What is the best Monster Hunter Wilds Lance build? You might not think of the Lance as a defensive weapon, but it's one of the best weapons to protect yourself in MH Wilds. Paired with a large shield, most monsters have a tough time breaking through the defenses of a capable Lance .
If you're a hunter who prefers to play it safe, the Lance might be the perfect Monster Hunter Wilds compared to previous entries in the series, so here's everything you need to become a monster-slaying knight in shining armor.
Best Monster Hunter Wilds Lance build
The best build for the Lance is:
- Primary Weapon: Purifying Beaumains (Lance)
- Secondary Weapon: Assault Conga (Light Bowgun)
- Armor: Artian Helm A (Helm), Guardian Doshaguma Mail A (Chest), G. Ebony Braces (Arms), G. Ebony Coil B (Waist), Ajarakan Greaves A (Legs)
- Decorations: Shield Jewel, Guardian Jewel, Critical Eye, Tenderizer Jewel, Expert Jewel
- Talisman: Blessing Charm
- Mantle: Rocksteady Mantle
- Equipment Skills: Guard (Lv. 3), Opening Shot (Lv. 1), Special Ammo Boost (Lv. 1), Flayer (Lv. 1), Earplugs (Lv. 1), Constitution (Lv. 2), Iron Skin (Lv. 1), Burst (Lv. 2), Partbreaker (Lv. 2), Resentment (Lv. 1), Divine Blessing (Lv. 1)
Purifying Beaumains sits quite far along the Arkveld weapon tree, but there's no doubt it's worth the effort to craft. This formidable lance boasts high raw and dragon elemental damage, plus maxed-out Guard, a skill that reduces knockback and stamina depletion while guarding, making it indispensable as a defensive weapon.
The Lance has a long reach by design, but it's still a melee weapon with limited mobility. We've chosen the MH Wilds Light Bowgun as a secondary weapon to disengage from enemies, recover, and reposition. The Assault Conga offers rapid fire and utility via its ammo capacity for Recover Ammo, Paralysis Ammo, and Tranq Ammo. Its Opening Shot and Special Ammo Boost skills are nothing to write home about, but this blend of healing, crowd control, and monster capture capabilities makes this an excellent build for solo and co-op.
The MH Wilds Lance is lighter than its earlier counterparts, so you can overlook old favorites like Evade Window to invest in. Instead, we've gone on the offensive with the Flayer skill attached to Artian Helm A. The Ajarakan Greaves A also has Partbreaker and Resentment skills, bolstering your attack and ability to inflict grievous damage to a wounded monster.
The additional Burst from the G. Ebony Coil is less important than the G. Ebony armor set bonus itself, which extends Burst for longer rather than forcing you to overextend your attack strings for a higher buff. It also has additional decoration slots as you progress through the game. Naturally, the Lance benefits from the skills attached to Guardian Doshaguma Mail. Its Iron Skin skill protects against defensive debuff, whereas its Constitution skill cuts stamina depletion during blocks and evasion.
These armor and weapon skills are a solid foundation, but decorations make or break this Lance build. Invest in Shield Jewels to pair the Purifying Beaumains' Guard skill with Guard Up, a separate defensive skill that lets you block otherwise unblockable attacks. Equip a few Tenderizer Jewels to introduce the Weakness Exploit skill into the mix, boosting the affinity of your attacks when popping the wounds rendered by Flayer. Finally, you can't go wrong with Guardian Jewels and Expert Jewels, which take your attack and crit damage to the next level.
For the finishing touches to this Lance build, we've gone for the Rocksteady Mantle and Blessing Charm for the Divine Blessing's damage reduction to ensure you can soak up any hits that break through your defense.
How to use the Monster Hunter Wilds Lance
The Lance is considered a defensive weapon because most of its attacks can be performed while in a defensive stance. You don't have to commit yourself to every attack thanks to your handy shield, allowing you to perform thrusting attacks immediately after blocking. That's not to say there aren't unsafe moves with the Lance, but most players tend to play it safe by dealing damage using poking attacks from a safe distance.
In Wilds, the Lance's overall mobility has been improved while attacking, stopping you from being rooted to the ground during combat sequences. This should make the Lance a considerably more interesting to play as you're able to branch out from the standard three hit poke string seen in previous games. The Lance also has access to multiple guard-related moves and counters that make it possible to block a heavy attack and immediately follow up with a crushing blow.
You can separate yourself from the average Lance by learning to analyze each combat scenario, carefully identifying the right times to attack and defend. Once you identify a monster's attack pattern, it's up to you to use your range of guard and counter options to open up your opponent to deliver a lethal blow.
Thanks to Monster Hunter Wilds focus mode, the Lance can now be used to target specific areas, giving you a chance to attack a monster's wounds and weak points with either a shield bash or a thrust attack. A shield bash has the potential to stun a monster, creating an opportunity to go directly for a weak point using your Lance.
Monster Hunter Wilds Lance moveset
Here are all the moves and combos for the Lance:
- Triple Thrust: A thrust attack that can hit small targets. The attack can be chained up to three times and is compromised using Mid Thrust I, Mid Thrust II, and Mid Thrust III.
- Leaping Thrust: Lunge towards your opponent using a short hop in the air while thrusting your Lance forward. This attack can be followed up using a Wide Sweep.
- Wide Sweep: Cover lots of ground with a large, sweeping attack to hit tall and airborne enemies.
- High Thrust: A thrust attack that can hit tall targets. The attack can be chained up to four times and is compromised using High Thrust I, High Thrust II, High Thrust III, and Charge Counter.
- Charge Counter: A charged up upwards thrust that has the potential to counter attacks from enemies.
- Guard Thrust: While your shield is currently active, attack using a thrusting attack to poke at your opponent.
- Guard Dash: Run forward with your shield held out to bash enemies in your path.
- Payback Thrust: Perform this attack immediately after a successful block to produce a lunging attack that targets tall enemies.
- Guard Follow-Up: After landing a successful guard, follow up with a quick thrust attack.
- Focus Strike – Victory Thrust: Lunge towards your opponent using your shield, then switch to your Lance as you attack your enemy using a string of thrust attacks.
- Dash Attack: Run in a straight line with your Lance out, dealing more damage the longer you run for. This attack can be followed up using Finishing Thrust, or run in the opposite direction with Reverse Attack.
- Finishing Thrust: End your Dash Attack with one final thrust.
Now that you're rocking the best Lance build, put it to the test against the toughest Monster Hunter Wilds review to find out how this open-world sequel compares to previous entries in the series.