The Anvil Hammer is one of the most powerful weapons added toElden Ringin theShadow of the Erdtree DLC.As a Colossal Weapon, it has a relatively slow moveset but makes up for it in terms of sheer damage, stance break, and decent AoE.

Using the Anvil Hammer requires heavy investment in Strength to bring out its full potential, making it a natural evolution to an early-game Strength/Faith build. This guide delves deep into which talismans, items, and stats players need in order to get the most out of this weapon. Here’s the breakdown.

using an anvil hammer in elden ring

Slow moveset

Highest combined AR of any weapon (unbuffed)

jumping with an anvil hammer in elden ring

Very heavy (22.0)

AoE Weapon Skill

The power of theAnvil Hammerlies in its ability to dish out a ton of damage combined with incrediblyhigh poise damagethat can break the stance of almost any boss in 2-3 regular hits. Every swing of the hammer regardless if it is a light swing, heavy attack, charged attack, or even a weapon skill, is meant to stance break. Some of themost annoying enemies in theShadow of the Erdtree DLC, like the Curseblades or the Fire Knights, can be stun-locked if players manage to catch them with the hammer.

40

talismans for anvil hammer build in elden ring

25

48

incantations for anvil hammer build in elden ring

60

10

crystal tears for anvil hammer build in elden ring

11

Arcane

Strength and Faith are the two main stats for the Anvil Hammer, with Strength being of overall more importance than Faith in terms of priority. Equipping the weapon requires a little bit of investment in Intelligence and Dexterity, but increasing these two stats has almost no bearing on the damage output of the weapon. Other than STR and FAI, all remaining stats should either go to Vigor for an increased health pool or Endurance for more stamina and carry weight. Getting Mind to 25 is more than enough to get a lot of value out of the weapon skill, Smithing Art Spears, as it only costs18 FPto cast.

Past level 150, focus on getting Strength to 80, Faith to 60, and Vigor to 60to round out the build. If theequipment load becomes a problem, prioritizing Endurance is not a bad idea either until you get to a comfortable spot with your armor of choice.

Elden Ring Tag Page Cover Art

The Anvil Hammer is one of the most overpowered weapons in the hands of theMimic Tear Ashes.

Enhances attacks with two-handed weapons by 15%

The Erdtree in Elden Ring

Raises stamina recovery speed by 22.2%

Boosts the attack power of Skills by 15%

malenia’s intro scene in elden ring

Erdtree’s Favor +2

Increases HP by 4%, Stamina by 10%, and Equip Load by 8%

Two-handing the Anvil Hammer triggers theTwo-Handed Sword Talisman, buffing the damage dealt by a solid 15%. Shard of Alexander’s +15% buff to skills can allow theAsh of War: Smithing Art Spearsto one-shot regular mobs with little issue. The Two-Headed Turtle Talisman is a quality-of-life addition, allowing players to recover stamina at an absurd rate, which, considering how much stamina each swing of the hammer requires, can help a lot.

Elden Ring: Most Overpowered Weapon Of Each Category, Ranked Player using radahn’s rain weapon skill

Erdtree’s Favor buffs are a comprehensive increase in HP, Stamina, and Equip Load. Depending on the situation, it can be swapped with the Spelldrake, Flamedrake, Boltdrake, Pearldrake +3 Talismans, theDragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, or theGolden Braid. Other situational options include:

Best Seals and Incantations With Anvil Hammer

Considering the natural investment into Faith encouraged by the Anvil Hammer, players would be remiss not to take advantage of thepowerful incantationsthey meet the stat requirements for.

Best Incantations

To start, theGolden VowandFlame, Grant me Strengthare no-brainers to directly buff damage output and resistances. The cherry on top is that the Anvil Hammer is one of the very few weapons inElden Ringwith inherent Fire damage, allowing it to take full advantage of the fire damage increase when buffed.

Other options includeElectrochargeto passively buff the players while they’re two-handing the Anvil Hammer,Pest-Thread Spearsto provide a near-unmissable long-range option, or theFire Serpentfor a cheap way to deal with nimble enemies.

elden ring player one-shots ghostflame dragon with incredible buff system

Best Seal

The choice of which Seal to use with the Anvil Hammer depends on which incantations they are to be paired with. If in doubt, theClawmark Sealis a great option as it is meant to be used in a Strength/Faith build like this one.

Best Crystal Tears With Anvil Hammer

TheFlask of Wondrous Physickis mostly used in hard boss fights to tilt the odds in the players’ favor. With this in mind, the best combination of Crystal Tears to use with the Anvil Hammer are:

Enhances spontaneous guard in mixed physick

5 minutes

Temporarily boosts stamina in mixed physick

3 minutes

The star here is theDeflecting Hardtear, which isElden Ring’sversion of a timed block, allowing players to dealincreased damage with their guard countersif they manage to put up their guardjustbefore the enemy hits them. Players don’t need to use a shield with the Anvil Hammer to make this work (though it does help); simply pressing guard while two-handing this weapon to block incoming attacks is the way to go.Anvil Hammer has 80.0 physical damage negationwhen used as a shield, which is more than enough for this purpose.

The Greenspill Crystal Tear is replaceable with anything players prefer in its place, though the+15% to base staminais very useful for retaining enough stamina to perform guard counters after being hit.