Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance Guide

Welcome, Hunters! In today’s Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance guide, you’ll learn how to use one of the most spectacular weapons in the game. Gunlance is one of the two weapons with the largest shield in the game, making it perfect for those who prefer to stay in the monster’s face, trading off some mobility for sheer resilience. But that’s hardly what makes the Gunlance stand apart from the Lance. With the Gunlance, you can plant your feet, endure even the worst the monsters can throw at you, and retaliate not with mere pokes, but with wide slashes and explosive shelling shots that boast an insane radius of effect. This is the weapon for hunters who don’t like dancing around their prey—but love standing their ground and making things go boom.

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Read our other articles:

• Dual Blades Guide
• Charge Blade Guide
• Hammer Guide
• Bow Guide
• Hunting Horn Guide
• Heavy Bowgun Guide
• Great Sword Guide
• Long Sword Guide
• Switch Axe Guide

Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance Basics

So, you want to learn how to use Gunlance in Monster Hunter Wilds. Let’s start with some basics. This weapon fuses the stabbing attacks of the Lance with explosive firepower. Gunlance is essentially a cannon strapped to a lance, if that makes sense. It has the playstyle of a shotgun, if anything. It excels at aggressive, close-range combat with its combination of thrusting strikes and shelling capabilities. The Gunlance offers a balance between defense, sustained damage, and burst potential, making it a versatile choice for hunters who want both tankiness and firepower.

Key Differences Between Gunlance and Lance

While the Gunlance shares visual similarities and some movements with the Lance, their playstyles differ significantly. Here are the key differences:

• Shelling Attacks: Unlike the Lance, the Gunlance can fire explosive shells that ignore monster armor, making it ideal against tough hides.
• Wyvern’s Fire & Wyrmstake Cannon: The Gunlance can unleash devastating explosive attacks during openings, whereas the Lance relies more on constant poking and counters.
• Mobility: The Lance emphasizes mobility and evasion with continuous pokes and advanced counter mechanics. The Gunlance sacrifices some mobility for higher burst damage through shelling.
• Combo Focus: The Lance revolves around relentless thrusts and guard counters, while the Gunlance focuses on weaving shelling into melee combos to maximize damage. BLOG20
• Sharpness Management: Gunlance users must manage sharpness carefully, as shelling rapidly depletes it.
• Guard Points & Perfect Blocks: Both weapons offer strong guarding capabilities, but the Gunlance integrates guard points into certain attacks, enabling quick counters.

Before we talk about one of the most important Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance mechanics, let’s summarise how does it feel to use a Gunlance.

Gunlance Basic Flow (Summary)

Using the Gunlance revolves around a cycle of melee attacks followed by shelling to stack on additional damage. Your goal is to land your melee hits, weave in shelling between strikes, and finish with high-damage moves like the Wyrmstake Full Blast or Wyvern’s Fire. Focus Mode makes it easier to stay locked on your target, allowing precise positioning. Reloading isn’t just for replenishing shells—it can be strategically incorporated mid-combo to extend your attack strings. Successfully managing this flow ensures consistent damage output and effective openings for big finishers.

Types of Shelling for Gunlances in Monster Hunter Wilds

Shelling is at the heart of the Gunlance’s offensive capabilities, allowing you to unleash explosive blasts that deal consistent damage regardless of a monster’s armor. In Monster Hunter Wilds, there are three distinct shelling types, each catering to different playstyles and scenarios. Understanding these shelling types is essential for maximizing your damage potential and adapting to various encounters.

Shelling Types

There are three Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance shelling types—Normal, Long, or Wide—each offering a unique approach to combat:

• Normal Shelling:
  
  • High shell capacity, making it ideal for frequent use of Full Burst combos.
  • Balanced damage per shell, allowing for sustained offensive pressure.
  • Best suited for hunters who prefer continuous shelling integrated into melee combos.
• Long Shelling:
  
  • Fewer shells but enhanced charged shelling damage.
  • Extended range for shelling attacks, enabling safer mid-range engagements.
  • Perfect for playstyles that focus on charged shots and precise strikes.
• Wide Shelling:
  
  • Lowest shell capacity but the highest damage per shell.
  • Maximizes explosive potential with stronger Wyvern’s Fire and Wyrmstake Cannon hits.
  • Ideal for close-range, high-risk engagements that capitalize on explosive bursts.

Selecting the Right Shelling Type

Choosing the appropriate shelling type comes down to your preferred combat style:

1. Aggressive Full Burst Users: Normal shelling offers frequent explosive follow-ups in combos.
2. Charged Shot Specialists: Long shelling excels when focusing on charged attacks and mid-range poking.
3. Explosive Damage Seekers: Wide shelling is the go-to for hunters who prioritize raw explosive power at close range.

Balancing shelling type with your overall build and the monster’s behavior will ensure you maintain optimal pressure throughout the hunt.## Best Armor Skills for Gunlance Choosing the right armor skills can significantly enhance your Gunlance experience. Your skill choices should align with your preferred playstyle—whether you focus on shelling, melee attacks, or a hybrid approach.

Offensive skills amplify damage output, defensive skills bolster survivability, and utility skills improve weapon maintenance and mobility. Balancing these categories is key to maximizing efficiency in hunts.

Gunlance Moves in Monster Hunter Wilds

Below is a table of the core Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance moveset and their input on Xbox and PlayStation.

Move	Xbox	PlayStation
Lateral Thrust
Lunging Upthrust → Overhead Smash → Wide Sweep/Burst Fire	+ → + → /	+ → + → /
Wyrmstake Cannon	Wide Sweep →	Wide Sweep →
Wyrmstake Full Blast	Wide Sweep → +	Wide Sweep → +
Shelling → Moving Wide Sweep	→ +	→ +
Charged Shelling	(Hold)	(Hold)
Burst Fire	Overhead Smash →	Overhead Smash →
Rising Slash	+	+
Guard
Reload	+	+
Quick Reload	During combo → +	During combo → +
Guard Thrust	+	+
Wyvern’s Fire	+ +	+ +
Focus Strike: Drake Auger	+	+

Some of the more complex moves that involve multiple inputs might be hard to pull off right away, but once you get the hang of simpler moves and their properties, you’ll know what it takes to execute the more complex ones. BLOG20

Gunlance Combos in Monster Hunter Wilds

The Gunlance thrives on combining melee thrusts with shelling to deal high damage. Below are some basic Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance combos designed for various combat situations.

Multi Wyrmstake Full Blast into Wyvern Fire

Combo Input:

▶︎ + ▶︎ + ▶︎ / ▶︎ + +

This high-damage combo chains shelling with melee hits, embedding two Wyrmstakes into the monster. End with Wyvern Fire for a sped-up animation and massive burst damage. Make sure to reload afterward to stay combat-ready.

Burst Fire Combo

Combo Input:

+ ▶︎ ▶︎

Ideal for quick punishes, this combo starts with a Rising Slash into an Overhead Smash, finishing with Burst Fire. For faster execution, trigger it after a Perfect Guard to counter aggressive monsters effectively.

Since most inputs for this weapon can flow into one another, there’s actually a lot of freedom that you have in creating the Monster Hunter Wilds best Gunlance combos that are also unique to how you use this weapon.

Mounted Combat & Seikret Riding Attacks

Mounted combat with the Gunlance offers additional ways to engage monsters while staying mobile on your Seikret. Here’s what you can do:

• While Mounted: You can perform basic thrusts and shelling to chip away at the monster’s health while riding. Continuously attacking while mounted gradually recharges your Wyrmstake and Wyvern’s Fire gauges.
• Dismount Attack: Jumping off your Seikret and pressing the attack button performs a Jumping Thrust or an Aerial Shelling Burst. These dismount attacks can act as strong combo openers, setting you up for immediate follow-ups like Rising Slash into a Wyrmstake Full Blast.
• Combo Potential: The dismount attack launches you into combat with minimal delay, allowing seamless integration into your ground combos. Consider dismounting to execute a quick Wyrmstake Full Blast if the monster is knocked down or vulnerable.

The dismount attack is nothing special other than the fact that it does mounting damage, and if you’re lucky, you can start a fight by mounting the monster and opening up a wound.

Best Armor Skills for Gunlance

Choosing the right armor skills can significantly enhance your performance with the Gunlance. Offensive skills boost your shelling damage and melee capabilities, while defensive and utility skills improve survivability and overall efficiency. The balance between these categories depends on your preferred playstyle—whether you focus on full burst damage, charged shelling, or a defensive poke-and-shell approach.

Below is a table outlining the best armor skills for Gunlance users, along with their effects and recommended use cases:

When selecting skills, prioritize Artillery and Capacity Boost for shelling builds, and Guard with Guard Up for a defensive approach. Skills like Protective Polish and Speed Sharpening are invaluable in full burst setups where sharpness drains rapidly. Meanwhile, Focus and Weakness Exploit shine in charge-based playstyles and when consistently targeting monster weak points.

Conclusion

By wrapping up this Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance tutorial, all that’s left to say is that this weapon rewards hunters who can juggle offense, defense, and resource management. By weaving together thrusts, shelling, and explosive finishers, you can maintain pressure on monsters while capitalizing on openings. Mastering Focus Mode, properly timing reloads, and knowing when to unleash your high-damage moves will make you a formidable force on the hunt.

F.A.Q.