribution Rank 1 | Fighter | After taking damage from an enemy, your next attack within 5 seconds deals +70% of the original damage you received. |
| 16 | Bear Ally Rank 1 | Ranger | Summon a bear ally to aid you in battle for 30 seconds. |
| 17 | Stunning Blows Rank 2 | Fighter | Power Attacks With maces and two-handed hammers deal +40% Stun. |
| 18 | Power Jump Rank 2 | Fighter | You are immune to non-lethal fall damage while Power Jumping. The damage dealt to enemies scales with the height of your fall. |
| 19 | Brawn Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons by 40%. |
| 20 | Barbaric Shout Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases the duration by 10 seconds. |
Levels 21-30 Skills
Upgrade your abilities to a higher rank to make them more effective and deal more damage with your Great Hammer during intense combat. The higher your abilities are, the more chances you get for the deadly hits.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Great Hammer Build for Avowed from levels 21 to 30:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Clear Out Rank 1 | Fighter | Spin in a dangerous whirlwind, becoming Uninterruptable and hitting all nearby enemies with your currently equipped melee weapons. |
| 22 | Inspiring Triumph Rank 1 | Fighter | Killing enemies restores 10% of your Companion’s Maximum Health. |
| 23 | Stunning Blows Rank 3 | Fighter | Power Attacks with maces and two-handed hammers deal +50% Stun. |
| 24 | Brawn Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons by 50%. |
| 25 | Power Jump Rank 3 | Fighter | Power lump costs 0 Essence. |
| 26 | Charge Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases the Stun dealt by Charge by 50% |
| 27 | Shadowing Beyond Rank 2 | Ranger | While Invisible, gain increased Stealth Attack Damage and Move Speed. |
| 28 | Clear Out Rank 2 | Fighter | Clear Out lasts for 2 full rotations. |
| 29 | Bear Ally Rank 2 | Ranger | Your bear ally roars when summoned, taunting enemies and increasing the damage it deals. |
| 30 | Clear Out Rank 3 | Fighter | Clear Out lasts for 3 full rotations. |
Best Great Hammer Skills Explained
Stunning Blows, Barbaric Shout, Clear Out, Brawn, Bear Ally, and Charge are the best skills for the Avowed Great Hammer build. Staggering Shot is a passive ability that enhances the stunning potential of your power attacks when using bows and firearms. Stunning Blows is a passive ability that increases the stun effect of your power attacks when wielding maces and two-handed hammers. Barbaric Shout is an active ability that allows you to unleash a powerful roar, disrupting enemies and enhancing your combat capabilities. Bear Ally allows you to summon a bear to help you in combat. Charge is an active ability that enables you to dash forward, disrupting enemies and dealing explosive damage upon impact.
- Brawn- Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons.
- Stunning Blows- Enhances the stun effect of your power attacks with maces and two-handed hammers.
- Barbaric Shout- Unleash a fearsome roar, interrupting enemies and empowering your weapon attacks with increased stun and uninterrupted actions.
- Charge- Charge is essential for reaching targets out of range. Don’t spam the ability, as it can drain your essence.
- Bear Ally- Summons a bear to fight alongside you, drawing enemy attention.
- Clear Out- Involves spinning in a whirlwind to hit all nearby enemies, remaining uninterruptable during the attack.
Companions
Marius and Kai are the best companions for the Great Hammer build. Kai’s Fire and Ire ability fires a powerful shot from his blunderbuss, dealing significant stun damage to a single enemy. His abilities are designed to control the battlefield by drawing enemy attention and applying stun effects. This is an excellent choice for players who enjoy stun-centric strategy. Kai excels at drawing enemy attention and absorbing damage. His Leap of Daring ability allows him to charge into battle and gather enemies. This creates opportunities for you to attack from a distance. The Second Wind ability allows Kai to revive himself once per encounter.
Marius’s Bleeding Cuts ability inflicts damage over time, weakening enemies before direct engagement. His Thorny Shield reflects the damage to attackers. Marius is a crowd-control companion, and his ability, like Binding Roots, allows you to focus on dealing damage without being overwhelmed by multiple foes. Use Marius’s Heart Seeker’s ability to increase damage dealt to low-health enemies. His crowd control and high burst damage abilities align well with stealth eliminations.
Marius
| Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 | Skill 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binding Roots | Heart Seeker | Shadow Step | Wounding Shots |
| Entangle enemies | Increases damage dealt to low-health enemies | Devastating Blow | Damage over time |
Kai
| Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 | Skill 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire and Ire | Unbending Defense | Leap of Daring | Second Wind |
| Fires a powerful shot from his blunderbuss | Regenerate Health and increase his Damage Reduction by 25% | Crashes down upon the enemy, Stunning and Taunting all nearby enemies | Revives himself when his health is reduced to zero |
Great Hammer Gameplay & Tips
Use Marius and Kai as your companions while running the Great Hammer build. They help you in tough encounters, making it easy for you to dominate the enemies. Allocate your points in Might, Constitution, and Dexterity to enhance your stun capabilities with the equipped weapons. Get your hands on the Great Hammer to inflict high stun effects on the enemies. Use skills like Barbaric Shout, Charge, and Parry to stun the foes. Barbaric Shout emits a powerful roar that interrupts enemies, makes your attacks uninterruptible, and increases stun damage.
Use the Charge ability to initiate the combat as it allows you to dash forward, smashing into enemies to interrupt and deal explosive damage. Allocating attribute points in Might increases physical damage, enhancing the impact of your stun attacks. Constitution, on the other hand, enhances your health pool, allowing you to withstand frontline combat. Follow up with Barbaric Shout and Shield Bash to keep enemies incapacitated.
Weapons and Armor
Beginner Weapon and Armor
| Slot | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Fine Great Hammer | 111 Physical Damage 108 Stun 25 Stamina Cost 3% Critical Hit Chance |
| Secondary Weapon | Exceptional Great Hammer | Physical Damage: 185 Stun: 189 Stamina Cost: 25 Critical Hit Chance: 3% |
| Armor | Stealgar’s Pride | 18% Damage Reduction -35 Maximum Stamina -30 Maximum Essence |
| Gloves | Death Knight Gloves | -10% Stamina cost while blocking |
| Boots | Arcanist’s Boots | +10% Move Speed |
| Trinket | Gilded Skull | Reduces the cooldown for Second Wind by 15% |
| Ring | Wayfarer’s Ring | +20% Health and Essence regeneration from food and potions. |
| Ring | Vailian Dueling Ring | 7% chance to avoid melee damage |
Locations
- Fine Great Hammer (Great Hammer)- Location is Dawnshore. Can be purchased from Gwyneth in the Market District of Paradis, Dawnshore.
- Exceptional Great Hammer (Great Hammer)- Purchase it from Merchant Stephan located at Essence of War in Fior mes Iverno in Emerald Stair.
- Stealgar’s Pride- Location is Dawnshore. Found in a boarded-up cave underneath Watcher’s Mirror on the eastern cliff as part of the Treasure Map.
- Death Knight Gloves- The location is Emerald Stair. Kill Captain Aelfyr at the end of the Emerald Stair chapter.
- Arcanist’s Boots- Location is Dawnshore. Found in a chest on top of the Lighthouse southwest of Claviger’s Landing.
- Gilded Skull- The location is Emerald Stair. From Naku Tedek Grounds, head Northwest across the bridge and keep going straight. There’s a small spider lair, and climbing up above it will have a small lockbox with this unique inside.
- Wayfarer’s Ring- Found on the corpse of a Skeleton east of the Shrine of Woedica. Inside a tiny cave where you’ll fight 2 bears. It’s on the path to Runyd’s House, and to the left instead of right at the split.
- Vailian Dueling Ring- Location is Emerald Stair. You’ll find this on a body near the Ogre’s Lair in the Northwestern part of Emerald Stair. Exiting the lair, head downward and right to find this body in some ruins.
Endgame Weapon and Armor
| Slot | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Inevitability | 333 Physical Damage 351 Stun 25 Stamina Cost 3% Critical Hit Chance |
| Secondary Weapon | Just Pestle | Physical Damage: 204 Stun: 189 Stamina Cost: 25 Critical Hit Chance: 3% |
| Armor | Sentinel Mail | -30% incoming Fire, Frost, and Shock Damage |
| Gloves | Wolf Gloves | +1 Dexterity |
| Boots | Greaves of Exalted Stride | +10% resistance to Poison and Bleed Accumulation |
| Trinket | Cartographer’s Companion | +1 Dex, +2 Perception |
| Ring | Disciple’s Ring | +60 Maximum Essence |
| Ring | Ring of Greater Overseeing | +20% area of effect damage |
Locations
- Inevitability (Great Hammer)- Location is The Garden. Found embedded in a dead Maegfolc’s chest in the southern part of the Broken Aqueduct.
- Just Pestle (Great Hammer)- Location is Shatterscarp. Get access to these mines while completing the Fires in the Mine side quest. Just Pestle is available inside a hidden room on the third level
- Sentinel Mail- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found in the Pargrun Cache east of the Living Archives.
- Wolf Gloves- The location is Emerald Stair. Found in the southern tower of the Naku Tedek Grounds west of Maxim’s Claim in Emerald Stair, in the area where you fight the Xaurips.
- Greaves of Exalted Stride- The location is Galawain’s Tusks. Sold by Merchant Alonya at Oddments and Oddities south of the Living Archives for 9,500 Skeyt.
- Cartographer’s Companion- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found on a dead dwarf near the Bounty target Urvolnau west of Berath’s Bounty.
- Disciple’s Ring- The location is Galawain’s Tusks. In a chest inside Razvan’s Hut in the Lost Village.
- Ring of Greater Overseeing- The location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found behind a destructible wall in the Northern Warden Tower.
Consumables
Tani Cream allows you to gain +2 Dexterity and +5% maximum stamina. Beetle Pie is another consumable that provides you +2 Might and +10% damage. Krakenhorn allows you to gain +2 Resolve and +5% Maximum Stamina for 300 seconds. You need to take three points into the survivalist skill in the ranger tree. Once unlocked, you can craft advanced food and buffs that drastically increase your survivability, damage, and regeneration.
FAQs about Great Hammer in Avowed
What is the best Great Hammer build in Avowed?
The best Great Hammer build in Avowed uses Great Sword as a main hand and secondary weapon. Marius and Kai are the best companions to include for this build due to their high supporting capabilities.
Which is the best Background for the Great Hammer build?
War Hero is the best background for the Great Hammer build in Avowed. This background is the best choice for players aiming to maximize their damage and stun capabilities.
Which are the best skills for a Great Hammer build?
Stunning Blows, Barbaric Shout, Clear Out, Brawn, Bear Ally, and Charge are the best skills for the Avowed Great Hammer build.
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