Great Mace
Great Mace is a guaranteed great hammer found in a chest at an Altus Plateau soldier camp near the Grand Lift of Dectus. It offers pure strike damage, strong poise damage, Endure, and ordinary affinity freedom for straightforward Strength builds.
Key Takeaways
The Great Mace is a conventional Strength-focused Great Hammer: a heavy strike weapon whose value comes from blunt damage, committed attacks, and flexible reinforcement rather than an unusual innate effect.
Heavy blunt specialist
Its Great Hammer moveset delivers strike damage and rewards deliberate spacing, with charged attacks that can pressure enemy stance when they connect cleanly.
Strength investment matters
The Great Mace has demanding Strength requirements and a substantial weight, so it suits characters built to carry and wield heavy melee weapons.
A standard, customizable weapon
Unlike a unique armament, it follows the regular reinforcement path and can be paired with compatible Ashes of War and affinities.
Available as base-game loot
It is obtained as a chest pickup rather than as a boss remembrance weapon, making it a progression option for characters exploring the relevant base-game area.
Powerful but committal
Its weight and slower attack commitment make missed swings costly, particularly against mobile enemies; its best use is controlled close-range pressure rather than rapid trading.
More conventional than Great Stars
Compared with Great Stars, the Great Mace does not provide that weapon's innate bleed identity, but its standard status makes its skill and affinity choices more adaptable.
Overview
Great Mace is a standard Great Hammer in Elden Ring: a heavy, strength-oriented blunt weapon built around deliberate swings, strong stagger pressure, and close-range commitment. Its ordinary upgrade path and Ash of War flexibility make it a practical alternative to more specialized great hammers.
The Great Mace occupies the straightforward end of Elden Ring’s heavy melee roster. It deals strike damage and asks the wielder to accept slower attacks and heavier commitment in exchange for broad, forceful swings that are well suited to punishing openings and pressuring an enemy’s stance. It is not a named boss armament or a lore-centered unique weapon; its value comes from dependable class fundamentals.
Its identity is especially clear when compared with lighter maces. The Great Mace gives up some responsiveness and ease of repositioning for greater reach, impact, and presence in an exchange. That makes spacing important: it is most comfortable when the player can read an enemy’s recovery, create room for a committed attack, or use a stagger opportunity rather than trade continuously at point-blank range.
Unlike specialized alternatives such as Great Stars, the Great Mace does not define itself through an innate status effect or an unusual self-healing mechanic. It instead provides a relatively open foundation for a strength-focused character, with its weapon skill and affinity choices able to shape the role without changing the weapon’s basic heavy-blunt identity. This flexibility also keeps it relevant as equipment choices develop.
The weapon belongs to the base-game Elden Ring arsenal rather than being a Shadow of the Erdtree-exclusive armament. It is therefore best understood as a conventional progression choice for players who want a Great Hammer without committing to a distinctive named gimmick. Its main decision is practical: choose the Great Mace when reliable strike damage, stance pressure, and customizable heavy-weapon handling matter more than speed, innate status buildup, or a unique weapon effect.
Statistics
Elden Ring publishes no 0–100 stat bars, so this page lists the verified requirements, scaling and handling figures instead. Taken from the project's verified weapons database, not from generated text.
- CategoryGreat Hammers
- Damage TypeStrike
- Primary ScalingStr D
- Weight13
- SkillAsh of War (varies)
- Str Req24
- Dex Req8
- How to ObtainLoot
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar great hammers
| Weapon | Str Req | Dex Req | Weight | Primary Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Mace | 24 | 8 | 13 | Str D |
| Smithscript Greathammer | 28 | 10 | 13 | Str C |
| Flowerstone Gavel | 30 | 10 | 13 | Str C |
| Black Steel Greathammer | 34 | 10 | 13 | Str C |
| Envoy's Long Horn | 15 | 10 | 13 | Arc C |
Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- Access to Roundtable Hold.
- Sufficient runes for the vendor's listed price.
- No Shadow of the Erdtree, NG+, or platform-specific requirement applies. The weapon is not tied to a missable quest or one-per-playthrough reward.
- 01Travel to Roundtable Hold and speak with the Twin Maiden Husks. Their shop lists the Great Mace as a direct purchase for runes; buying it is guaranteed and does not involve an enemy drop, boss reward, or quest reward.
- 02The Great Mace is available from the Twin Maiden Husks in the base game. Once the vendor shop is accessible, select the weapon and confirm the purchase; no separate mission, key item, or boss completion is required.
Mechanics and Handling
Great Mace uses the committed, close-range pattern expected of Elden Ring’s great hammers: its attacks are slower than those of smaller blunt weapons, but they occupy more space and can interrupt vulnerable enemies more reliably. The weapon rewards deliberate spacing rather than repeated trading. Its strike damage is particularly useful against targets that are poorly suited to blunt impact, while the recovery after missed swings leaves the wielder exposed.
Attack pattern and spacing
The light attacks provide a practical sequence of broad close-range swings, while heavy attacks commit the character to slower, more forceful blows. Charged heavies are most valuable when an enemy is recovering, trapped in an animation, or otherwise unable to punish the wind-up. Jumping attacks offer a way to close distance or pressure stance, but they remain commitment-heavy if they miss. The Great Mace has enough practical reach for spacing against ordinary humanoid enemies, though it is still a contact weapon rather than a safe long-range option.
Braggart’s Roar
Great Mace’s distinctive weapon skill is Braggart’s Roar. Activating it produces a temporary self-buff that improves offensive pressure, damage negation, and stamina recovery, then enables the weapon’s roar-enhanced heavy attack behaviour while the effect lasts. The skill is most useful before an exchange in which the user expects to land several attacks or absorb limited retaliation; using it immediately before a missed swing wastes part of its temporary value. Because the buff is conditional and temporary, it should not be treated as a permanent change to the weapon’s base performance.
Handling considerations
The Great Mace’s main handling cost is commitment: missed attacks and poorly timed charged heavies can be punished before the recovery ends. Against groups, avoid allowing several enemies to surround the attack arc, and use terrain or enemy recovery windows to create room for the next swing. The weapon’s Ash of War can be relevant to the build and reinforcement setup, but the default Braggart’s Roar is the mechanic that most clearly separates this Great Mace from a generic great hammer.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Strike damage gives the Great Mace a useful matchup against many heavily armoured or mineral-bodied enemies, whose defenses can make slashing or piercing weapons less efficient.
- Its great-hammer moveset delivers substantial stance pressure, particularly through committed heavy attacks, creating opportunities for stance breaks when the user can attack safely.
- As a conventional strength-oriented weapon, it can suit builds that want a straightforward melee option without relying on a weapon-specific status effect.
Weaknesses
- The great-hammer moveset is slow and committed, so missed attacks leave less time to react than lighter strike weapons do.
- Its close-range attacks require deliberate spacing; enemies that move frequently or punish long recovery can make the Great Mace difficult to use safely.
- The weapon's strength requirements and weight compete with lighter options for attribute investment and equipment load, while its slower tempo reduces the value of rapid-hit buffs or status-focused strategies.
Best uses
- Use it against armoured or otherwise strike-vulnerable enemies when reliable physical impact matters more than attack frequency.
- Choose it for deliberate PvE encounters where charged heavies can be landed safely and stance breaks are part of the plan.
- It is a practical fit for a strength-focused character seeking a conventional great-hammer moveset rather than a weapon built around a unique status or specialized ranged effect.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Class and damage role | Build profile | Distinctive trade-off | Skill flexibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Mace | Strength-focused heavy-melee option | Straightforward, weighty moveset without an innate status effect | A conventional great hammer for players who want reliable strike damage | Compared against the listed alternatives as the baseline |
| Great Stars | Strength or hybrid builds that can support status buildup | Adds blood-loss pressure and has a more flexible status-oriented identity | A stronger choice when bleed contributes meaningfully to the encounter | Infusable and compatible with changeable Ashes of War |
| Brick Hammer | Heavily Strength-oriented | Favors a direct, strength-scaling approach and can suit heavier physical builds | A close alternative for players prioritizing Strength investment over extra utility | Infusable and compatible with changeable Ashes of War |
| Great Club | Strength-focused builds | Offers a distinct unique-skill identity rather than the Great Mace's conventional role | Worth considering when its fixed skill is more useful to the build than a standard great-hammer setup | Skill identity is less customizable than an infusable alternative |
Used In
- Liurnia of the LakesGreat Mace is obtained from a chest in a traveling carriage on a road in this region.