Monster Hunter Wilds

Lance Weapon Guide and Best Combos

Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough Team

Last updated on: August 12, 2025 10:12 PM

MH Wilds - Lance Guide
The Lance is a defensive powerhouse that can block a multitude of attacks from the monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds. See all the new moves for the Lance, its mechanics, controls, best combos, advanced tips, and how good it is!

Lance Guides
Weapon Guide	Builds	Tree

List of Contents

Balance Adjustment
Mechanics
Controls
Recommended Combos
Advanced Tips
How Good is the Lance?
Related Guides

Lance Balance Adjustment

Lance Update Ver 1.021

Lance Changes
・(Buff) Damage taken while in Power Guard has been further reduced. ・(Buff) Raw damage and elemental scaling for Retribution Thrust following a Perfect Guard have been increased. ・(Buff) Wide Sweep, Reverse Attack, Finishing Thrust, Finishing Twin Thrust, and Counter Rush raw damage and elemental scaling have been increased. ・(Buff) Charge Counter can now be chained into after a Perfect Guard or Guards with minimal knockback. ・(Buff) Elemental scaling for Return Thrust, Mid Thrust I, II, III, and Triple Thrust have been increased. ・(Buff) Payback Thrust, Grand Retribution Thrust, and High Thrust I, II, III raw damage have been increased. ・(Buff) The hitbox for Retribution Thrust has been enlarged. ・(Buff) Extended the distance traveled when inputting a direction with Leaping Thrust, Return Thrust, and Payback Thrust. ・(Buff) Adjusted the transition from Wide Sweep into Mid Thrust, High Thrust, and Dash Attack to be quicker. ・(Buff) The amount of weapon sharpness consumed when performing a Focus Strike: Victory Thrust was reduced. ・(Buff) After winning a Power Clash, you can now follow up with Return Thrust, Payback Thrust, or Retribution Thrust. ・(Fixed) Fixed an issue where certain attacks hitting the opposite direction the player is facing during a Power Guard would not correctly transition into a Stalwart Guard. ・(Fixed) Fixed an issue where guarding while moving would not properly block attacks.

Lance Changes

・(Buff) Damage taken while in Power Guard has been further reduced.
・(Buff) Raw damage and elemental scaling for Retribution Thrust following a Perfect Guard have been increased.
・(Buff) Wide Sweep, Reverse Attack, Finishing Thrust, Finishing Twin Thrust, and Counter Rush raw damage and elemental scaling have been increased.
・(Buff) Charge Counter can now be chained into after a Perfect Guard or Guards with minimal knockback.
・(Buff) Elemental scaling for Return Thrust, Mid Thrust I, II, III, and Triple Thrust have been increased.
・(Buff) Payback Thrust, Grand Retribution Thrust, and High Thrust I, II, III raw damage have been increased.
・(Buff) The hitbox for Retribution Thrust has been enlarged.
・(Buff) Extended the distance traveled when inputting a direction with Leaping Thrust, Return Thrust, and Payback Thrust.
・(Buff) Adjusted the transition from Wide Sweep into Mid Thrust, High Thrust, and Dash Attack to be quicker.
・(Buff) The amount of weapon sharpness consumed when performing a Focus Strike: Victory Thrust was reduced.
・(Buff) After winning a Power Clash, you can now follow up with Return Thrust, Payback Thrust, or Retribution Thrust.
・(Fixed) Fixed an issue where certain attacks hitting the opposite direction the player is facing during a Power Guard would not correctly transition into a Stalwart Guard.
・(Fixed) Fixed an issue where guarding while moving would not properly block attacks.

The Lance received several weapon changes for Update Ver. 1.021 on August 13, 2025 (UTC). This covers buffs to Power Guard, Retribution Thrusts, several other counters, and several other moves. This also covers fixes for certain moves.

All Weapon Changes

Lance Mechanics

Lance Mechanics
Fight Using Thrusts and Counters Dash Attacks to Close the Gap Know the Different Guard Types Use Payback Thrust After Guard Moves Charge Counter Charges Faster Against Powerful Attacks Charge Counter Can Be Chained From Any Move Triple Thrust After All Thrust Attacks Pop Wounds with Focus Strike: Victory Thrust

Fight Using Thrusts and Counters

The Lance is one of the premier defensive weapons in the game, with greater focus on guarding hits and executing counters while staying infront of the monsters most of the time.

The balance between defense and offense if the Lance's greatest asset, making sure that you are dealing consistent damage throughout the fight with minimal downtime.

Dash Attacks to Close the Gap

As mentioned above, the Lance should always be infront of the monster, so closing the gap between you and the monster is a skill that all Lance player should know. Thankfully, the Lance has a lot of moves that closes the gap between you and the monster so you can always be on their faces.

Know the Different Guard Types

PS5

XBOX

Input
Guard
Power Guard	+
Perfect Guard	(in time with the monster's attacks)

Input
Guard
Power Guard	+
Perfect Guard	(in time with the monster's attacks)

Input
Guard
Power Guard	+
Perfect Guard	(in time with the monster's attacks)

When you're using a Lance, you should familiarize yourself with the different Guards it can perform so you know which one to use in the heat of battle. Mastering the different Guard types is the key to a strong Lance player.

The Guard and the Perfect Guard are your main defensive moves, with the Perfect Guard basically acting like a shield parry enabling higher damage shield bash after the move. The Power Guard, on the other hand, empowers your shield enabling you to guard moves that were unguardable by the two previous Guard types.

Use Payback Thrust After Guard Moves

Payback Thrust is a high damage move that you can follow up after certain guard moves: Charge Counter, Perfect Guard, and Power Guard. Payback Thrust is a high damage move, which can then be followed up with a Triple Thrust for maximum damage! This improves the overall counterattack capabilities of the Lance!

Charge Counter Charges Faster Against Powerful Attacks

Charge Counter charages faster if it counters a more powerful monster attack, making it a lot easier to reach maximum charge and deal the biggest damage possible.

Charge Counter Can Be Chained From Any Move

Charge Counter can also now be chained from any move in the Lance's moveset making it a great way to counter monsters that can be easily telegraphed. It is much smoother to counter because of it!

Triple Thrust After All Thrust Attacks

PS5

XBOX

Input
Mid / High Thrust III ▶︎

Move Input
Mid / High Thrust III ▶︎

Input
Mid / High Thrust III ▶︎

At the end of the bread-and-butter thrust attack chain, the Lance in MHWilds receives a new triple thrust move that unleashes three swift pokes in a short time.

Pop Wounds with Focus Strike: Victory Thrust

PS5

XBOX

Input
+

Move Input
+

Input
+

Whenever a monster has been wounded, you can use this attack to deal extra damage to it with your shield. Hitting a wound with this attack will also start a shield dash attack that deals tick damage that culminates into a quadruple thrust attack.

As of Title Update 2, Focus Strike: Victory Thrust can be chained into a Charge Counter.

Lance Controls

Basic Controls

PS5

XBOX

Input
Mid Thrust
High Thrust
Leaping Thrust	+
Wide Sweep	During Combo +
Guard ▼ Guard Dash ▼ Shield Attack	▼ + + ▼
Power Guard	+
Dash Attack ▼ Dash Step/Turn ▼ Finishing Thrust	+ + ▼ + ▼ /
Return Thrust	After Successful Guard
Payback Thrust	After Successful Guard
Focus Strike: Victory Thrust	+

Input
Mid Thrust
High Thrust
Leaping Thrust	+
Wide Sweep	During Combo +
Guard ▼ Guard Dash ▼ Shield Attack	▼ + + ▼
Power Guard	+
Dash Attack ▼ Dash Step/Turn ▼ Finishing Thrust	+ + ▼ + ▼ /
Return Thrust	After Successful Guard
Payback Thrust	After Successful Guard
Focus Strike: Victory Thrust	+

Input
Mid Thrust
High Thrust
Leaping Thrust	+
Wide Sweep	During Combo +
Guard ▼ Guard Dash ▼ Shield Attack	▼ + + ▼
Power Guard	+
Dash Attack ▼ Dash Step/Turn ▼ Finishing Thrust	+ + ▼ + ▼ /
Return Thrust	After Successful Guard
Payback Thrust	After Successful Guard
Focus Strike: Victory Thrust	+

Recommended Lance Combos

Lance Combos
Guard Dash Gap Closer Combo Triple Poke to Triple Thrust Counter Double Thrust to Leaping Thrust Monster Down Combo Loop Multihit Dash Combo

Guard Dash Gap Closer Combo

PS5

XBOX

Combo Input
With the Lance unsheathed: → + → → → →

Combo Input
With the Lance unsheathed: → + → → → →

Combo Input
With the Lance unsheathed: → + → → → →

This combo ensures that you are closing the gap on the monster whenever it tries to reposition itself. This will be your main repositioning combo whenever you are fighting. This will be your default bread-and-butter move that also showcases the Lance's mobility.

This is also the a good way to get to Triple Thrust which translates to a better DPS than the Bread-and-Butter combo above. You run the risk of overshooting whenever you Guard Dash though, so be careful.

Triple Poke to Triple Thrust

PS5

XBOX

Mid-Thrust Combo
→ → →
High-Thrust Combo
→ → →

Mid-Thrust Combo
▶︎ ▶︎ ▶︎
High-Thrust Combo
→ → →

Mid-Thrust Combo
▶︎ ▶︎ ▶︎
High-Thrust Combo
→ → →

This is one of the standard combo that you'll use in most situations when against monsters. Make sure to finish the combo with the triple thrust as it provides the most damage in the combo.

Counter Double Thrust to Leaping Thrust

PS5

XBOX

Combo Input
(Hold, then release in time with attack) ↓ +

Combo Input
(Hold, then release in time with attack) ↓ +

Combo Input
(Hold, then release in time with attack) ↓ +

When you are able to telegraph a monster's attack and is able to use a Charge Counter, we suggest following it up with the Counter Double Thrust and a Leaping Thrust. Also, since the combo ends with a Leaping Thrust, you can then follow it up with a Mid/High Thrust II and get to the high damage Triple Thrust move quickly.

Note that Charge Counter is accessed only after the three basic poke combo of the Lance. It is not accessible on the fly.

Monster Down Combo Loop

PS5

XBOX

Combo Input
+ → + → → (repeat)

Combo Input
+ → + → → (repeat)

Combo Input
+ → + → → (repeat)

This combo incorporates two of the high damaging moves of the Lance: the Wide Sweep and the Triple Thrust. This combo is perfect when a monster is down.

You can also easily loop this combo because you can execute a Leaping Thrust after the final Triple Thrust. The loop starts over if the monster is down for an extended period of time.

Multihit Dash Combo

PS5

XBOX

Combo Input
With weapon unsheathed: + + → or (repeat)

Combo Input
With weapon unsheathed: + + → or (repeat)

Combo Input
With weapon unsheathed: + + → or (repeat)

This combo makes use of the multiple hits from the dash attack while finishing it off with a Twin Thrust.

This cannot be looped however, as you'll need to wind up your dash again but it's a good option especially when a monster is fleeing.

Lance Advanced Tips

Lance Combos
Use Lure Pods to Take the Enemy's Aggro Learn the Difference Between Mid and High Thrusts Mid and High Thrusts Share Combo Counter Use Dash Attacks to Catch Up to a Monster Guards Have Chip Damage Guard While Repositioning with Guard Dash Use the Lance to Stun Monsters!

Use Lure Pods to Take the Enemy's Aggro

As a Lance player, you'd always want to get the attention of the monster. This not only helps your non-shield bearing teammates, but it also enables you to hit your counterattacks more frequently.

In MH Wilds, Lure Pods essentially calls the attention of the monster to attack you. Make sure to use this item when in squad to keep the monster's aggro to you.

Learn the Difference Between Mid and High Thrusts

MH Wilds - Use High Thrust for Flying Monsters

As a Lance player, you should learn to adjust your usage of High Thrust and Mid Thrusts depending on the situation. Low Thrusts have a more horizontal angle for general use while High Thrusts hit at a higher angle for flying or tall enemies.

Mid and High Thrusts Share Combo Counter

The Lance's poke combo will always have three thrusts in it, while finishing it up with a Triple Thrust. Note that you can interchange Mid and High Thrusts in the three combo count and it will not reset. Do this to adjust your attack angle or reach as needed.

Use Dash Attacks to Catch Up to a Monster

The Lance has a move that enables it to dash towards a direction with the weapon in front. This is extremely effective when used against fleeing monsters, dealing damage while the AI is telling the monster to escape.

Still, if the monster is going to a relatively farther area, use your Seikret instead. Only use this tip if the monster is only repositioning to a nearby area.

Guards Have Chip Damage

When playing Lance, always remember that guarding does not negate all damage. Depending on the move, you may suffer from chip damage which can accumulate over time if you're not aware.

Guard While Repositioning with Guard Dash

Guard Dash is one of the most versatile move by the Lance which enables Hunters to reposition while blocking any attacks in front. Use this when you want to reposition in the middle of a monster's attack.

Use the Lance to Stun Monsters!

The Lance has access to a few moves that deal Stun Damage. Whenever you Guard or Perfect Guard, the Hunter will follow it up with a shield bash. In addition, the Lance also has access to another Shield Bash after a Guard Dash!

How Good is the Lance?

Tier List Ranking

Weapon Ranking

Damage Type	Entry Barrier	Difficulty to Master
Sever	Low	★★★★☆
Weaknesses and Strengths
Blend of Defense and Offense Easy to learn One of the safest weapon to use in the game Guard timings might be a bit challenging Low damage if combo is not optimal

Entry Barrier pertains to how easy it is to learn the weapon from scratch, while Difficulty to Master is a rating on how difficult it is to perfectly execute the weapon mechanics.

The Lance boasts a great balance of defense and offense, making sure Lance users are well protected via its trusty shield while being able to consistently deal damage while in front of the monster. In the current beta test, it can take on most of the monsters thanks to its array of counterattack options. In addition, it now has stun capabilities thanks to more access to shield bashes.

The Lance is a very easy weapon to get into, but really hard to master. Considering its playstyle revolves around counterattacking, it requires extensive monster knowledge to be able to effectively clear quests at a shorter time. It may look simple from the outside because of the repetitive combos, but a master with the Lance is a beauty to look at - capable of dishing damage while keeping themselves safe!

Best Weapon Type Tier List

Monster Hunter Wilds Related Guides

Monster Hunter Wilds - Weapons

All Weapons and Guides

All Weapon Guides

All Weapon Tutorials
Great Sword	Long Sword		Sword & Shield
Dual Blades	Hammer		Hunting Horn
Lance	Gunlance		Switch Axe
Charge Blade	Insect Glaive		Light Bowgun
Heavy Bowgun		Bow

All Weapon Trees

All Weapon Trees
Great Sword	Long Sword	Sword & Shield
Dual Blades	Hammer	Hunting Horn
Lance	Gunlance	Switch Axe
Charge Blade	Insect Glaive	Kinsects
Light Bowgun	Heavy Bowgun	Bow

Comment

Spuddel 23 days

Thanks, I was confused if they were talking about a different move than I was thinking of (and that I didn't know)

Anonymous 9 months

You haven't updated tis since the beta? The charge counter is currently available without having to combo into it.

Post (2 Comments)

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Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough Team

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Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Weapons
Lance Weapon Guide and Best Combos

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Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough & Guides Wiki

Quick Access

Lance Weapon Guide and Best Combos

Lance Balance Adjustment

Lance Update Ver 1.021

Lance Mechanics

Fight Using Thrusts and Counters

Dash Attacks to Close the Gap

Know the Different Guard Types

Use Payback Thrust After Guard Moves

Charge Counter Charges Faster Against Powerful Attacks

Charge Counter Can Be Chained From Any Move

Triple Thrust After All Thrust Attacks

Pop Wounds with Focus Strike: Victory Thrust

Lance Controls

Basic Controls

Recommended Lance Combos

Guard Dash Gap Closer Combo

Triple Poke to Triple Thrust

Counter Double Thrust to Leaping Thrust

Monster Down Combo Loop

Multihit Dash Combo

Lance Advanced Tips

Use Lure Pods to Take the Enemy's Aggro

Learn the Difference Between Mid and High Thrusts

Mid and High Thrusts Share Combo Counter

Use Dash Attacks to Catch Up to a Monster

Guards Have Chip Damage

Guard While Repositioning with Guard Dash

Use the Lance to Stun Monsters!

How Good is the Lance?

Tier List Ranking

Monster Hunter Wilds Related Guides

All Weapon Guides

All Weapon Trees

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