In the sea of exotic and complex weapons in Monster Hunter: Rise, the Lance sticks out because of its simplicity. It's not about flashy combos or switching stances - fans have nicknamed the playstyle "the poke-poke-poke" for a reason. However, many veteran hunters swear by it. The Lance may seem like a dull weapon, but mastering it takes very good awareness and game knowledge.
The Lance is a weapon of extremes - amazing reach and defense, mediocre DPS, and frankly garbage mobility. Juggling it all can be frustrating when creating a build. There are a few different ways to approach it, but all ideal loadouts will crank up the weapon's defense and add helpful evasion boosts.
Lance Basics
Most hunters are drawn to the Lance for its overwhelming defense. It's true, the Lance has the best Guard by a few good miles. It also has a few excellent parry moves. The other big plus to the Lance is its reach. With a well-timed poke, it's possible to strike large monsters like Rathalos in the head while they're standing.
The Lance seems like a very simple weapon, but there's a hidden learning curve. It's one of the least mobile weapons in the game, and the damage output is pretty low. Precise positioning is required to get the most out of every Lance thrust, so players need to have very good knowledge of monster behavior and movements.
Best Skills For Lance
Hands down, the most important skill for the Lance is Guard. Even if an attack's damage is guarded, the hunter will suffer knockback and lose some stamina. The more levels they have in Guard, though, the less knockback there will be. Many pieces of armor offer Guard as well. The easiest ones to get are part of the Barroth set.
Another, rarer skill to look for is Weakness Exploit. The Lance's long reach lets it hit monsters' weak points with ease. Weakness Exploit increases the weapon's crit rate when striking weak points. Find it on high-rank Zinogre armor.
Which Switch Skills?
One of the Lance's Switch Skills is Shield Charge. It replaces the Dash Attack and has the added bonus of blocking. It doesn't last as long as Dash Attack, but it'll still do blunt damage to any monster in the way. Shield Charge can also lead into a Shield Bash to stun. Overall, it's better than Dash Attack.
The last Switch Skill unlocked is Insta-Block. Replacing Guard, this move is essentially a parry. Pressing zR with good timing allows the hunter to follow up with an attack of their own. Unlike the base Guard, it can't be held down. Insta-Block is a good pick for more aggressive playstyles, as well as very experienced players. It's not recommended for most - the original Guard is just too strong.
Best Low-Rank Armor
Barroth Coil
- Barroth Scalp x1
- Barroth Ridge x3
- Big Fin x2
Wroggi Helm
- Malachite Ore x2
- Great Wroggi Hide x3
- King's Beak x1
New players who want to maximize the Lance's power should go for Barroth armor ASAP. All of its skills work very well with the Lance's playstyle, and it's one of the earliest places to get Guard. The Coil is listed here because it's one of two pieces that give Guard, but equipping the whole set is an option.
The Wroggi Helm gives Evade Extender. This skill increases the distance of the Lance's side hops. That helps with the weapon's poor mobility a lot. Don't bother with the Wroggi Helm S - its second skill is only for Ranged weapons.
Best High-Rank Armor
Jyuratodus Helm
- Monster Keenbone x1
- Torrent Sac x1
- Jyuratodus Fang+ x3
- Jyuratodus Scale+ x4
Diablos Mail S
- Kestodon Carapace x2
- Majestic Horn x2
- Diablos Carapace x4
- Diablos Medulla x1
Both of these Armor pieces have the skill Offensive Guard. When a hunter perfectly guards an attack, they get a boost to their own damage for a short time. Since Lance players spend more time guarding than anyone else, they can get the most out of the skill.
The Jyuratodus Helm has Evade Extender, which, as stated before, helps with the Lance's mobility issues. Diablos S armor is very much geared toward a Guard-heavy style of play. Every piece in the set has Guard, Offensive Guard, or both. Equipping the whole set at once is tempting, but it's a bit overkill, especially with no Evade Extender.
Best Low-Rank Weapons
Iron Lance II
- Upgrade from Iron Lance I
- Icium x2
- Iron Ore x4
Kulu Spear II
- Upgrade from Kulu Spear I
- Monster Bone L x2
- Bishaten Fur x2
- Kulu-Ya-Ku Plume x2
- Kulu-Ya-Ku Materials x8 points
The Ore Tree is a new hunter's best friend. The materials are easy to find and don't require killing monsters. The Iron Lance will quickly find itself outclassed by monster weapons, but that's okay since it upgrades into several different trees. Try the Aknosom Lance for a good elemental starter weapon.
Next up is the Kulu Spear. Not only does this Lance have good attack power, but it has 15 affinity. That's huge for the early game. It won't be the hardest to get a hold of, either - Kulu-Ya-Ku is easy to hunt if you know how to approach it.
Best High-Rank Weapons
Rampart
- Upgrade from Paladin Lance II
- Novacrystal x1
- Fucium Ore x4
- Wyvern Gem x1
Kimi Ga Kiru
- Upgrade from Hana Mo Hana Nare II
- Almudron Claw + x2
- Elder Dragon Blood x3
- Mizutsune Water Orb x1
- Mizutsune + Materials x12 points
Rampart is the final weapon on the Ore tree, and it's just solid all around. With 190 Attack and useful Rampage Skills, it's hard to find a real weak point. However, it has no Affinity and no elemental damage, so it's outclassed by most endgame weapons.
Kimi Ga Kiru is the next step up. The final weapon of the Mizutsune tree boasts an Attack stat almost as good as Rampart, with 15 Affinity and better Sharpness to boot. Equip the Affinity Boost II Rampage Skill to really put it out there. It's especially effective against Magnamalo and other monsters weak to Water.
Best Solo Build
- Night Rains Black
- Jyuratodus Helm
- Diablos Mail S
- Basarios Vambraces S
- Nargacuga Coil S
- Remobra Feet S
Anyone playing high-rank online will see a lot of Nargacuga weapons, and for good reason. They all have insane levels of Affinity and are among the few weapons that go into white Sharpness. It's hard to go wrong with Night Rains Black for a non-elemental build.
This Armor loadout builds on the Lance's strengths while lessening its weak points. Guard and Evade Extender are here, of course, while Critical Eye and Weakness Exploit boost the hunter's Affinity even higher.