The Lance is often an overlooked weapon in Monster Hunter, but many don’t realize that it offers insanely good offensive and defensive capabilities while being easy to use. However, the Lance is a skill-dependent weapon, requiring precision and mastery to reach its full potential. Here, I’ve crafted the best Lance builds and progression in Monster Hunter Wilds, from the start of the game to the endgame. Lance bros, unite!
This guide will be updated regularly along with future content!
Lance Gameplay and Combo
The Lance is the ultimate defender in Monster Hunter Wilds. But don’t be fooled by its appearance—it can dish out damage just as well as it can withstand attacks.
Lance gameplay revolves around wound-making, constant poking, and counterattacks using your shield. The most important factors to consider are positioning and timing.
Mid Thrust (MT) combo is faster than doing the High Thrust. In Wilds, the faster you hit, the better the damage, meaning the best combo is:
MT → MT → MT → Charge Counter. That’s it—just keep using this combo, and you’re good to go. You can also immediately transition into Charge Counter mid-combo and, if needed, follow up with Power Guard for quick repositioning.
The most satisfying move a Lance can perform is the Power Clash, where you perfectly time your shield to absorb a monster’s attack. This is a game-changing move in MH Wilds, and mastering it is essential.
With that in mind, let's dive into the best builds and progression!
Lance Low Rank Builds and Progression
There are no specific armor sets in Low Rank that provide the key skills Lance users need. Therefore, using basic armor is preferable, as it grants Divine Blessing, an essential defensive skill for beginners.
However, once you face G. Rathalos and G. Arkveld, you can start building up damage-oriented skills to enhance your offensive potential while still keeping your guard up.
Best Lances for Low Rank
- Albirath Tail I
- Rompo Piercer I
- G. Veldian Lancea I
- Barina Sarissa II
Once you have unlocked Barina Sarissa, it’s the best early-game Lance to equip. Its Paralyze status effect can greatly assist your hunts by immobilizing monsters for extra damage opportunities.
For progressing to High Rank, the best weapon choices are Albirath Tail I and G. Veldian Lancea I, as they provide solid damage and utility.
Lance High Rank Builds and Progression
HR 35+
After reaching HR 35, focus on upgrading your damage by switching to better weapons and charms. This will help you maximize your offensive potential and prepare for tougher hunts ahead.
You can choose the weapon based on the element you prefer. Each weapon type has its own advantages, whether it's elemental attack or status effects. Consider your playstyle and the monsters you are facing when making your choice.
Upgrade the armor set to 3-piece G Rathalos and 2-piece G Ebony to gain Weakness Exploit (WEX) and Burst Boost. This combination will significantly enhance your damage output, making it an excellent setup until you reach the endgame.
Lifesteal Build (Late High Rank)
Once you have reached the late game High Rank, and you prefer a safer approach rather than pure damage, consider using the Lifesteal build. This build utilizes the full G. Arkveld armor set, which grants passive healing if you attack the monster's wounds.
When combined with Flayer, you can consistently apply wounds while maintaining high survivability, making you a relentless frontline fighter who never backs down.
Best Lances for High Rank
- Albirath Tail II
- Rompo Piercer II
- G. Veldian Lancea II
- Rey Indra II
- Eiferschild I
Lance Best Endgame Builds
After HR 40, Lance truly shines. However, be prepared to farm a lot of decorations and Artian weapons to maximize its potential.
Lance Endgame 4-Gore Para Crit Build
Paralysis is incredibly strong in Monster Hunter Wilds right now. With this build, you can paralyze a monster more than three times per hunt, creating huge openings for you and your party to unleash devastating damage.
The 4-piece Gore armor is the core of this build, granting Black Eclipse II, which provides 25% affinity with Antivirus. When combined with Weakness Exploit (WEX) and Max Might, this setup ensures high critical hit chances.
Flayer and Burst are like Truffle du Conga—extra toppings, so to speak. Even at level one, they help boost your overall damage.
Finally, Master’s Touch is essential to maintain white sharpness throughout the fight—at least until the monster runs away.
For the Skyscraper, use the Paralyze status with 3 Attack Infusions. Later, reinforce it with 4 Attack + 1 Sharpness to achieve optimal results, maximizing both damage and sharpness sustainability.
Lance Endgame Elemental Burst Build
Personally, I love playing this Elemental Burst build. The elemental crit procs are constant and deal huge damage. You can swap weapons to match the proper elemental matchups. For jewel slots, focus on Critical Element and elemental damage boosts, though you might lose Offensive Guard in the process.
Burst further enhances both raw and elemental damage, making it insanely strong in the current meta.
Lance Endgame Burst Build
Lance can constantly hit the monster without backing away, making Burst a perfect endgame skill. When combined with Offensive Guard and Guard Up, you gain even more damage boosts whenever you time your guard correctly, which happens frequently due to the many Guard Point moments Lance provides.
Critical Boost is a bonus skill that requires a Level 3 Jewel. If you don’t have it, you can swap it for Guard or any other Level 3 decoration that suits your playstyle.
Skyscraper offers the beautiful three Level 3 decoration slots, allowing for incredible customization. This weapon is undoubtedly one of the top choices for the endgame.
Lance Endgame Agitator Build
This endgame build's bread and butter is the Agitator skill, which has remained meta since previous Monster Hunter titles. Monsters will spend more time enraged than not, so being aggressive while they are angry is one of the best ways to hunt.
Offensive Guard, Guard Up, and WEX are crucial skills that a Lance must fully invest in this build. Skyscraper is mandatory for the jewel slots. Burst Level 1 provides an extra damage boost, so it’s never a bad idea to slip in a little Burst whenever possible.
For Skyscraper, status buildup like Paralyze and Blast is optimal for this build.
Best Lances for Endgame
- Skyscraper
- Fieberschild
- Indra Clairlance
- Shining Pillar
- Windpierce Tsukibami
While the Agitator build is one of the meta options, the Burst build personally feels like it deals more damage. The 4-Gore build, however, is the highest damage-dealing Lance build right now. Nevertheless, it ultimately comes down to your playstyle and which build suits you better.
That's everything you need to know about the best Lance builds in the current meta. We will update this page if there are any changes or new content. Once again, Lance bros, unite!
