“Volendrung seeks a wielder” is a zone-wide announcement to get the players of Cyrodiil worried, as it is a hammer of destruction to both keeps and people. Volendrung, often referred to as “the hammer” brings forth pandemonium and if it’s yours, a lot of fun.
In this quick guide, you will learn what Volendrung is, and how to use it as well as the achievements you can earn.
The Lore of Volendrung
Volendrung, or the Hammer of Might originally belonged to the Dwemer Clan Rourken who crafted it. It is created of possibly ebony or Dwarven Metal as you can see on any Centurion in a Dwemer ruin. In the First Era, Volendrung was finally made famous when Clan Rourken did not want to join the First Council of Chimer and Dwemer.
The Dwemer clan refused to stay with their people if it meant there had to be an alliance made with the Chimer who were their enemies. With this in mind, the Chieftain of Clan Rourken took Volendrung and promised to settle wherever the hammer would land when he threw it and so he did and it landed in Volenfell which is in Hammerfell, or Alik’r Desert.
Now for an unknown reason, as no two people agree why, possibly a second Volendrung has become a daedric artifact of Malacath and Sheogorath has brought it to the Three Banner’s War to add chaos and turn the tide of the war in the Second Era.
Volendrung Achievements
You can obtain two achievements associated with Volendrung which will unlock the furnishing item Volendrung from the Achievement vendor in your Alliance base.
- Volendrung Wielder: Kill someone with Volendrung in Cyrodiil.
- Volendrung Vanquisher: Kill someone who wields Volendrung in Cyrodiil.
Spawn Locations and Times
Volendrung will spawn usually every 6-7 hours, the timer seems to start when the last time it was active and it went back to Oblivion. Until then, a player will wield it and can drop it upon death up to around four times before it returns, or after thirty minutes only one person can wield it and when they drop it upon death, it will be returned to Oblivion.
The Hammer of Might will usually spawn at one of the locations along the border Keeps of each Alliance, varying throughout the day, usually not the same place twice. After ten minutes if nobody has found the hammer, an announcement will say “Volendrung is revealed” and a white icon of the hammer on the map will display, and now it is a mad dash between the Alliances to grab Volendrung.

A Hammer To Be Fed
To wield the hammer means to feed it with kills or by destroying enemy structures. The longer one person wields the hammer, the harder it becomes to feed it which is why some people kill themselves to give it to another player, to extend the life of the hammer so to speak.
If possible first buff yourself and your allies with (4) Pariah’s Resolve, then to defeat players, use the first 3 abilities. (1) Rourken’s Rebuke an AOE damage and knock back/stun, (2) Malacath’s Vengeance is a single target damaging ability, (3) is Accursed Charge springs you forward to an enemy doing damage.
What To Do With Volendrung
If you find yourself with Volendrung and your Alliance doesn’t have Emperor, it is likely time to move for one of the inner keeps. Undoubtedly you will be chased but your Alliance members will be able to see you on the map and come to your aid (hopefully).
When you are at a Keep, use ability (5) Sundering Sweep to knock down walls and doors with ease. You may have to find the target able “sweet spot” on the walls of keeps, it’s not always easy to find, look for corners and posts. If all else fails, go to the door, it will come down very, very quickly.
If you find yourself alone you can kill other players but if you die the hammer will drop to the ground and Volendrung can be picked up by anyone nearby, even the other alliance and the tide may completely turn.
Sometimes, it is best to “feed it to the fishes” and jump in the moat in the center of the map because of the slaughterfish. If nobody retrieves the hammer (which nobody will be able to), it will go back to where it originally spawned after 5 minutes, and the process can be repeated or it can spawn at a place more protected or even back to Oblivion if it has been the minimum of 30 minutes.
It will be handy to have a sorcerer with you because they can use Negate “bombers” with the Dark Convergence set equipped.
Traveling with Volendrung
It is possible to get somewhere in a hurry with the hammer, you can use transitus shrines or mount up on your horse or even use keep recall stones while wielding the Volendrung. The only thing you cannot do is enter stealth. You will also be seen at all times on the map, an icon of the hammer will change color depending on which Alliance wields it.

Volendrung’s Abilities
Every ability costs no resources except for the ultimate (250 ultimate) and is an instant cast.
Ability | Use | Radius | Duration |
Rourken’s Rebuke | Batter foes in an arc in front of you, dealing 7500 Physical Damage, knocking enemies back 4 meters, and stunning them for 3.5 seconds. | 8 meters | 3.5 seconds |
Malacath’s Vengeance | Swing Volendrung in a mighty downward blow, dealing 10500 Physical Damage to a single target. | 12 meters | – |
Accursed Charge | Spring across the battlefield to smash an enemy, dealing 8000 Physical Damage. | 28 meters | – |
Pariah’s Resolve | Channel Volendrung’s power to grant Major Brutality, Major Endurance, and Major Expedition to you and nearby group members for 20 seconds, increasing your Weapon Damage and Stamina Recovery by 20% and your Movement Speed by 30%. Activating this ability removes all snares and immobilization from you. | 28 meters | 20 seconds |
Sundering Swing | Smash Volendrung into a structure, dealing 12000 Physical Damage every 0.8 seconds for 3 seconds. | 12 meters | 3 seconds |

The Ultimate
Ultimate Ability | Use | Radius | Duration |
Ruinous Cyclone | Turn into a living cyclone, dealing 7500 Physical damage every half-second for 7 seconds in an 8 meter radius while pulling enemies within 15 meters closer to you | 8-15 meters | 7 seconds |
Passive Abilities
Active all the time:
- Volendrung: When wielding Volendrung, your resource stats (Health, Stamina, Magicka) are increased and killing an enemy player will heal you for 21,398 Health
Chaos Magic Quest
To test Volendrung and learn how to use the hammer efficiently, talk to Sheograth in your Alliance’s base, he will offer the quest, Chaos Magic where you will enter into a portal and be able to use Volendrung. It’s a quick quest to complete and gives you a feel for the hammer’s abilities in case you can grab it when it’s active you will have an idea of how it works.