Black Steel Greathammer

Notes

• Requires 25 Strength, 11 Dexterity and 17 Faith, and weighs 12. Standard affinity strongly favors Strength for Physical damage, with only a small Dexterity contribution. Faith improves its innate Holy portion.
• A guard counter leaves a golden trail that bursts after the hammer contact. The hammer and delayed burst can both hit, so keep the target near the ground effect rather than assuming the first impact is the whole attack.
• The burst deals Holy damage that improves through Faith and weapon upgrades independently of the ordinary hammer's Physical attack rating. Sacred affinity strengthens its Faith scaling further.
• The burst adds 6.5 stance damage to the hammer's own guard-counter contact. It is a built-in property, not the Endure skill or an explosion added to every heavy attack.
• Curved Sword Talisman improves the guard counter, including its burst. Deflecting Hardtear can strengthen a successful deflecting guard counter as well.
• Shard of Alexander does not improve this ordinary guard counter just because the burst looks magical. Godfrey Icon does not improve it, either.
• Sacred increases its Holy emphasis, while Heavy suits Strength-based Physical damage and leaves the innate Holy portion. Their damage splits still face separate enemy defenses.
• Unusually for a weapon with innate elemental damage, it can use grease or an enchantment on a compatible Physical affinity. Sacred Blade can also give its own Holy coating when chosen as the skill.
• Endure costs 9 FP and briefly helps resist interruption. It does not create the guard-counter burst or replace the need to block an attack before countering.
• Uses ordinary Smithing Stones to +25. Can use compatible Ashes of War. Grease or a weapon enchantment can be applied while using an affinity that allows weapon buffs.
• The Church of Consolation Black Knight is a guaranteed one-time reward. Ordinary Black Knights elsewhere are not a repeatable greathammer farm.