_ ___ __ __ __ _ | |/ (_) \ \ / / / _( ) | ' / _ _ __ __ _ \ \ / /__ _ __ | |_|/ ___ | < | | '_ \ / _` | \ \/ / _ \| '_ \| _| / __| | . \| | | | | (_| | \ / (_) | | | | | \__ \ |_|\_\_|_| |_|\__, | \/ \___/|_| |_|_| |___/ __/ | |___/ __ __ _ _ _ _ | \/ | | | | | | | | | | \ / | ___ _ __ ___| |_ ___ _ __ | |__| |_ _ _ __ | |_ ___ _ __ | |\/| |/ _ \| '_ \/ __| __/ _ \ '__| | __ | | | | '_ \| __/ _ \ '__| | | | | (_) | | | \__ \ || __/ | | | | | |_| | | | | || __/ | |_| |_|\___/|_| |_|___/\__\___|_| |_| |_|\__,_|_| |_|\__\___|_| Lance guide, thing... I guess... [introduction] Welcome to my first submitted FAQ. I have started writing FAQs before but I never felt they were necessary to upload, but now with the release of one of the most pimp MH titles to date i felt compelled, especially since the lance itself has gone from elitist prick 'master race' weapon to a more user friendly form with lots of newbies with misconceptions as to how it is to be used. i am no word smith, and while i have an extended vocabulary i often cut right to the point with as few words as possible, its a bad habit really. so get a drink, this guide may be rather dry. also, it is worth noting that the Monster Hunter community is rather chockablock full of misconceptions and outright falsehoods, so for safety's sake i have only included information that i can assure you is totally accurate from my extensible monster hunting career, and i make note of it when i mention something a little hazy. all in all do not treat MH like an incredibly complex game. it certainly is an incredibly complex game, but over thinking is very counter productive in this series. and this guide is only meant as a general layout of strategy, so feel free to reference it or disregard it at your discretion. i have been playing Monster Hunter since the first title hit store shelves back in September of '04, and i have not missed a Monster Hunter since. through imports and emulators i have played them all. i own a physical copy, all purchased new, of every game in the series that saw American soil, and a few imports of those that did not (thank you Playasia(tm)). i have probably well over 5 thousand hours of hunting clocked in that i can recall and check, way more than i believe to be healthy. and as far as 3 Ultimate is concerned, as of writing this guide i have just broken the 360 hour mark, not G rank yet though, I'm addicted to the grind. the vast majority of this time has been lancing, i am adept with every other weapon category in the game (to varying degrees) but once i picked up the lance in MH1 i never felt at home with any other weapon. i often pick up the longsword and switch axe, and the hunting horn holds a special place in my heart, but when something needs to die with surgical precision it gets the lance. i didn't mean to sound like a bragging dueche there, i'm just defending that i know what i'm talking about. too late to fix it now. this guide will skip some of the fluff, like basic controls, missions, and other game play whatnot that you will most certainly discover entirely on your own. and if i even include specific strategies for each monster it will be in a much later incarnation of the guide. i will also not include weapon trees or suggestions, as the wonderful folks over at gamefaqs already have some perfectly good weapon trees to ogle at. contact information will be included at the end of the guide. also the cheeky humor comes and goes, i wrote this over the course of a couple weeks. i personally find myself to be hilarious, you are not compelled to agree. and if i sound like a total butthole, it is because i kind of am sometimes. ---------- table of contents... [secA] lance traits [secB] lance drawbacks [secC] attack strategies [secD] shield bashing [secE] proper blocking [secF] counter attack? [secG] proper dodging [secH] underwater combat [secI] skill suggestions [secJ] what not to do, ever [secK] lance v gunlance? [sekL] afterwards, legal stuff, contact info ---------- [secA] so what can a lance do? it has the best block of any other weapon in the game, save for the gunlance which has equal blocking capabilities, though unlike the gunlance, the lance has better dodging. and do not forget this, you will be dodging with a lance nearly as much as blocking, and do not block for the sake of blocking, you won't accomplish anything by standing around recoiling from attacks. the shield is a privilege, a valuable resource, a good friend, a lover; do not abuse it or you will only get hurt, treat it well and it will save your life countless times. with enough practice, your DOT [damage over time] can be amazing, with enough grasp of the timing you are able to deliver very constant damage and long, neigh endless, combos. as far as what damage the lance does, i believe that the old belief still holds true; the lance deals cutting or bashing damage depending on which type of damage that particular part of that particular monster is weaker to [citation needed]. and do not forget that the lance is perfectly capable of cutting tails off, though it is tricky and for beginners it often requires tripping and trapping to pull off. the lance also keeps a nice balance of raw and element/ailment. you can use it for nice straight raw damage builds as well as potent elemental builds. the eternal middle ground that it shares with the gunlance make determining the right weapon for the right job easier in my opinion. the full emporium of attacks are as follows;\/ [controls are for 3DS, they should be identical for WiiU, but i don't own one yet so...] forward thrust [X] - a basic combo attack. a simple horizontal stab, not as effective as the upward thrust, but good for small enemies or other targets close to the ground that upward thrusting might go right over. this is the attack you deliver from the draw, and for some reason it appears that when attacking from the draw you have a little less sharpness than usual now. upward thrust [A] - a basic combo attack. a simple angled stab, like the forward thrust except with slightly higher damage per attack. this should be your most used attack, since it has good damage and is best for striking higher parts of a monster. wide swing [X + A, neutral stance] - a basic combo attack. a sweep with the lance that covers a semicircle in front of the user. this attack is lame, it has wimpy damage and takes too long to execute. it is only good for knocking minions out from in front of you, and at this it excels, kinda. in previous games the only way to get away from minions was to jousting charge, and that was annoying, now there is more options, even if they kinda suck. *basic comboing - any basic combo attacks can be mixed and matched for a three hit combo. you should always back hop or sidestep after a combo or else you will be stuck in the painfully slow reset animation after an attack. if you dodge in time you can immediately begin attacking again. jousting charge [X + A in guard stance. or special button] - ahh, the jousting attack. the crown jewel of the lance. at the same time over and under rated. you hunker down behind your weapon and sprint forward, consuming stamina (a lot of it) as you hustle forward in one perpetual attack that hits with rapid succession. new to the tri series is an attack boost you get after a couple of meters or so of sprinting, you will flash red indicating you have reached terminal velocity, this means you should give yourself some distance before initiating a charge to maximize damage. you will require green or higher sharpness to 'charge lock' a monster, if you are too dull you will embarrassingly bounce off like a spaz. also, do not, for the love of all that is sacred, charge spam in multiplayer. some people rage when you use this attack at all, but i am living proof you can use this attack to great effect in multiplayer. if you use the joustin charge improperly you will run over your teammates, sending them flying and putting them into a long reset animation. this is the lamest thing, almost as lame as hammer, switch axe, and greatsword users launching people, or bowgunners firing pellet shot everywhere. if you cannot joust responsibly then leave it alone, seriously. *sudden stop [B during joust] - if you are jousting and need to stop you can perform a cancel which will bring your lancer to a skidding halt. useful to quickly reset yourself and avoid running over teammates. *jousting finisher [X or A during joust] - possibly the most potent attack the lance has (but trust me, that isn't saying much). you will perform a sliding stab attack to end your charge, good timing is required especially if your weapon is not sharp enough to pierce through a monster on a joust, as this attack will not bounce. draw guard [R + X + A] - while this is not an attack it is one of the most useful things to remember. if you draw your lance when holding the guard button you will immediately, like super fast, draw the lance into a guarding stance. i almost never draw a lance normally, this is just so much faster, even considering the time it takes to reset out of a block. you can do this while sprinting or standing still, and i guarantee this will save your life at least a dozen times before you know it. counter thrust [A during guard stance] - a basic combo attack. now, this is a tricky one that i have yet to fully figure out myself, mainly because i don't use it often. delivered from a block. basically you brace behind your shield and charge your attack before letting loose a potent stab. not as powerful as it looks as far as a normal attack goes, so don't use as a basic attack as the charge up takes too long to be worth the small damage boost. where it excels is where its namesake lies, if you are attacked during a counter thrust you will block the attack and attack back (if the attack didn't send you skidding back), allowing for an unbroken combo even while the monster attacks. be careful though as the charge is for a fixed time, unless you tap the button instead, but who does that? guard poke [X in guard stance] - a fun little attack, but you are vulnerable for way to long during the short pokes, so be careful. you momentarily lower the shield and stab, doing little damage but allowing you to take advantage of small openings without totally dropping guard. also a good way to pump a monster full of ailment without hurting it too much. oh, also a good way to detonate bombs, just poke them once and you will have your shield up before the explosion hits you. you will get sent skidding back and probably take a sliver of damage, but a better alternative to kicking them. phalanx advance [forward + X during guard stance] - not an attack but a useful move none the less. you duck your head down and dash forward quickly, consuming some stamina. you are still blocking even when moving and this is the only time to let loose a shield bash. in older games an evade lancer with their shield out when a monster executed a long range attack was a sitting duck unless they could pull a switcharoo back hop in time, now you can simply phalanx advance out of the way without stressing your reflexes or desperately putting your weapon away. it doesn't cover whole lot of ground but it can be essential to survival. shield bash [X during phalanx advance] - last and least is the shield bash. not the most useful attack, but not as laughable as the wide swing. only executable after a phalanx advance, and i feel it would be a lot more useful if this wasn't the case. you flail your massive shield for a big bashing attack that deals a little knockout. try not to use this very often. can be used to start a basic combo. back hop [B] - the first of the lances basic yet vital dodges. can be performed at any opening with the weapon out, though the timing has gotten funny since freedom unite. can be easily chained and can be extended into a 'long back hop' as a chain ender by holding back while dodging. side step [left or right + B after an attack or back hop] - the sexiest of lance moves, a quick shuffle to the side. great if you don't want to be sent recoiling from soaking a hit. essential to avoid things like Plesioth's water beam or Agnaktors lava cannon which cannot be blocked without guard increase. -------- [secB] but what can a lance not do? you will quickly notice that the lance is a very heavy and obnoxious looking weapon. with weapon out you mosey at a crawl, it takes forever to draw your weapon in a neutral stance, and takes just as long to put away. you will not be moving quickly. the damage per hit is mediocre. better than, say, dual blades and sword and shield, but slower. worse than, for example, hammers and greatswords, but not really faster. so constant assault and proper strategy is key. you must be able to lay on the hurt as often as possible or your DOT will shrivel and keel over. dodging, while essential to good lancing, is often clunky if you don't have it down. and to this day i sometimes over estimate a dodge and fail to clear enough distance in time and end up getting hit by an attack. keep the shield handy for these times. and keep in mind that with the lance out you cannot roll, you are stuck with footwork, this means if you need to roll off some fireblight or Brachydios slime you are gonna have to put the weapon away to stop, drop, and roll. blocking eats stamina, and since the lance can block what other weapons cannot, this also means that you use more stamina soaking them. and with all the side stepping, blocking, jousting, and whatnot you will find yourself low on stamina quickly if you are not careful. you will not block even a Jaggi's bite if you have no stamina. bring dash juice, and i hope you love hunting Royal Ludroth as much as i do. you will get tripped a lot. even with good natured companions, this is the lancer's lot in life. with your only 'super armor' being during attacks that can knock around other players, you can become a hypocrite really fast if you don't keep two things in mind: 1) jousting is to be used sparingly, you are a tank, not a motorcycle. a lancers stampede is one of the worst ways to be tripped up. 2) you have to work with your teammates, being a heavy weapon user and all. so try to focus on an area of the monster you teammates are not. since four longsworders can all spirit combo a tail without tripping each other and dual blade users almost never trip each other, you just have to suck it up and stay out of the way. it is no fun running into the fray only to spend the whole time derping on your knees instead of attacking. skilled friends help too. and one more thing to keep in mind the timing of certain things can be weird. in freedom unite the lance had very fluid timing, with the ability to dodge during large windows of opportunity and the ability to stall in between stabs. now these are no longer as smooth, you may from time to time find yourself button mashing to continue attacking or to back hop while your character finds it much better to reset to a neutral stance instead. there are some points in some animations where you cannot chain more moves, make sure to input them without delay, forethought is key. ----- [secC] basic attack strategies, making with the stabby stabby;\/ thrust + thrust + thrust + back hop (rinse repeat) attack + attack *monster moves* jousting charge + jousting finisher + back hop + continue attacking counter thrust + thrust + counter thrust + thrust... surrounded by small minions - wide swing + jousting charge *never use the wide swing seriously, it is suck sauce. meant only for knocking minions out of the way* got a lance with a high ailment? in a team of other hunters? - guard poke + guard poke + guard poke.... *you are vulnerable during attacks in guard stance* need to get away from a monster quickly? - jousting charge need to catch up to a fleeing monster? - jousting charge need to deliver some hit and run fun? - jousting charge riding a dash juice? - jousting charge *do not run over your friends with jousting charges, it is totally not cool. save it for the pros.* upward thrust over forward thrust whenever possible, the damage is higher and it usually reaches a monsters weak points much easier. forward thrusting is usually okay when you are trying to trip a monster, and is really good when trying to trip a monster with low legs, like Royal Ludroth or Gigginox. ----------- [secD] shield bashing and you;\/ shield bashes are really not the best attack, they can deliver knockout but you probably won't KO anything other than a great jaggi by yourself, but you can offer a bit of assistance to your resident hammer/hunting horn user if you happen to be presented with the opportunity. though unless the opportunity literally jumps out at you leave the shield for blocking. using the phalanx advance to cover ground quickly is a good strategy, and to keep damage output up it is usually a good idea to follow up an advance with a shield bash as you can immediately follow up with thrusting attacks, so don't be afraid to use it as a means to an ends. ------- [secE] how to block and when not to, do not use the shield as a crutch:\/ it is called 'Lance', not 'Shield'. heck, nobody even calls it 'Lance and Shield', keep that in mind. lance can block a lot of things, even things that cut right through the guard of lesser weapons, but it cannot block everything (but with guard increase it comes close). remember that blocking uses stamina and if you do not have enough stamina to block an attack it will go right through your guard like it isn't even there. dash juice is a lancer's best friend. blocking is your bread and butter as a lancer but it is not your four course meal. too many new bloods are boasting no damage runs with lances because of the stellar blocking, but with horrible quest completion times and boring hunts to boot. block only when you have too and when dodging is not an option. learn to dodge, back hops are your best bet in most situations, they allow for more damage output as they are best chained with attacks. and side stepping right through a tail sweep is an amazing feeling. you can block while doing a phalanx advance, you can even feel free to eat an attack head on run running into it with your shield, very helpful if you have a gunner right behind you who needs cover while they reload, unless your ping is low and you both get hit anyway... when guard poking you are vulnerable, very much so, so be careful. for the first frame or so before you even begin to poke and for the last few after you have reset your shield you are for some reason not blocking. this is total B.S. but it is a fact of (MH) life, so remember it. ------- [secF] the art of the counter thrust?;\/ this is a real work in progress as i rarely use the counter thrust even if the situation calls for it. i don't use it much and i don't know a whole lot about how it works, this section should not be taken as fact, i cannot really back up any of this. so with that in mind i will confer what i know. you only charge the attack for a fixed time, unless you simply tap the attack button. this attack is not very practical as a standard attack due to the long charge and the (seemingly) small boost to damage. you are blocking while charging up, and if an attack hits you hard enough to send you sliding back or if it cuts right through your guard then the attack is canceled. the one thing i can say for absolute certain is that the counter is a great way to keep damage up and prevent you from being held up by small attacks. instead of waiting to recoil from a blow and then begin an attack from anew you can just counter and keep on trucking. you can also slip a counter into a normal combo for maximum DOT. but this counts as both the third attack in a string, and the first attack in the next one. ----------- [secG] dodging, hustle and shuffle;\/ evade lancing is often where it's at, strangely enough. and you may be thinking, "with that huge shield and stellar guarding ability, are you seriously going to let it go to waste by dodging?". the answer is an awkward 'yes'. remember earlier when i said the weapon is called 'lance' and not 'shield'. blocking is an integral part of using a lance, but even with the proper application of the counter attack you will, with enough skill, have considerably higher DOT with evade lancing. the shield will always be there for emergencies or when a quick change of strategy is needed. the things to know about evade lancing, in no particular order are;\/ that the moment of invulnerability is just long enough to sidestep through tail whips, back hop over quakes, and even some roars, though the shield is still the best way to soak a roar unless you have earplugs (which are essential to a pure evade build of any kind). you can chain any three evades (side steps or back hops) for maximum booty shaking, er, i mean, effect. you can only side step after an attack or back hop though. at any time during a dodge combo you can perform a 'long back hop', this involves holding the control stick backwards, in the direction behind your character, and evading. this will cancel your dodge combo so be careful if you need to cover as much distance as possible, often best used at the end. it covers roughly one and a half times the distance, with a marginally longer moment of invulnerability (i think, don't quote me on that). triple sidestepping is, i have found, a very useful thing, i almost never double side step, for only a moment of extra movement you cover that much more ground. great for avoiding Diablos or Barroth charges, or keeping up with the often constant wriggling of Agnaktor and Lagiacrus. ------------- [secH] underwater lancing, become the torpedo;\/ ah, now this is where i have to say; D@mn it feels good to be a lancer. you will notice that underwater combat is a real hassle most of the time, and for some weapons more than others. but with the lance your underwater experience should be rather similar to that of land based combat. the only things you really need to watch out for are detailed below. you cannot angle your jousting charge up or down, still only left and right, this is very annoying, so limit jousting when underwater, even when soloing. dodging is kind of wonked underwater sometimes, you may often find yourself dodging up or down when you meant to back hop or sidestep, as well as vice versa. target cam is often essential as movement underwater with weapon out is often grueling, especially with a heavy weapon like the lance. so keep that camera focus on your quarry or you may end up swimming in circles trying to correct yourself. Oh my dear asdfghjkl! Waterblight! avoid waterblight (and also icebight) like the plague that they are. your stamina will thank you. ------ [secI] skills, what helps and what to watch out for;\/ (names may be inaccurate, i pulled them from memory, and some names are from freedom unite, I'll correct them a little later if need be) lancing would be a bad joke if Monster Hunter didn't have special abilities. some skills are, in my opinion, essential for even a decent lance build. also, some of my skill choices are extremely biased towards my ballsy style of play, i have a 'go big or go home' attitude with an unhealthy dose of 'is that the best you got! hit me again!?". so feel free to experiment with skills to find out what works best for you. also i won't be supplying any suggested armor sets for three reasons; 1) I'm a complete armor set guy, i don't mix sets. i find it satisfying being given only one set and then struggling with talismans and gems to get just the right optimized skills for that armor. 2) i like armors that have use with more than one weapon, so even if it isn't the best lancer armor, as long as it's just as good for another weapon i use it. and 3) i make so many armor sets for so many B.S. reasons, i couldn't possibly rifle through them and tell you why they are the best choice if i made them for no reason anyway. my top ability choices\/ item use up - achieved from the lasting power skill. makes things like hot drinks, dash juices, and power pills last longer. allows for longer assaults and less time stopping to pop buffing items. guard +1/+2 - great for guard lancing, keeps you from skidding back as far and helps conserve vitality when hammered with repeated blows. -or- evade +1/+2 - great for evade lancing, extends distance covered when dodging. makes you positively fly backwards during long back hops and allows for better side step precision. recovery up - increases the amount healed by potions and such. conserves health when tanking by reducing the number of health items you need to use and by allowing greater time between uses and less time spent consuming potions. speed sharpener - again, all about saving time. lances can sneak up on you with how fast they can dull sometimes, so you don't want to waste time sharpening when you could be stabbing. element/status attack +x - turns the moderate element builds for lances into very good element builds. also great for sleep bombing or paralyze tail cutting. secondary ability choices\/ guard increase - guard lancer's holy grail. the attacks you still cannot block with this skill are few and far between. become the penultimate walking fortress. bring dash juice. evasion up - evade lancer's philosopher's stone. frees up timing constraints by increasing the moment of invulnerability during dodges, sometimes just a good stress reliever marathon runner - now if i wasn't such a dash juice addict i would put this on the top tier, and you may well want it on yours. makes evading, sprinting, and blocking consume less stamina. stamina recovery up - this would also be higher on my list if i didn't always have lots of dash juice. it increases the speed that your stamina bar recovers endurance, great when you are constantly dodgeing and blocking and have little time to break for recovery. ESP - this becomes essential for me at G rank, it stops your weapon from bouncing off tough hide. though keep in mind you are still dealing stunted damage and dulling your weapon just as fast as when bouncing, so keep a full compliment of whetstones handy. tritery skill choices\/ critical eye +1/2/3 - critical hits take a well executed assault and make it a total slaughter. high affinity turns good runs into great runs and lacking weapons into good weapons. adrenaline +2 - a recent acquisition of mine, if you like to brag about not taking damage then load up on this for the attack boost when your health does get low. awaken - some lances in 3U get totally crazy with the awaken attribute, granting many weapons elemental and status they did not have before. i can't wait for my Black Diablos lance with awaken. defense up - this used to be higher on my list back when all i did was guard lance. good defense is still good if you have an older armor set and you need the extra assurance that you won't get owned by a stray hitbox (again something that isn't an issue anymore) ---------- [secJ] how to be a horrible lance user and things not to do;\/ if i haven't said it enough then i shall say it one more time: do not spam reckless jousting charges when playing with a group. if you can pull off jousting attacks without hindering anybody or tripping your fellow hunters then pat yourself on the back and keep on keepin' on. if you constantly run over teammates, or repeatedly make a destructive derp out of yourself then don't use the charge attack, it is not an essential attack strategy all things considered. don't wait for the reset animation after attacking, step or hop to quickly reset yourself, standing around and waiting to reset will get old fast. don't stand there and soak hits to your shield in place of evading, moving, or attacking. this can be hard for some to break, but standing around like a harmless rock does not make you a guard lancer. feel free to switch weapons till you have a better feel for the game play and them move back to lances, this is a perfectly viable strategy to avoid being a punching bag for monsters. don't just stand between the monster's legs and upthrust, i did this too much back in '04 and '05, i didn't make a lot of pals online. this is a horrible strategy and doesn't output a lot of damage. don't let yourself run low on stamina, in fact try to rock a full 150 stam at all times. nothing is more embarrassing than having that giant shield and not being able to block anything, except for looking like you have a ten ton weapon AND moving like you have a ten ton weapon. ------ [secK] the obvious question; lance or gunlance?\/ oof, well, i figured it would be best to cover this now since i will surely get at least one question about it later. and i have a very different view on this topic than others. i personally do not treat the lance and gunlance like similar weapons. they just play so differently, and while i really enjoy using the GL from time to time i have totally seperate armors for them. i view the lance and gunlance as i view the greatsword and hammer, as in not similar weapons at all. yeah they both stab, they both have high blocking ability, and they both have 'lance' in their name. but they are both wonderful weapons that don't deserve to be compared as if one was better than the other. so pick both up and use them as they are, at least that is what i do. ------- [secL] ]]afterwards and contact info[[ i hope this guide has given you some better insight in what it means to be a lancer. and if it has not helped you at all then i guess i shall have to live with that failure. it wouldn't be monster hunter to me if it didn't have the lance. i may make some periodic changes to this guide as i think of them, but i may not touch this again as i can tend to be very busy at the most inopportune times, so we'll call this a 1.0 for now. it may be poorly organized, it may be worded funny, but i made this guide at the same time i was finishing a psychology project (I'm not even going into medicine), so bare with me. you can contact me at my gmail account: wandering.crusader@gmail.com though make sure it is really, super important. i don't have as much time to invest in this FAQ as i would like (and i would love to write another, but that probably won't happen). so if you need to tell me something or ask me a question make sure it is really important and make sure the topic of the email mentions that it is regarding this guide. and if you hate hate this guide don't bother emailing me to tell me, just ignore it and it will go away. legally i, JM Brinkley, own nothing except this guide. monster hunter belongs to capcom. 3DS is property of Nintendo. playasia own themselves. and all that other whatnot. this guide is to only be posted at gamefaqs, anywhere else it should be ignored. a special thanks to all my hunting companions over the past 8 years, some of you have been real bros, I'll never forget those who i have lost contact with. june 5th, 2013