Hey guys! Ready to become an unstoppable wall and a piercing spear in Monster Hunter Rise? The Lance is your weapon of choice, offering incredible defense and surprisingly potent offense. But to truly shine, you need the right build. Let’s dive into some of the best Lance builds in Monster Hunter Rise, covering early game, late game, and specific playstyles. Get ready to become a true Lancemaster!

Understanding the Lance

Before we jump into specific builds, let's quickly cover what makes the Lance so unique. The Lance is all about controlled aggression. You're not going to be zipping around the arena like some Dual Blades user. Instead, you'll be methodically closing the distance, guarding against attacks, and poking the monster with precision. Key to mastering the Lance is understanding its core mechanics:

• Guarding: The Lance boasts the strongest shield in the game. Learn to Guard, Guard Advance, and even utilize the Guard Dash to maintain pressure and reposition effectively.
• Poking: The Lance's primary attacks are precise thrusts. Master the High Thrust, Mid Thrust, and Wide Sweep to target weak points and keep the pressure on.
• Counter-Attacking: The Lance excels at punishing monster attacks. The Counter-Thrust and Power Guard are your best friends, allowing you to turn the monster's aggression against it.
• Silkbind Attacks: Monster Hunter Rise introduced Silkbind attacks, adding a new layer of versatility to the Lance. Consider which Silkbind attacks work best with your play style. Spiral Thrust and Anchor Rage are popular choices for damage and utility, respectively.

Early Game Lance Build

In the early stages of Monster Hunter Rise, your options are limited, but you can still create a solid Lance build to carry you through the initial hunts. The key here is to prioritize defense and skills that boost your survivability. This will allow you to learn the Lance's moveset and get comfortable with its playstyle without getting carted every five minutes.

For the weapon, focus on raw damage and decent sharpness. The Ore Lance or Bone Lance are solid choices early on, as they are relatively easy to upgrade. As you progress, consider upgrading to the Kamura Lance for its balanced stats and easy accessibility. The most important thing is to upgrade your weapon as much as possible to maximize your damage output.

For armor, aim for pieces that provide Guard and Constitution. These skills will significantly improve your survivability and allow you to block more attacks without losing stamina. Here's a sample early game armor set:

• Head: Leather Headgear (Defense Boost)
• Chest: Bone Mail (Defense Boost)
• Arms: Bone Vambraces (Attack Boost)
• Waist: Hunter Coil (Defense Boost)
• Legs: Hunter Greaves (Defense Boost)

This set prioritizes Defense Boost, which will reduce the damage you take from monster attacks. As you progress, you can swap out pieces for armor with Guard and Constitution skills. Experiment with different combinations to find what works best for you.

For decorations, prioritize Defense Jewels if you have any slots available. These will further increase your defense and make you even more durable. Alternatively, Attack Jewels can help boost your damage output.

Late Game Lance Builds

Once you reach the late game, you'll have access to a wider variety of weapons, armor, and decorations. This allows you to create specialized Lance builds tailored to specific playstyles and monster matchups. Here are a few popular late game Lance builds:

Offensive Powerhouse Build

This build focuses on maximizing your damage output while maintaining decent survivability. It's perfect for players who want to deal significant damage while still being able to tank hits. The key skills for this build are Attack Boost, Critical Eye, Weakness Exploit, and Critical Boost. These skills will increase your attack power, critical hit rate, and critical hit damage.

• Weapon: Rampage Lance S with Attack Surge, Affinity Surge, and Sharpness Type 1. This allows you to customize the Lance to your liking and maximize its damage potential.
• Head: Kaiser Crown (Critical Eye)
• Chest: Rathalos Mail S (Weakness Exploit)
• Arms: Kaiser Vambraces (Critical Eye)
• Waist: Anjanath Coil S (Attack Boost)
• Legs: Rakna-Kadaki Greaves (Critical Boost)
• Charm: Weakness Exploit or Attack Boost charm

This set provides a good balance of attack power, critical hit rate, and critical hit damage. The Weakness Exploit skill is particularly important, as it increases your affinity when hitting a monster's weak points. The Critical Boost skill further increases your damage output when you land a critical hit.

For decorations, prioritize Attack Jewels, Critical Eye Jewels, Weakness Exploit Jewels, and Critical Boost Jewels. You can also add Guard Jewels to improve your blocking ability.

Guard Tank Build

This build focuses on maximizing your defense and survivability. It's perfect for players who want to be an unmovable wall that can withstand even the most powerful monster attacks. The key skills for this build are Guard, Guard Up, Constitution, and Offensive Guard. These skills will reduce the amount of chip damage you take when blocking, allow you to block unblockable attacks, reduce stamina consumption when guarding, and increase your attack power after a successful guard.

• Weapon: Daora's Janah with Razor Sharp. This Lance has high defense and good ice element.
• Head: Bazel Helm (Guard)
• Chest: Vaik Mail S (Guard)
• Arms: Almudron Vambraces S (Guard Up)
• Waist: Anjanath Coil S (Attack Boost)
• Legs: Ingot Greaves S (Constitution)
• Charm: Guard or Constitution charm

This set provides maximum guard capabilities. Guard will drastically reduce chip damage when blocking and allows easier counters, Guard Up enables you to block normally unblockable attacks, and Constitution reduces the amount of stamina depleted when guarding.

For decorations, focus on Guard Jewels, Guard Up Jewels, Constitution Jewels, and Offensive Guard Jewels.

Elemental Lance Build

This build focuses on exploiting monster weaknesses by using elemental damage. It's perfect for players who want to deal consistent damage and take advantage of elemental matchups. The key skills for this build are Element Attack Up, Critical Element, and Weakness Exploit. These skills will increase your elemental damage, increase your critical hit damage with elemental weapons, and increase your affinity when hitting a monster's weak points.

For the weapon, choose a Lance with high elemental damage that matches the monster's weakness. For example, if you're fighting a Rathalos, use a water element Lance. Some popular elemental Lances include:

• Water: Royal Ludroth Lance
• Fire: Rathalos Lance
• Thunder: Zinogre Lance
• Ice: Daora's Janah
• Dragon: Valstrax Lance

For armor, aim for pieces that provide Element Attack Up and Critical Element. Here's a sample elemental Lance armor set:

• Head: Rathalos Helm S (Fire Attack)
• Chest: Zinogre Mail S (Thunder Attack)
• Arms: Anja Vambraces S (Fire Attack)
• Waist: Mizuha Coil S (Water Attack)
• Legs: Ingot Greaves S (Ice Attack)
• Charm: Element Attack Up charm

This set provides a significant boost to your elemental damage. The Critical Element skill further increases your damage output when you land a critical hit with an elemental weapon.

For decorations, prioritize Element Attack Jewels, Critical Element Jewels, and Weakness Exploit Jewels. You can also add Critical Eye Jewels to increase your affinity.

Essential Skills for Lance Builds

Regardless of your specific build, there are a few essential skills that every Lance user should prioritize. These skills will significantly improve your survivability, damage output, and overall gameplay experience.

• Guard: Reduces the amount of chip damage you take when blocking. Essential for surviving powerful monster attacks.
• Guard Up: Allows you to block unblockable attacks, such as Teostra's supernova or Rajang's beam. Crucial for surviving certain monster encounters.
• Constitution: Reduces stamina consumption when guarding, dodging, and using Silkbind attacks. Allows you to maintain pressure and stay in the fight longer.
• Offensive Guard: Increases your attack power after a successful guard. Rewards aggressive play and allows you to punish monster attacks.
• Weakness Exploit: Increases your affinity when hitting a monster's weak points. Essential for maximizing your damage output.
• Critical Eye: Increases your affinity. A great way to boost your overall damage output.
• Critical Boost: Increases your critical hit damage. Further enhances your damage output when you land a critical hit.
• Attack Boost: Increases your attack power. A straightforward way to boost your overall damage output.

Lance Silkbind Attacks

Monster Hunter Rise introduced Silkbind attacks, adding a new layer of versatility to the Lance. Here are a few of the most useful Silkbind attacks for the Lance:

• Spiral Thrust: A powerful forward thrust that deals significant damage. Great for closing the distance and punishing monster openings.
• Anchor Rage: A counter-attack that increases your attack power based on the strength of the incoming attack. Rewards precise timing and allows you to turn the monster's aggression against it.
• Shield Charge: A forward charge that allows you to close the distance quickly and deal stun damage. Useful for repositioning and setting up follow-up attacks.

Tips and Tricks for Lance Users

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you become a master Lance user:

• Practice your timing: The Lance is all about precise timing. Practice your guards, counters, and Silkbind attacks to maximize their effectiveness.
• Learn monster attack patterns: Knowing when to guard, dodge, or counter is crucial for surviving tough encounters. Study monster attack patterns and learn how to react accordingly.
• Use Guard Advance to reposition: The Guard Advance is a powerful tool for repositioning and maintaining pressure. Use it to close the distance, evade attacks, and set up follow-up attacks.
• Don't be afraid to block: The Lance has the strongest shield in the game. Don't be afraid to block attacks, even if they seem unblockable. With the right skills, you can tank almost anything.
• Experiment with different builds: There are many different ways to play the Lance. Experiment with different builds to find what works best for you and your playstyle.

Final Thoughts

The Lance is a powerful and versatile weapon that can be used to conquer any monster in Monster Hunter Rise. By understanding its core mechanics, mastering its skills, and creating the right build, you can become an unstoppable force on the battlefield. So grab your Lance, sharpen your skills, and get ready to hunt! Happy hunting, guys! Remember to experiment and find what works best for your personal playstyle. The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the thrill of the hunt!