What you need to know
- Monster Hunter Wilds, the latest entry in the action-hunting franchise, Monster Hunter, has received the 13th trailer for its weapon overview series.
- The latest trailer focuses on the Lance, a defense-orientated weapon type capable of blocking almost any attack with its giant shield and then countering with a series of stab attacks.
- Monster Hunter Wilds currently has a tentative release date of 2025 and will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
Over the past couple of weeks, Capcom has been uploading trailers showing off all the cool fourteen weapon types players can wield in the highly anticipated, upcoming action-hunting game, Monster Hunter Wilds. We're now getting close to the end of this weapon overview trailer series as there are only two weapons left to cover.
So let's not waste any more time and dive into the latest trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds which gives players a look at the indomitable Lance.
The Lance is a weapon type that comes equipped with a gigantic shield and a massive lance. Unlike the Gunlance which focuses on pure offense by whacking monsters in the face and blowing everything up with explosions, the Lance believes a good offense is a good defense.
The Lance's move-set consists mainly of guard moves that allow the player to block all kinds of incoming attacks from enemy monsters, and then counterattack with a never-ending series of thrusting attacks with the lance. The Lance also features a special charge where you run forward like a jousting knight so you can chase after fleeing monsters and impale them.
For the most part, the Lance will remain mostly the same as how it traditionally plays in most Monster Hunter games with only a few new moves here and there, at least according to the gameplay trailer.
These new moves include but are not limited to:
- A new side-step maneuver that lets you stab an enemy and step to the right or left simultaneously.
- A new combo finisher where at the end of a three-stab combo, you can quickly perform a series of thrust attacks that end in a big upward thrust attack that can hit high targets.
- After performing a Guard Counter, you can follow up with a new attack that lets you bash a monster in the face with the shield and potentially stun it.
- A new thrust attack you can perform after the Power Guard move which has you jump slightly high into the air and stab elevated targets like flying monsters.
- You can now perform the jousting charge attack after successfully landing the Power Guard's thrust attack.
- The new Focus Attack for Lance has you uppercut a monster with the shield and then charge toward a monster's weak point or wound to bash it with the shield and stab it with the Lance.
- A power struggle mechanic where if you block an enemy's attack at the right time, you can lodge the shield into a monster's mouth, shake them off, and then stab them in the eye with the Lance.
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Master the Lance to protect your teammates from a monster's most devastating attacks
While the Lance may not be flashy or over-the-top as some of Monster Hunter's other weapon types like the Hunting Horn, Charge Blade, or Switch Axe, it isn't aiming to be like that. The Lance's goal is to help the player become an impregnable wall that can block and parry almost any attack a monster can throw, and protect teammates by shielding them from a monster's ranged projectile attacks.
It certainly comes in handy when dealing with aggressive monsters that never stop attacking, and can help you find an opening in their attack patterns and exploit it with a guard counter to catch them off guard.
That being said, it is a little disappointing to see Lance isn't getting any drastic reworks to its tool kit like the Bow has according to the trailer. I can understand why though as I feel the Lance doesn't really need one. The refined move-set it received in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak still holds up in terms of gameplay feel and intuitive controls. So why fix what isn't broken?
However, I would like to see Monster Hunter Wilds introduce a new mechanic for Lance that causes the weapon to constantly draw the attention of a monster towards the Lance user. This could help Lance users protect their teammates better in multiplayer and solidify the weapon type's defensive-based gameplay to help it stand out from the weapon types that use shields.
Although, there is a possibility that this could happen as the Lance (as well as the rest of Monster Hunter Wilds' list of weapon types) may have some other new moves or hidden mechanics that Capcom is keeping a secret until the full game is released. We will wait patiently to find out when Monster Hunter's next big upcoming Xbox title/upcoming PC title is released in 2025.
Monster Hunter Wilds, the next-gen successor to one of Capcom's best Xbox games and best PC games, Monster Hunter World, is scheduled to launch on February 28, 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
