Elden Ring Guide | Black Steel Greathammer Build

Here's a guide on how to make a Black Steel Greathammer Build in Elden Ring.

Game Guide by Ragib Rawnak on Aug 28, 2025

Black Steel Greathammer is one of the most intriguing weapons from the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

The Black Steel Greathammer offers a unique approach to combat that centers around maximizing guard counter damage through strategic equipment choices and tactical play.

Weapon Overview

The Black Steel Greathammer utilizes the standard Greathammer moveset, providing excellent Hyper Armor for trading blows with opponents in Elden Ring.

You'll find several roll catch setups available, with the light attack flowing into heavy attack being the most reliable combo. However, the weapon's standout feature lies in its powerful guard counter mechanic.

Elden Ring Guide, Black Steel Greathammer Build

When you block an attack and immediately follow with a heavy attack, you trigger a guard counter that chains into an area-of-effect attack after landing the initial hit.

This unique property makes the weapon particularly effective when you build around enhancing guard counter damage in Elden Ring.

Primary Talisman

You'll want to equip the Curved Sword Talisman as your foundation piece, since it directly enhances your guard counterattacks. This Talisman becomes essential for maximizing the weapon's primary strength.

Deflecting Hardtear Integration

Think about adding the Deflecting Hardtear to your arrangement. This tear not only goes well with your guard counter concentration, but it also gives you more damage after you successfully deflect.

The damage boost builds up over time. Deflecting one opponent within five seconds gives you extra damage, and deflecting a second opponent increases this to 40%. If you deflect four opponents in a row, the added damage is capped at 80% in Elden Ring.

Faith-Strength Hybrid

There are several ways to set up the attributes for this construct. A pure strength concentration is still possible, but the faith-strength mix offers numerous benefits.

Elden Ring Guide, Black Steel Greathammer Build

The Sacred Blade Ash of War applies a holy damage buff to your weapon, which synergizes well with the Black Steel Greathammer's existing holy damage split in Elden Ring.

Additional Enhancement Options

You could add the Holy-Shrouding Cracked Tear to your Physick mix. This gives your attacks a lot more damage because your weapon does a lot of holy damage.

Talisman Configuration That Works Best

Your Talisman setup should prioritize maximizing damage while also allowing for adaptability to various situations.

The Shard of Alexander makes your Sacred Blade Ash of War stronger, which you'll use a lot to keep your attack rating high. The Curved Sword Talisman is still required to improve guard counters in Elden Ring.

The Two-Handed Sword Talisman provides additional value since you'll be two-handing the weapon consistently, and the weapon's already high attack rating makes the percentage increase particularly worthwhile.

Finally, the Bull-Goat's Talisman ensures you maintain sufficient poise to avoid interruption from light weapon follow-up attacks, allowing you to execute your guard counters without fear of being stunned mid-animation.

Elden Ring Guide, Black Steel Greathammer Build

Combat Strategy

Your primary approach involves positioning yourself to bait enemy attacks, successfully blocking or deflecting them, then immediately responding with guard counters in Elden Ring.

The weapon's area-of-effect follow-up makes it particularly effective in group encounters or when facing opponents who rely on close-range pressure.

Maintain your Sacred Blade buff throughout encounters to keep your attack rating maximized.

The holy damage enhancement works exceptionally well when combined with the weapon's natural holy damage scaling, creating substantial damage output on successful guard counters in Elden Ring.

Also, check our Elden Ring Review, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review, and other guides below: