How To Make A Hammer & Shield (Faith) Build In No Rest For The Wicked

In No Rest for the Wicked, different stats scale damage with the various types found across Sacra. Faith is a stat that may appear meaningless stat on the surface, but traditional sword and shield or Warhammer wielders should prioritize Faith as their primary stat. However, the primary stat is just the start of this build, as weapons, armor, Runes, and mechanics are just as important to master.

Every play style, from dual daggers to two-handed Claymores, is viable and is the closest to pure tank players can achieve. Heavy armor and shields make absorbing damage and parrying far easier, while Warhammers are reserved for dealing massive blows to your opponents. Faith-centric builds are significantly harder to fully realize than strength and dexterity, as many early-game items do not lend to this play style. You can easily hammer your way through the mid and late-game with the right direction.

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Best Weapons and Armor For a Faith Hammer & Shield Build

Faith-based weapons in No Rest for the Wicked are typically found in the late game unless you get lucky with enemy drops. You will want to take the Cleric’s Mace and Wooden Shield to start. These items are found off the Raiders surrounding Sacrament in the Orban Glades or sold by Fillmore the Blacksmith, who is found by the other vendors in No Rest For The Wicked.

Either way, you will want to upgrade these weapons, as you likely won’t see your upgrades until the mid-to-late game. Later, the Kite Shield and the Weave Eater will be your best-in-slot items. Both are random drops from enemies or chests but are most reliably found in The Crucible.

For armor, Faith builds rely on medium to heavy armor. The most crucial factor in armor is not the actual defenses themselves but the rarity. Surprisingly enough, you want a common piece of loot rather than rare, as common loot is the most customizable in No Rest for the Wicked.

With the help of enchantments from Eleanor and upgrades from Fillmore, the Helmsman Jacket and Pantaloons, sold by Mira and Meri in Sacrament, can progress into extremely powerful centerpieces of this build.

Best Armor Enchantments And Affixes

Armor enchantments and affixes make up a massive part of the Faith build. To best achieve the tank focus of the loadout, you want enchantments that give a percentage of healing and a percentage of damage dealt on your damage received.

This means that whenever you successfully block an incoming attack, you heal yourself and damage your opponent. So long as the percentage is above 3%, this work will be an effective tanking strategy against even the most challenging bosses in No Rest for the Wicked.

Obtaining these affixes is easier said than done. Eleanor is currently the only source of enchantments, and the enchantment you receive is completely randomized. To increase your chances of getting these percentage-based upgrades, you must bulk-buy your desired armor and enchant each piece individually until you receive the correct affixes. If you’re unlucky, this can quickly become a costly venture, so I recommend building up your silver stockpile before starting this venture.

Best Stats To Raise For a Faith Hammer & Shield Build

As the name suggests, faith is the primary stat you want to increase as soon as you land in Sacra. Faith gives access to powerful gear that scales in damage and defenses as you level up and invest more points in this stat.

Gaining a level gives you three points to spend on your desired stat, so increasing your faith can take some time. Don’t get discouraged if you cannot immediately equip the hammer and shields you find in Sacra, as this build takes far more ramp-up time than more straightforward strength or dexterity loadouts.

Shields, maces, and Warhammers are scaled with the Faith stat.

Aside from your primary stat in No Rest For The Wicked, increasing your health and stamina is also prudent. Blocking, attacking, and parrying are the three core mechanics you need to master, and all three drain your stamina well. To make the most of your build while still being able to deal damage at opportune times actively, you want to make sure that your stamina roughly matches your faith. Health is naturally advantageous as it allows you to absorb incoming damage that might slip through your shield.

Best Weight Class For a Faith Hammer & Shield Build

Since dodge rolling is less of a priority for the Faith build than it may be for double daggers dexterity players, your preferred weight class should be normal to heavy. It is still good to keep dodge rolling on the table as an option, so if possible, it’s best to try and maintain an average load. Since shields, heavy maces, and armor all weigh more than the average piece of gear, it is nearly impossible to keep a light weight class in No Rest For The Wicked with this build.

Note that weight class only refers to the gear that you are actively wearing and not any materials sitting in your inventory.

Weight class primarily affects your sprint speed and dodging ability. At heavier weight classes, your dodge rolls come out slower. This won’t matter too much, given that your first lines of defense are blocks and parries. Parries, in particular, are important to master to make this build work. Since maces may deal less damage than large, two-handed weapons, you want to create windows of opportunity yourself by staggering your opponents.

Best Runes and Gems For a Faith Hammer & Shield Build

Runes are great for providing general abilities that can give the Cerim greater independence and utility. The Rune of Healing Aura, Repair, and Channel are three great, relatively inexpensive Runes that can aid you on longer treks across Sacra.

Deteriorated armor ruins this build, and you won’t always be in a situation where running back to Fillmore for repairng your gear in Sacrament is an option. Being able to heal or repair yourself is a massive advantage that can keep you on your journey for much longer.

If you find gear with multiple gem slots, be aware that you cannot equip gems of multiple kinds. If you equip an electric rune, you cannot equip a fire or frost gem.

Gems are far more subjective than Runes for this build. Typically, Electric Gems punish enemies for directly striking you. This synergizes well with the abovementioned enchantments, subjecting your opponents to even more damage on direct hits.

Since you are primarily using standard gear for this build, you won’t have too many gem slots unless you find a Rare or Legendary version of your gear. Overall, any gem in No Rest for the Wicked that aids your ability to mitigate damage or deal damage on a hit is your best case.

If you would like to see how the Faith build works, check out the above video by CROTemplar on YouTube.

Video Credit: CROTemplar/YouTube