There is a virtual arsenal in Dark Souls 3 where any player can find a weapon that suits their playstyle. This wide array of equipment is one of the biggest reasons why people still play this game despite newer Souls titles appearing on the scene. One of the most fun types of weapons to use are Hammers and their big brother weapon type the Great Hammers. Some declare these armaments as brutish; lacking refinement.
However, nothing could be further from the truth. These heavier than average blunt weapons require better timing considerate spacing to be truly deadly in the hands of the Ashen One. Their effectiveness depends on one's build most of all, though there are few that should be passed over in favor of the strongest. Identifying which are strong or weak is as easy as squashing adversaries into hollow pancakes and comparing which club, mace, or mallet makes them the flattest.
10 Morning Star (Worst)
Despite looking very praise-worthy, the Morning Star is a major letdown when it comes to battle performance. Its base damage is not low enough to label it as garbage, which is a nice trait all hammers and great hammers have, though it pales in comparison with other arms in this class.
With low Strength and abysmal Dexterity scaling, this mace will never be able to do as much damage as one wants. The most notable feature, its bleed effect, isn't very good either. Bleed weapons benefit the most from landing more hits in short periods of time and the Morning Star does the opposite with its relatively slow swing speed and short-range.
9 Club (Best)
Easily ignored due to being the starting weapon of the Deprived starting class, the Club can be a great ally. Unlike many other smaller weapons, its one-handed light attacks can stagger and stunlock most early-game foes. Against middle-game and late-game enemies, it can break guards with deceptively quick swings.
It also makes great use of its Warcry skill, enabling players to unleash waves of attacks with fewer repercussions. In addition, it is also very light, which makes it a great companion for those needing to cut down on some weight while not compromising damage output.
8 Reinforced Club (Worst)
As stated before, bleed effects on hammers are not ideal. They simply don't have the range or attack speed to make bleed strategies viable. The Reinforced Club at least has decent damage, but only until it breaks. It is very similar to the regular Club, though differs in that it poorly attempts to bleed opponents and has much lower durability.
Being this easy to break is at odds with this weapon's intended goal and makes it an unreliable armament for both applying the bleed status and doing direct damage. There are much better ways to do both than wasting time with this lump of wood wrapped in barbed wire.
7 Heysel Pick (Best)
One of the most unorthodox hammers, the Heysel Pick can be dropped by its original owner Yellowfinger Heysel after one defeats her during an invasion on the Road of Sacrifices. Initially, players will notice that it deals out odd split damage: thrust and magic.
Most hammers don't do either unless infused, therefore this pick immediately finds a niche for some builds. It can also be used as a sorcery staff and has an excellent skill for spellcasters that can buff the damage of all sorceries for a short time. As the Heysel Pick has benefits for both Strength and Intelligence builds, it is worth trying out for players working with either.
6 Drang Hammers (Worst)
Paired weapons often come with a wealth of boons and burdens; how good they are in a fight depends greatly on if these boons come out on top. The Drang Hammers can dish out excellent poise damage and catch some foes off guard with the rarely seen Spin Bash skill, however, it sadly does not have the stats to make these traits that useful.
Low base damage, poor scaling, and consuming a lot of stamina result in the Drang Hammers being more trouble than they are worth. Wielders also lack the ability to use anything in their offhand, making defense or alternative attack methods impossible. Relying on an all-out, single-minded offensive like this is a sure way to overextend oneself while being open to unnecessary damage.
5 Old King's Great Hammer (Best)
Gained by transposing the Soul of the Old Demon King, this burning behemoth is one of the ideal ways to simultaneously scorch and smash all who stand against the Ashen One. It deals split damage, though greatly favors physical striking over the firey kind. With the right investment, however, the Old King's Great Hammer can do satisfying amounts of both.
Although its scaling is relatively low, it gains boosts from Strength, Faith, and Intelligence, making its damage potential very promising for higher-level players. Its skill, Molten Preservation, wraps the wielder in a cloak of poise before allowing them to strike the ground and unleash AOE explosions that can devastate those within melee range. It also leaves behind a small pool of lava for a few seconds that not only damages foes but can stun them long enough to land follow-up attacks for deadly combos.
4 Blacksmith Hammer (Worst)
Although not intended to be a weapon, according to its own item description, the Blacksmith Hammer can still be used as one. Like all hammers, it can be effective at stunning and guard-breaking adversaries, though there are better implements to do so.
This smithing tool is virtually identical to the regular Mace, which is the weapon given to the Cleric starting class, though with less impressive aspects. It deals less damage and has much less scaling, making its damage output far less potent. There's no point using this if one has access to the Mace or Club unless one is doing a specific challenge run.
3 Dragon Tooth (Best)
Acquired after defeating the formidable knight in Havel the Rock's armor at Archdragon Peak, Dragon Tooth maintains its legendary status as one of the best great hammers in the series. With colossal base damage, decent Strength scaling, and better range than most of its blunt brethren, warriors seeking to deal big strike damage and nothing else are highly recommended to pick up this fallen dragon's fang.
Like other dragon weapons, wielding this beast grants one increased damage reduction from incoming fire and magic attacks. When combined with Havel's Greatshield and armor, one can become a mountainous force that will cause all who see them approaching to quake in terror.
2 Great Wooden Hammer (Worst)
Contrary to its name, there isn't a lot that can be considered "great" about this oversized mallet. In terms of damage, it does significantly less than other great hammers, as well as many regular hammers. Poor scaling dooms the Great Wooden Hammer to mediocrity, as its damage output can only really be improved by infusing it with an element like fire or lightning
Its stamina cost is relatively low per swing, so players can launch more attacks per stamina bar than with others of its kind, though widdling down adversaries with a big, slow weapon results in pathetic damage-per-second that can be outperformed by the majority of alternative strike weapons.
1 Vordt's Great Hammer (Best)
Players in need of arguably the best great hammer in the game need only trade the early-acquired Soul of Boreal Valley Vordt with Ludleth of Courland to transpose this massive mace. Vordt's Great Hammer has a standard moveset for its kin, although its huge base damage and less severe stamina consumption grant it an edge over its sibling strike weapons.
The best feature of this flanged implement is its tremendous frost status build-up. Frost is one of the rarest effects in the game, and very few enemies and bosses resist it. This combined with frost's effect of debilitating adversaries' health, stamina, and movement speed simultaneously makes it the best status effect in the game. Furthermore, Vordt's Great Hammer applies so much frost per attack that its wielder can freeze an enemy in only a couple of swings, allowing players to bring bitterly cold ends to all who oppose them.