Sgt. Hammer Talents

Level	Choices
1	? ✓ ?
4	? ? ✓
7	? ✓ ?
10	✓ ?
13	? ✘︎ ✓
16	? ? ✓
20	? ? ✘︎ ✓

Ambush is a good Talent that can be used in several ways. Differently from Advanced Artillery that is focused on sustained area of effect damage, Ambush is completely focused on increasing single-target burst damage.

Advanced Artillery, unlikes its alternatives, provides no meaningful damage where it comes to single-target damage. However, the extra splash damage will eventually be higher than Ambush's added damage. Advanced Artillery shines in long fights and when you are defending Mercenary Camps or Zerg Waves on Braxis Holdout.

Maelstrom Rounds can in theory provide more sustain damage than Ambush after four Basic Attacks once activated. In practice however, Maelstrom Rounds inevitably ends up having a very long Cooldown and being difficult to use as it will be hard to reset it in the late game. Still, it is the only Talent that does not require Sgt. Hammer to be in Siege Mode to work, being a good choice if you cannot reliably enter in that mode.

Barricade provides a defensive option against melee Heroes that can also be used to deny or hinder initiations. Barricade is particularly powerful in tight spaces, where it can outright block escape or engagement paths. Just make sure not to block off your allies, or yourself.

Siege Tactics provides a much-needed self-defense mechanism against long-range crowd control and displacement Abilities such as Artanis's Phase Prism and Stitches's Hook. This is a good Talent if the enemy team could get you out of position with these Abilities.

Regenerative Bio-Steel is Sgt. Hammer's only source of self-sustain. This Talent is excellent in most games, as it covers one of Sgt. Hammer's main weaknesses, poke damage. Further, Regenerative Bio-Steel lets you heal off Minion waves very quickly while in Siege Mode due to the Splash damage effect.

Pulse Detonation Core potentially triples Spider Mines's damage output and Slow amount, making them a significant threat that forces a response, which is generally to move away. Spider Mines then become an excellent defensive tool, particularly against melee Heroes. Further, this triple detonation also functions in PvE, making the Talent Sgt. Hammer's only effective way of claiming Mercenary Camps. Structures, too, can be damaged heavily in this manner. However, since this Talent is in the same tier as Hover Siege Mode, it should be picked cautiously, as you have to give up your only mobility tool during Siege Mode.

Hover Siege Mode makes Siege Mode significantly more versatile; the ability to reposition without completely unsieging allows Sgt. Hammer to continue threatening opponens where it would otherwise be impossible without spending a few seconds. Note that Hover Siege Mode's low Movement Speed still leaves Sgt. Hammer open to several dangerous Abilities.

Graduating Range represents a 27% increase to Sgt. Hammer's range that must be built up over 4.5 seconds. If you are able to stand still for several seconds, the extra range provided by it will be very oppressive. However, it is important to remember that it competes with Hover Siege Mode, your only mobility tool during Siege Mode. For this reason, we only recommend this Talent if the enemy team does not have dangerous skillshots for you to dodge with Hover Siege Mode.

In this section we discuss when and why to pick a given Heroic Ability. If you want to read how they work in detail and/or you are looking for some tips on how to use them, check them out on the Abilities and Strategy page.

Blunt Force Gun's main point of appeal are its global range and relatively high burst area of effect damage. Although it can theoretically be used to "snipe" opponents from across the battlefield, Blunt Force Gun's relatively slow speed makes this difficult to pull off. Instead, it is generally used during team fights, where you can often hit 3 or more targets for a very respectable amount of burst damage.

Napalm Strike's main point of appeal is its high area of effect sustain damage output. Although its damage is not nearly as high as that of Blunt Force Gun, Napalm Strike's very short 6-second cooldown makes it much more versatile than its counterpart. Indeed, this Ability can and should be used indiscriminately against any enemy in sight, though it is particularly effective against Minions and Structures, as most of Napalm Strike's damage comes from its damage over time effect.

Tactical Mine Deployment makes Sgt. Hammer notoriously difficult to chase down. Further, it allows Thrusters to be used offensively, as the Spider Mines this Talent summons also benefit from Pulse Detonation Core. Note that Tactical Mine Deployment summons up to five Mines, and that you must be moving for these Mines to be summoned.

Entrenched does little to meaningfully improve Concussive Blast's usefulness, as the baseline range and knockback distance are generally enough to fulfill the Ability's defensive purpose.

Hyper-Cooling Engines is an excellent Talent. Normally, you would not be able to keep attacking after using your Thrusters, but with this Talent, Thrusters' cooldown will be refreshed in 5 Basic Attacks, allowing Sgt. Hammer to be constantly participating in teamfights.

Mechanical Know-how is the only Talent at this tier that increases your resistance. It does not add as much DPS as its counterparts, but considering it will let Sgt. Hammer to stay for a longer time in a fight, it might make her eventually deal more damage. Pick this Talent if you are getting focused in teamfights and need this extra Shield.

Executioner provides the highest situational damage output increase out of the Talent choices available at this tier. It does, however, require you to have a way of triggering its effects. Although Spider Mines can do that, teaming up with Heroes that feature multiple sources of crowd control such as Arthas is an excellent way of benefitting from Executioner.

Giant Killer provides the most reliable damage increase at this Tier. It is particularly effective against team compositions that feature two or more Tanks, though it should not be underestimated against all targets.

Orbital BFG is a notorious late-game way for Sgt. Hammer to completely shut down a given Lane. On its own, Orbital BFG can make it difficult to destroy Keeps through traditional pushing, as it completely destroys Minions. Furthermore, Orbital BFG is highly disruptive for team fights centered around a given area, such as a Boss Camps, or Objective.

Advanced Lava Strike turns Napalm Strike into one of the best poking Abilities in the game. The range increase allows you to threaten Objectives from great safety, although Napalm Strike remains a great tool to use on-Cooldown againt anything in sight.

Shrapnel Mines competes with powerful options that define Sgt. Hammer's late-game playstyle. In its current state, it simply does too little to be worth considering seriously.

Ultra Capacitors provides a reasonable sustained damage increase against Heroes, granted you are able to remain in Siege Mode for a long period of time and manage to repeatedly deliver Basic Attacks. This Talent is the main option for this tier, as it adds much more damage than the other options.