Gunlance in Monster Hunter Wilds is a hybrid weapon that comprises a massive shield to block monsters and a gigantic bullet-firing Lance to launch powerful hits at enemies. It can feel slow and sluggish at first, but once you get used to it, Gunlance is one of the strongest weapons in the game.
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Monster Hunter Wilds: Complete Gunlance Weapon Guide
The Gunlance is a powerful, destructive weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds – here are our combo tips!
However, getting a build ready for it can also be difficult, especially if you have never played the weapon or are completely new to the game. If you’re interested in Gunlance and looking to blast that Wyvern Fire in Gore Magala’s face, here’s a detailed guide that will help you get going.
All builds in this game are still in their experimental stages, as players are figuring out the damage numbers for the various skills. As such, all builds are subject to change in the future, depending on how optimal certain skills become when it comes to dealing damage to monsters.
Gunlance Build Overview
Gunlance is quite possibly one of the most complex weapons in the game, on par with the likes of Charge Blade. The reason is two-fold. First, you simply can’t take a different weapon build and replace it with a Gunlance since its archetype is completely different.
The second reason is that it’s a fairly slow weapon, and you need to learn to play around it to make it work. Additionally, it has a complex moveset, which takes time to get used to before you can learn how to make all of them click at the same time.
The weapon has two parts. The actual Gunlance with which you will attack your enemies and the shield that will let you block. Your build will revolve around getting both the Gunlance and the shield working through armor pieces and Decorations so that you can make them work in complete harmony.
The basic idea behind the weapon is to land a perfect guard on enemy hits and then launch a counter-attack with your weapon. Some Decorations grant you special bonuses whenever you land a perfect guard or get hit by an enemy, which help boost your weapon damage.
As a rule of thumb, the Decorations that benefit your weapon are attached to the Gunlance itself, while those that benefit your shield are attached to your armor.
Decorations are restricted in Monster Hunter Wilds in a way where some of them can only be used on armor, while others can be used on weapons. This creates interesting build opportunities, but the farming can also become tedious.
Gunlance Build Guide
Here’s a rundown of how you should get your Gunlance build ready:
|
Gear Slot |
Gear Piece |
Decorations |
|---|---|---|
|
Weapon |
G. Lawful Bors (Guardian Arkveld) |
Magazine/Ironwall Jewel (3), Artillery Jewel (3), Guardian Jewel (1) |
|
Head |
G. Ebony Helm Beta (Guardian Ebony Odogaron Gear) |
Counter Jewel (2) |
|
Chest |
G. Ebony Mail Beta (Guardian Ebony Odogaron Gear) |
Counter Jewel (2) x2 |
|
Hand |
G. Ebony Bracers Alpha (Guardian Ebony Odogaron Gear) |
No Jewel |
|
Waist |
G. Ebony Coil Beta (Guardian Ebony Odogaron Gear) |
Earplugs Jewel (2), Sheath Jewel (1) |
|
Leg |
Dahaad Shardgreaves Beta (Jin Dahaad Gear) |
Earplugs Jewel (2) |
|
Charm |
Challenger Charm 2 |
The weapon of choice for this build is G. Lawful Bors, which is the Guardian Arkveld Gunlance, and it comes with two Level 3 Jewel slots and one Level 1 Jewel slot.
The Magazine/Ironwall Jewel Level Three offers Load Shells and Guard, while Artillery Jewel Three offers Artillery Level Three. Finally, Guardian Jewel One will offer Offensive Guard Level One.
The Load Shells skill helps with reloading while also increasing the shell capacity of the Gunlance. The Artillery Level Three buffs up the damage from shell explosive attacks and Wyvern Fire. Offensive Guard is also a powerful skill that increases your attack upon landing a perfect guard.
In the head slot, you need to use Guardian Ebony Helm Beta, which comes with a Level Two Jewel Slot, and you will have to attach Counter Jewel Two.
This will offer Counterstrike Level One, which provides an attack boost when you get knocked back by the enemy. You also get Burst Level Two from the armor piece, which increases your attack when dealing elemental damage.
In the chest slot, you will need to use Guardian Ebony Mail Bet, which comes with two Level Two Jewel slots. You will have to attack two Counter Jewel Two here, which adds two more levels to Counterstrike, taking the total count to Level Three. You receive Earplugs Level One, which helps circumvent monster roars.
In the hand slot, you will need Guardian Ebony Bracers Alpha, but there are no Jewel slots here. However, the armor piece provides you with Burst Level Two and Divine Blessing Level One. With this, your Burst goes up to Level Four, which further improves the impact of elemental damage.
In the waist slot, you will once again go with Guardian Ebony Odogaron gear, which comes with one Level Two and one Level One slot. You will attach Earplugs Level Two, which further helps to negate monster roars and thereby not get interrupted during your combos.
Burst is a very powerful skill in the current meta, and you must ensure that it is maxed out. This skill lets you deal a lot of damage, and it’s one of the core parts of this build.
In the leg slot, you need to go for Dahaad Shardgreaves Beta, which comes with a Level Two Jewel slot where you need to attach Earplugs Level Two, which takes the skill to Level Three when combined with the chest and waist slots. Additionally, you get Agitator Level Two from this armor piece, which increases your damage when monsters are enraged.
Finally, in the charm slot, you will need Challenger Charm Two, which will get you Agitator Level Two, thereby taking the skill to Level Four when combined with the leg slot.
Gunlance Build Skill Overview
Here’s how the skills will line up once your build is ready:
- Artillery Level 3
- Guard Level 3
- Load Shells Level 2
- Offensive Guard Level 1
- Burst Level 5
- Agitator Level 4
- Counterstrike Level 3
- Divine Blessing Level 1
- Quick Sheathe Level 1
Tips To Play With Gunlance Build
The key to playing this Gunlance Build is learning how to parry monster attacks. As the monster is about to hit you, press your Guard button, and that will activate a perfect guard, which in turn will trigger Offensive Guard Level One. Additionally, don’t be afraid to get hit by a monster, as that will help trigger the Counterstrike skill very easily.
You also need to make sure that Burst is activated by hitting the monster quite consistently. It can be a bit hard in the beginning since a slow weapon can make it difficult to find openings, especially against Tempered Arkveld or Gore Magala. However, the more you learn the perfect guard mechanic, the easier it will be to create openings.
You must also remember that even if you can’t trigger perfect guard, just blocking normally is still worth it since you will never take any damage. The Gunlance shield is extremely powerful, and you can pretty much fight monsters head-on.
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