Rotten Battle Hammer

Notes

• Requires 26 Strength and 8 Dexterity, and weighs 10. Strength supplies most of its physical scaling on Standard, with a much smaller Dexterity contribution. Heavy focuses that scaling on Strength; other affinities change the balance.
• Causes 65 Scarlet Rot buildup on its normal affinity. The buildup remains 65 across its affinities and upgrades, and Arcane does not increase it, even after adding Arcane scaling.
• Cold, Poison and Blood affinities can add a second ailment alongside the rot. Arcane can improve added poison or bleed when the affinity supplies Arcane scaling; that does not increase the separate rot buildup.
• Upgrade with 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.
• Rot must fill a target's resistance bar before damage over time begins. More rot hits do not make an already active rot effect stronger, and immune enemies will not become vulnerable through persistence.
• Its critical rating is 100. The matching Rotten Duelist clothing has no hidden bonus to the weapon's damage or rot buildup.
• Braggart's Roar is its starting skill and costs 16 FP. For 60 seconds it raises the weapon's physical attack power by 10%, reduces incoming hit damage by 10% and adds 10 stamina recovery per second.
• The roar changes two-handed heavy and charged heavy attacks. It does not replace your one-handed heavy attacks, and the roar itself is not a damaging shout.
• Roar Medallion and Highland Axe improve the changed heavy attacks. Axe Talisman applies when you fully charge the heavy attack; Shard of Alexander does not turn the physical attack-power buff into a larger percentage.
• Its Heavy affinity uses a different upgrade-scaling pattern from ordinary Heavy weapons. Some independent projectile skills therefore get a smaller Strength-scaling contribution than on the usual Heavy setup; that is separate from the hammer's displayed melee attack power.
• This is a Strike-damage great hammer. The Duelist in the southern Snowfield graveyard drops it with the helm; the catacomb boss and northern Duelist have different rewards.