This is a guide about the best skills for Lances. Read on to know which skills to look out for when making a Lance build and why.

Offensive Skills

Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit

Affinity skills are great ways in increasing the overall damage of a weapon.

Weakness Exploit, in particular, pairs very well with the Lance due to its efficiency in abusing a monster's weak spots.

Agitator

The introduction of the Clutch Claw made the Agitator Skill a community staple when making builds. When active, Agitator grants hunters +20 attack and affinity by 10% at level five. (levels six and seven are unlocked via the Agitator Secret Skill.)

The Clutch Claw, specifically its Flinch Shot Attack, gave hunters the ability to enrage the monster whenever the opportunity presents itself. This gave hunters a way to maintain their Agitator's up-time.

Partbreaker

Lances are efficient part-breaking weapons! Partbreaker increases Part Damage by 30% at level three is a perfect compliment to the Lance's accuracy and playstyle.

Partbreaker's damage increase does NOT reflect in floating damage numbers.

Elemental Attack Skills

Lances are great at exploiting a monster's elemental weakness. Hunters may invest in Elemental Attack Sklls (Fire Attack, Water Attack, Ice Attack, Thunder Attack, Dragon Attack) to increase their overall damage.

Attack Boost

Attack Boost may be outperformed by the other skills in this list, but it is always worthy of consideration when met with an abundance of vacant slots.

Defensive Skills

Guard

This is the most important skill in a Lance's build. Guard greatly reduces the impact of monster attacks and stamina cost when blocking at level five.

This allows hunters to stand their ground and remain in the thick of the fight in most scenarios.

Guard Up

Undoubtebly a favorite of blocking hunters. The Guard Up Skill allows hunters to block otherwise unblockable attacks from monsters.

Offensive Guard

This skill is recommended for hunters that like to turn their defense into offense. Offensive Guard increases a hunter's attack by 15% at level three after executing a perfectly-timed guard. The buff only lasts for a few seconds after impact.

This is particularly effective with Lances because they can parry monster attacks with ease.

Evade Extender

Evade Extender caters to hunters who want to improve the Lance's hops while unsheathed. This skill greatly increases the distance covered by dodge rolls and Lance hops at level three.

Health Boost

It never hurts to pump up one's HP! Health Boost increases a hunter's Health by 50 at level three, making it a solid addition to any build - especially early on in the game.

Utility Skills

Mind's Eye/Ballistics

Lance attacks can deflect off a monster's hide when thick enough. Hunters who find this an issue may add Mind's Eye/Ballistics to their builds.

Protective Polish

Hunters who have sharpness issues with their Lances can invest in Protective Polish. This skill applies a protective coating around the weapon after sharpening, preventing sharpness loss for a certain amount of time.

Speed Sharpening

Speed Sharpening is another skill to consider when facing sharpness issues with Lances. This skill removes three cycles of the sharpening animation at level three.

Monster Hunter World (MHW) Related Guides

All Skills

List of All Skills

Best Skills for Each Weapon

Recommendations for Other Weapons
Charge Blade	Dual Blades	Long Sword	Sword & Shield
Switch Axe	Insect Glaive	Hunting Horn	Great Sword
Lance	Gunlance	Hammer	Bow
Heavy Bowgun		Light Bowgun

Weapon Related Guides

Melee Weapons
Great Swords	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Great Sword for Each Element
	Best Great Sword for Iceborne
Long Swords	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Long Sword for Each Element
	Best Long Sword for Iceborne
Swords and Shields	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Sword and Shield for Each Element
	Best Sword and Shield for Iceborne
Dual Blades	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Dual Blades for Each Element
	Best Dual Blades for Iceborne
Hammers	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Hammer for Each Element
	Best Hammers for Iceborne
Hunting Horns	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Hunting Horn for Each Element
	Best Hunting Horn for Iceborne
	Hunting Horn Notes and Effects
Lances	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Lance for Each Element
	Best Lance for Iceborne
Gunlances	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Gunlance for Each Element
	Best Gunlance for Iceborne
Switch Axe	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Switch Axe for Each Element
	Best Switch Axe for Iceborne
Charge Blade	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Charge Blade for Each Element
	Best Charge Blades for Iceborne
Insect Glaive	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Insect Glaive for Each Element
	Best Insect Glaive for Iceborne

Kinsects
Kinsects	Kinsect Tree and Complete Kinsect List	Best and Recommended Kinsects

Ranged Weapons
Bows	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Bow for Each Element
Light Bowguns	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Light Bowgun for Each Element
Heavy Bowguns	Trees & Full List	How to Use
	Overall Best List	Best Skills
	Layered Weapon Augments
	Best Heavy Bowgun for Each Element