Lance Guide
Lance does not give ground. Keep the part at the point of the lance while tracking the monster's next attack, and continue a thrust string for as long as the opening lasts. When a hit is coming, choose a guard follow-up or prepare Charge Counter, then answer the attack and put the lance back on the same part instead of retreating.
This guide reflects Title Update 4. Complete weapon controls are in the in-game Hunter's Notes; the official manual entry point links to the current manual. Combat Mechanics explains why the same swing can deal different damage. Every move is listed in Motion Values.
If this weapon is new to you, try it in the Training Area first. Use the in-game Hunter's Notes to practice its basic attacks; this guide explains how to connect them into a hunt.
Guard, Clash, Charge Counter
Your default standing loop is Mid Thrust → Wide Sweep → Mid Thrust → Triple Thrust. Stop the string and guard when an incoming attack will connect first. A Perfect Guard avoids the normal knockback and immediately opens three thrust follow-ups. Use Return Thrust for the shortest opening, Payback Thrust 1 when there is time to reach a combo finisher, or Retribution Thrust 1 for the longest opening and the stronger counter. Holding the shield before the attack produces a normal guard and does not activate , which requires a precisely timed guard.
Guard Dash keeps the shield raised while you close the distance. Wide Sweep deals more motion value than an individual thrust, but its longer animation needs a larger opening. It is available during a thrust combo rather than from a neutral stance. If the sweep would be interrupted, keep the string short and hop or guard instead. Use High Thrust when the chosen part is above the point of the lance; use Mid Thrust when you can reach the part directly.
Power Guard continuously drains stamina while held. Enter it for a specific incoming attack or sequence, then leave it when the danger passes so the drain does not consume the stamina needed for the next defense.
A Power Clash starts only when you perform the required guard against a supported monster action. The Clash Finisher is therefore not available after every blocked hit.
After the third action in a thrust string, either finish with Triple Thrust or begin Charge Counter at its highest charge stage. Choose the counter only when an attack is approaching, then release it as that attack connects.
Use enough to prevent knockback from canceling your follow-up. lets the shield block certain attacks that are normally unblockable, but it does not prevent damage while guarding them.
Victory Thrust is the Focus Strike. The lance connects to a wound, deals several hits, and ends with a resolving thrust. The attack consumes the wound, so decide whether its immediate damage is worth giving up further attacks on that wound.
Your guard direction follows the shield's orientation, not the camera's.
Charge Counter
After the third action of a thrust combo, use Triple Thrust as the default finisher when no attack is approaching. When you see an attack coming, begin Charge Counter and release it as the attack connects. A timed release produces the two-hit Double Counter-thrust. Releasing without meeting an attack produces one Charge Counter thrust, while taking the hit before releasing produces the guarded follow-up instead. The counter's charge stage depends on how far you had progressed through the preceding combo; after its third action, the counter begins at the highest stage.
Fight loop
Use Mid Thrust → Wide Sweep → Mid Thrust → Triple Thrust when the opening can hold the whole sequence. Hop or use Guard Dash to put the point back on the chosen part. When a swing arrives, time a Perfect Guard, choose the follow-up that fits the opening, and resume the standing loop. Prepare Charge Counter instead of the finisher when its timed release can meet the incoming attack. A Power Clash is available only against supported monster actions, not after every blocked hit.
Early in the hunt, choose a reachable part and keep returning to it. When a wound opens there, use Victory Thrust if you want to consume it with a Focus Strike; otherwise, continue aiming thrusts at the wound.
When the monster is down, continue the standing thrust loop. Include Wide Sweep when the opening is long enough, and use Triple Thrust as the finisher instead of releasing Charge Counter without an incoming attack. The knockdown supplies the long opening that Wide Sweep needs, while no incoming hit is present to turn Charge Counter into its two-hit response.
Skills
Choose skills around what breaks your loop. If knockback prevents a counter, add . If chip damage or direct hits make holding position unsafe, upgrade armor and add defensive skills before more damage. Getting Started explains meals and pouch preparation. Combat Mechanics explains wounds and the two skill budgets. uses the weapon skill budget, while uses the armor skill budget.
Weapon skills
| Offensive (weapon) | Why |
|---|---|
| Raises Attack after the precisely timed guards used throughout the counter loop. | |
| Reduces guard knockback and stamina loss. Add levels when a blocked attack prevents the follow-up you intended to use. | |
| Raises physical critical-hit damage in proportion to the affinity the build actually has. | |
| and | Raise affinity and Attack; affinity above 100% has no effect. |
| Offensive (armor) | Why |
|---|---|
| Raises affinity while you keep attacking an eligible monster part. | |
| Raises Attack and affinity while the monster is enraged. |
| Defensive | Why |
|---|---|
| Armor upgrades | Upgrade armor when guarded chip damage or an unguarded hit makes the loop unsafe. |
| Has a chance to reduce incoming damage. | |
| Lv 3 | Prevents stun, including when you are hit before you can guard. |
| Lv 3 | Prevents elemental blights when resistance alone does not solve the matchup. |
Add in a group when reactions between hunters interrupt attacks. It has no teammate reactions to prevent when hunting alone.
The following skills are useful additions but are not required:
| Skill | Why | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Consecutive thrusts build its temporary Attack and elemental Attack bonuses. | Armor | |
| Raises Attack while health is full; chip damage disables it until that health is restored. | Armor | |
| Temporarily raises elemental Attack and status buildup after you recover from a blight or abnormal status. | Armor | |
| Adds affinity after its condition is met, so do not count that affinity as continuously active. | Armor | |
| Increases part damage and the damage of a Focus Strike that destroys a wound. | Armor | |
| Raises Attack and Defense after a faint; it helps recover a hunt rather than defining the build. | Armor |
Keep a color
Choose sharpness support when the lance drops a color before the monster gives you a practical chance to sharpen. A lower sharpness color reduces the damage of every thrust, so the useful choice is the one that keeps the current color through the part of the hunt between sharpening windows.
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
| Adds sharpness when the gauge is not already full. | |
| Gives critical hits a chance to consume no sharpness. | |
| Prevents sharpness loss for a fixed time after you sharpen. | |
| Gives each hit a chance to consume no sharpness. | |
| Shortens the sharpening sequence instead of extending the gauge. |
Utility
| Skill | Why |
|---|---|
| Increases the health restored when you heal. | |
| Shortens item-consumption time after you find a chance to sheathe. | |
| The red portion of the health bar returns faster. | |
| Adds Defense after the armor itself has been upgraded. | |
| Lets you survive one qualifying lethal hit; the next hit can still make you faint. | |
| Shortens the recharge time of mantles and other specialized tools. | |
| Prevents roars from interrupting attacks when you prefer to keep thrusting instead of guarding. | |
| Makes hops travel farther, which can also carry you away from the part you were attacking. | |
| Extends hop invulnerability; it does not change guard timing or strength. | |
| Reduces fixed stamina costs such as hops; it does not remove the need to manage stamina while guarding. | |
| Sometimes uses a consumable without removing it from the pouch. |
Damage style
Do not choose raw or element from the weapon's attack rhythm alone. Elemental damage depends on the target part and on how consistently the thrust loop can hit it.
| Style | Skills |
|---|---|
| Element | Add the matching elemental attack skill after confirming that the chosen part is susceptible to that element. |
This hunt
These skills answer particular monsters or hunt plans. Add one when its trigger will occur often enough to change how you hold position.
| Skill | When |
|---|---|
| Allows guards against ordinarily unblockable attacks and reduces their guarded damage. Use it only for a matchup that contains such attacks. | |
| Prevents tremors from interrupting the thrust loop. | |
| Prevents wind pressure from interrupting the thrust loop. | |
| Creates wounds more easily. On an eligible weak point, a wound also enables 's additional affinity. | |
| Raises Attack while an ailment is active. | |
| Improves flash attacks and items when the hunt plan relies on them. | |
| Raises explosive-item damage when the hunt plan uses bombs. | |
| Draws more monster attention as you attack, which can make guard and counter opportunities more predictable in a group. | |
| Reduces stamina depletion while health is at 40% or lower. Treat it as risk-dependent utility, not a reason to remain at low health. | |
| Preserves movement through water or oilsilt when short hops cannot clear the terrain. |
A hunt can also call for , , , , , or when the monster can inflict the matching status.
Skills that look better than they are
- Do not release Charge Counter without an incoming attack. Only a release timed to meet the attack produces the two-hit Double Counter-thrust.
- Simply holding guard does not activate ; the guard must be precisely timed.
- reduces deflections and raises damage against hard parts. It does not make every hard part a better target than an accessible weak point.
- does not increase a grounded poke.
- Do not attempt Power Clash against an attack that cannot start one.
- requires stamina to remain full for a period, while hops and guard actions spend stamina.
Settings
Use Focus Mode to aim Victory Thrust. Set automatic sheathe to Manual so the game does not sheathe the lance while you are holding position. Remember that guard direction follows the shield's orientation, not the camera's.
When you hard-lock on a flank to hold space, glance at the shield facing before a Power Guard. A camera that tracks the head while the shield still faces the body leaves the next chip or counter lined up on the wrong side of the hit.