First off, when looking at this build, you have to understand that Hammer is a "LONG" range specialist, she's not for close combat, nor is she the sort you throw into the middle of a brawl..Except for certain circumstance. These builds which I will get a bit more in depth are to take advantage of the ridiculous range and what sort of powerhouse you can create with this hero. So, down to the meat and potatoes.
Tier 1 "It only makes sense." Top
Advanced Artillery
Hammer already has an innate ability of doing 10% more damage to distance targets, with the stacks of massive damage to minions on the field. ********, she's an XP powerhouse. But then stack an additional 10% of her already long range damage, your auto-attacks are going to be doing some beefy hits, and the splash damage on top of that will stack nicely.
Tier 2 "More range!?" Top
Maelstrom Shells
Now this is the kick *** feature of this build. Not many people understand that the extra range can mean the difference between life or death for a group fight, especially if your the type to shove this tank in the back pocket of your team and blast away with glorified amazingness. On top of this nifty little ability, it synergies quite well with graduating range, which we will touch up on that soon enough. But yes, MOAR RANGE! Seriously though, it's an amazing talent and shouldn't be overlooked with Hammer.
Tier 3 "Make a tank, a tank!" Top
First Aid
Now, first aid.. Most people are like why would I need that when I can just hearth away, or better yet snag a healing fountain and continue the pressure? Well boys and girls let me enlighten you. HAMMER IS SLOW AS #$#!, really, she's as fast as a nitrous imbued v12 snail. Which, is slow. Cause snails can't have automotive parts or liquids.. But yes, first aid, snag it. It allows your healers in the middle of a group fight to use their mana to heal warriors and or squishy support. That and since when in siege mode, the enemy team takes you as a prime target to solo dps down....Yet... Heh, the best part is. Stacked with a healer that you can properly communicate with, transforms Hammer into an actual tank. Not some paper machete toss bag, but something that can actually hold damage for awhile. So take it, use it to patch yourself when the enemy team is down, or if your soloing mercs or towers.
Tier 4 "It's the right choice." Top
Napalm Strike
So tell me, out of all the heroes you have played. Ults are something of a harsh reality. You end up using them up like a crack addict, but not long enough to keep you going. Just teasing you of its imminent use, which seems to be FOREVER. But not with NAPALM STRIKE! The beauty of this ultimate attack is that you get to use it almost every SIX SECONDS, holy @$##! I mean, an ability that does well over 500+ a tick, and has a splash hit that doubles for more damage and sustains and AOE for more than 3 seconds? Again, HOLY @#$*! This ability is amazing, it burns towers and minions to the ground like starbucks coffee does to your bladder, it pisses off enemy heroes because they have to stay out of the fire, terribly reminding them of their WoW days when the caller would scream and cry cause of that failure. Ok, ok I'm getting off track. Main points are, amazing AOE splash damage and sustained ground effects. Great range that stacks with your siege mode ability to rain fire into targets and amazing to use for blocking lanes. Get it, its consistent and allows for incredible amounts of DPS in the mid game.
Tier 5 "Wall it up baby!" Top
Barricade
Now this ability is probably one of my most favorite and most versatile abilities which is in Hammers arsenal. Nothing screams frustration and rage when you have a wall blocking off a choke point and your allies are cut off from your support, and or you're getting shelled on like a poor child with ice cream in a seagull rampage on the beach. Not only can you completely and utterly knock back a enemy into each other, or away from you. You create a &^#$*!@ wall! You cause infuriating frustration of the raging max! 10+ lolpoints for that. But its true tactical use is stacked with your thrusters. Used safely, it can deny an enemy escape and push him back into your following allies, completely killing him and or trapping him against a curved or cornered area of the map. Unless they got bolt of the storm, or a generic blink, their screwed. Use it, it's a great talent and probably one of the most underrated of her abilities.
Tier 6 "Didn't I say, MOAR RANGE!?" Top
Graduating Range
Now, for some people this ability is a catch 22. You siege up and become immobile, but over time you create a massive set of range that can slam into enemy heroes and create a control room for your team. Problem is, you need to set yourself up for that and have good map awareness. Now you ask me, but WRM. Hover mode allows you to keep pace with your team, hover mode allows you to shift around and protect yourself from other heroes to an extent. You know what i say to that? PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT. Seriously if you need to handicap yourself with a half *** ranged siege at 50% mobility, you're sorely mistaken. Take advantage of the fact you can lob shells of indiscriminate justice out far and away from danger to not only troll the @$@! of the enemy, but dismount them from taking a hit, harassing those pesky healers or ranged support or assassins in the back. Or just rain down hell in a group fight and deal splash damage and direct damage to the more tanky heroes. Hands down, an ability that stacks with Maelstrom Shells for an additional 20% of Graduating Range. Take it, you'll not regret it.
Tier 7 "Yes, and more yes." Top
Advanced Lava Strike
So the final ability that you can stack up with more range, upon your range, upon more range. This ability actually reaches out as far as GRADUATING RANGE. Meaning every six seconds you get to drop annoying hot napalm that kicks the @##$ out of the enemy team. Especially on buildings, whoo.. I tell you what the fact you can AOE multiple buildings with a sustained amount of DPS with your other stacked abilities..Turns forts and towers into cinders. Amazing, just amazing. Use it, you'll enjoy the fact you can support your team with ultimate abilities from the far and smash the core to bits with your auto-attacks.
The Conclusion. Top
Hammer is a rather fickle character to use, because she has no mount and is relying on her team mates to support her in fights. On her own, she can stack up to combat other characters but only just. This build allows you to reign supreme on team fights and stay on top of the charts for Hero DPS and Siege Damage. Takes a bit getting used to, but trust me.. It's a blast. No pun intended.
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