Gravity hammer

Introduction

The Gravity Hammer, is a large hammer, that serves as an excellent and powerful melee weapon because of its tremendous weight and through the enormous strength, of its intended user species. It can also manipulate gravity, allowing it to propel objects and enemies away from its wielder. This tremendous weapon may also deflect rockets being shot at the user, if used at the appropriate time.

The Gravity Hammer was first seen in Halo 2 called the UNSC which was used by Tartarus, although it was unusable by the player at the time. In Halo 3 a weaker and much more common variant of the Gravity Hammer appears and can be used. It is used mostly by Humans.

The very notable Gravity Hammer, is the Fist of Rukt, which was wielded by the most powerful^[1] Brute Chieftain, Tartarus^[2] before he died. Tartarus acquired the Fist of Rukt from Maccabeus, his uncle, in a fight to the death.

Fist of Rukt

Main article: Fist of Rukt

The Fist of Rukt, was Tartarus's personal gravity hammer. It was passed down from Brute Chieftain to Brute Chieftain in a Brute pack, and belonged to Maccabeus before Tartarus overthrew him and claimed the legendary hammer. This is stated in Halo: Contact Harvest. It also seems, that the hammer had no effect on gravity at the time of Halo: Contact Harvest, but was upgraded around the time of Halo 2. This hammer, is believed to be the strongest Gravity Hammer in existence.

Appearances

Gravity Hammers were never seen or mentioned in Halo: Combat Evolved, and are only wieldable in Halo 3.

Halo 2

Tartarus wielding the Fist of Rukt in Installation 05's Control Room.

Tartarus was always seen with his personal Gravity Hammer, the Fist of Rukt.

After the conclusion of the Battle of the Gas Mine and after the Arbiter killed the Heretic Leader, Tartarus appeared on the scene, using his Gravity Hammer to freeze 343 Guilty Spark, and send the Oracle hurtling towards the hammer. Tartarus proceeded to pluck it out of the air and dispose of 343 Guilty Spark up the Gravity Lift of a nearby Phantom.

After the conclusion of the Battle of the Quarantine Zone on Installation 05, Miranda Keyes and Avery Johnson of the UNSC were able to retrieve the Sacred Icon from Delta Halo's Library. The Arbiter, however, knocked Johnson unconscious, and Tartarus once again appeared on the scene. The Chieftain of the Brutes was able to levitate Miranda towards himself with his hammer. Subsequently, Tartarus used the Fist of Rukt to attack the Arbiter, using the gravity shock wave to send the Arbiter flying into a seemingly bottomless pit.

At the Control Room of Installation 05, numerous Elites attempted to kill Tartarus and deactivate Installation 05. The Fist of Rukt was one of Tartarus's few advantages, and despite being heavily outnumbered, the massive area effect damage was able to send most of the Elites flying into oblivion, and stalwart Sangheili that attempted to attack Tartarus at close range with Energy Swords were beaten to death by the massive Fist of Rukt. After the Arbiter and Johnson killed Tartarus, the Fist of Rukt fell from the Brute Chieftain's limp hands, although its fate afterwards is uncertain. It is possible that the Sangheili kept it as a trophy to remember their bloody war against the Jiralhanae. The hammer is unusable by players in Halo 2.

Starry Night

Main article: Starry Night

The first hint of the Gravity Hammer's appearance in Halo 3 was seen in the "Starry Night" TV spot released on December 4, 2006. In the very end of the trailer (00:52), one of the Brute Chieftains that SPARTAN-117 was about to attack was carrying a Gravity Hammer.

Halo 3 ViDoc: Et Tu, Brute?

Main article: Halo 3 ViDoc: Et Tu, Brute?

In the video documentary Et Tu, Brute? released December 20, 2006, there were a few animations of Brutes using Gravity Hammers, and Brutes in game play that were wielding hammers in mostly untextured alpha builds. The hammers were unique in the fact that when they swung, a massive electric blue shock wave was projected in a spherical blast from the head of the hammer, mirroring a Plasma Grenade's detonation, except possibly larger and stronger. Crates and other objects in the path of the shock wave were displaced. also there is a Brute Chieftain seen holding a gravity hammer that resembled the Fist of Rukt.

Halo 3

File:H3 MP Sandtrap.jpg

Gravity hammer on a Spartan's back in Sandtrap a Halo 3 map.

File:H3 MP Epitaph FP4.jpg

An Elite holding a gravity hammer on Epitaph in Halo 3.

The Gravity Hammer is usable only in Halo 3. It is devastating in close quarter combat, capable of smashing vehicles away, and bouncing grenades and rockets (with lots of practice) away from the wielder. The attack is an instant kill on any target (unless damage resistance or shields have been modified), except if the target deflects the blow with an Energy Sword. Even then, it is an instant shield drain, although the sword-wielder will normally kill a hammer wielder before a second blow can be made. But if an Elite jumps and tries to hit the wielder with the sword, the hammer can and will kill the Elite player. This can only happen in multiplayer. The hammer creates small shock-waves, shaking the perspective of players nearby. The hammer also hurls targets backwards if it connects, often incredibly far. In addition, rockets shot at the wielder can be knocked away if the attack is timed well. However, to make up for the power of the weapon, the battery drains slightly faster than an energy sword, and attacks can be very slow. On maps with platforms in the air, the weapon can be utilized to fling an opponent off. On very rare occasions, Flood-infected Brutes have been seen wielding Gravity Hammers particularly on the level Halo. Giving a Gravity Hammer to Elite allies in Halo 3 is a bad idea; they will charge carelessly into battle, ignoring entirely its main weapon: the gravity powered head, and instead use its weaker melee. This is likely because it's a Brute ceremonial weapon, such as it's Sangheili counterpart the energy sword. Upon killing the Arbiter, leaving a Hammer near his corpse will result in him springing up with it. He will not swing it, but will charge you bellowing a war cry. After a while he will put the Hammer on his back & pull out an Energy Sword.

In the Campaign, Gravity Hammers can be found on all levels except in Tsavo Highway.
The Gravity Hammer is an excellent anti-Flood weapon. It is capable of killing multiple Flood enemies in one swing due to its massive shock wave, this is useful for killing swarms of Infection forms or combat forms. (Use it wisely on Cortana, however, as the shock wave produced by the weapon can break open Flood Growth Pods, sending many more Infection Forms your way.)
It should be noted that taking out a hammer in the midst of Grunts will cause them to immediately panic (even Ultras will panic).

Halo: Uprising

File:Halo 3 Weapon (Jiralhanae Chieftain Gravity Hammer).JPG

The Hammer as it appears in Halo: Uprising

In Halo: Uprising, on the cover of Issue 3, John-117 is seen holding a Gravity Hammer. It is virtually identical to the one seen in Halo 3.

Multiplayer Recommendations

Try to use the Gravity Hammer as a secondary weapon because its battery runs out too fast. Whip it out when someone throws a grenade at you. If you hit the ground soon enough, the grenade will fly away. Also, if someone is coming towards you in a ground vehicle, hit the ground to send the vehicle flying away from you. Try to melee with it as much as you can, but otherwise use another weapon. If the vehicle gets away, try doing another primary attack. The shock wave will sometimes flip the vehicle leaving its occupants exposed for a follow up. At the same time you can also flip a vehicle off a map if they're near the edge on maps like Rat's Nest and Standoff. The Gravity hammer is great during CQB.
On Guardian try to hide behind one of the walls near the lift so enemies not coming by the lift can't see you and they will be easier to kill.
On maps with a Gravity Hammer, use your built-in scope to look at opponents. Since their secondary weapon is on their back or side, the Gravity Hammer is visible even when not in use. If you can, it is advisable to take the hammer-wielder out from a distance using a Sniper Rifle, Beam Rifle, Carbine, or Battle Rifle. Some skilled marksman may attempt to use a Magnum at a medium range. Spartan Lasers can also be used due to their one-hit kill and 2x zoom, however, like the hammer, ammo is scarce, so this is not recommended.

Note: The Gravity Hammer may also be used to gain distance from another player or stay in the air for a certain amount of time if timed right but you must aim at the ground and attack while in air with the hammer to do this. As an addition, if unlimited ammo and minimal gravity are enabled, repeatedly using the hammer after jumping causes the shock waves to drastically increase the distance of your jumps. This is called a grav hammer jump and is like the Brute shot jump and the grenade jump. It is particularly useful on Valhalla, as combining the effects of the Man-Cannon with the Smash-Jump can propel the user nearly across the entire map.

The best tactic in Hammers-Only matches, such as "Hammerzeit", or "Hammer Time" is to use lots of grenades. If you can get a grenade hit on an enemy they will die easier with a hit. And since the Hammer has area effect damage you can score a hit at a bit longer range than standard Melee then drop a grenade for the kill. Another good tactic is to wait until the targeting reticule turns red and you are apt enough to attack the enemy. Be aware, however, as waiting for the reticule can create situations where you both either cancel out, if you both have the gravity hammer, or don't make contact at all and miss. The best allies when using the gravity hammer are distance and timing, and it is a good idea to use them well.

The Gravity Hammer is also one of the only two weapons available in the Grifball gametype along with the Energy Sword. It is the cause of many betrayals, however you can also "ride the wave" and use your enemy's gravity hammer to launch yourself to their goal.

If you time the shock wave from the hammer at the right time you can send a Rocket Launcher missile in a another direction and blow up but there have been some cases that the missile doesn't blow up.

The Hammer may be known as a great CQB weapon, but it is far too slow to compete against the Energy Sword or the Shotgun. If you find your self up against one of these weapons, create space between you and your opponent, and either change to a dual wield configuration, such as plasma rifle and S.M.G (great combo with the plasmas shield drain and S.M.G's flesh cutting rounds) or use grenades and head shots to take down the enemy. Although it is important to remember that the Mauler is considered an easy target for the Gravity Hammer.

If someone is using a light vehicle like a Brute Chopper or a Mongoose a good tactic is to sneak up to the vehicle with active camo and do hit assaults to all parts of the vehicle with the Gravity Hammer. Make sure you are moving quickly and closely around the vehicle so your opponent can not pinpoint you for an attack.

Disadvantages in Multiplayer

A Gravity Hammer wielded, in Grifball, by a SPARTAN

The Gravity Hammer is clearly visible on your back (unless the player has active camouflage, unlike the Energy Sword which emplace on the Spartan or Elite's thigh is considerably hard to see, and if you rush head on with a Gravity Hammer, your opponent may just back pedal and fire at you out of fear. It has a shorter and slower lunge distance compared to that of the Energy Sword. Having the Gravity Hammer on open maps with little inside fighting makes the wielder a sniper target.

Also, if you're too slow to swing your weapon, your opponent may have the chance to evade the attack, and can quickly take you down or the weapon's shock wave could knock the player back far enough to be out of range of your hammer and finish you off.

Just like the Energy Sword in Halo 2, the Active Camouflage has little effect on the Gravity Hammer, making it highly visible to your opponents. Also, even when you are invisible, the little blue light on top of the hammer is still able to be seen, thus making hammer attacks while invisible useless against the vigilant player.

The chief concern when using the Gravity Hammer is the powerful splash damage surrounding a hammer stroke and blow. If used too close to other players, the massive shock wave will take down their shields. This makes friendly fire a very real and factual possibility and concern.
If you get too close to another player while wielding the Gravity Hammer, they may simply sidestep and strafe to evade the attack.
An enemy wielding a shotgun can easily take down a player with the Gravity Hammer before he has time to swing.
A big concern with the gravity hammer is that if the player misses with the hammer, the shock waves will push the enemy out of range, weakening the enemy's shields, but making the hammer carrier an easy target. For this reason, it is advantageous to carry a Battle Rifle along with a Gravity Hammer.

Glitches

The Hammer, has been seen to have no alternate third person animation for melee, in third person, you would simply look like you're swinging the hammer with just no explosive effect or splash effect. This will only work for Spartans, though. Elites have the same animation they have if you melee someone with a flag.
When you combine RT with clicking LT, the shock wave will have no sound effect, the attack will be negated, and it will count as a normal melee attack.
Occasionally, if you hit the roof of the Elephant's cabin, the Hammer's blast will go through and kill the driver and its occupants.

Trivia

The Gravity Hammer, has been seen to be used in a game players call 'Baseball' were the Gravity Hammer deflects rockets shot by the Rocket Launcher.
In Campaign, you can give the Gravity Hammer to all UNSC allies; however, they will not attack with it, and instead will uselessly charge the enemy. Upon reaching them, they will simply stand in place and yell battle-cries.
The most powerful Gravity Hammer, in existence is the Fist of Rukt, which is seen in Halo 2 only being used by Tartarus, and is wielded only by Tartarus.
If you use the Armless Glitch, the range of the Gravity Hammer will be greatly increased and will cause players to float and lose their shields.
The melee of a Gravity Hammer uses no energy and has medium damage.
The Gravity Hammer is the only weapon that can travel through solid walls.
The Fist of Rukt is the only Gravity Hammer in Halo 2.

References

^ Halo 2, Gravemind (Level)
^ Halo 2, The Great Journey (Level)

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[1] Halo 2, Gravemind (Level)

[2] Halo 2, The Great Journey (Level)

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