Gunlance

Frontier's

Gunlance (GL) is considered one of the best versions of the weapon. It offers a flexible approach to combat, with multiple evasion options, and shelling and Wyvern Fire attacks that remain valuable even in the endgame. The core moveset is based on MHFU but has been greatly expanded. You can shell while thrusting, perform Wyvern Fire from upthrusts, and quickly reload single shells to buff the next shot. Wyvern Fire can also be enhanced by loading extra shells, transforming it into Super Wyvern Fire.

Performing an upswing after a quick reload or as an unsheathed attack allows you to execute a Horizontal Sweep. You can shell from this position, instantly firing all shells in your

Gunlance . The sweep has a naturally high motion value (51), and shelling from it results in a Backhop Slash with its own motion value (18 + Shelling Damage).

The

Gunlance offers three shell types: Normal, Long, and Wide. Wide is best for general shelling, while Normal provides the highest potential damage for all types of Wyvern Fire. Long serves as a balanced option between the two.

Skills-wise, you can use

Load Up to add extra shells, to evade after normal shelling, and to reduce the knockback from Wyvern Fire.

There are two evasion options, with the second using the

Gunlance to launch you into the air.

In Frontier, shelling can reach Level 9 and scales with your weapon's raw damage.

Factors affecting Gunlance shell damage include your SR and GSR (which add +50 to +100 true raw), G Rank Raw Sigils (up to +135 with three perfect sigils), and Shelling Level (with G Rank Sigils available to increase the limit). You can calculate Shelling and Wyvern Fire damage using the Gunlance calculator. , though there may be a slight margin of error due to the numerous factors involved.

For an explanation on element damage, see our Elements page

. For more information on motion values, see the Damage Calculator

Earth Style

Earth Style is the standard

Gunlance moveset. It includes Wyvern Fire, which can be enhanced by loading extra shells, and all the core features described above.

Heaven Style

Heaven Style expands on the standard

Gunlance , replacing Wyvern Fire with a Heat Blade. Activated with the same input, the Heat Blade adds extra hits to each attack (+5 motion and a small amount of fire damage), sets your Affinity to 100% while active, and grants unlimited sharpness. The Heat Blade is longer than a standard , allowing it to reach higher points and even sever tails that would otherwise be out of reach. When the Heat Blade is active, you can finish normal thrust combos with a Heat Blade Slam, which delivers 62 motion value damage—the strongest single hit available on a . The power of the Heat Blade varies slightly based on shell type and level but not significantly.

Storm Style

Storm Style incorporates all the features of Heaven Style but replaces shelling with Elemental Shelling. These shells deal variable damage depending on your weapon's elemental attributes and can apply multiple elements at once if your weapon has hybrid elements. The best way to utilize Elemental Shelling is with the Horizontal Sweep, as normal shelling has a brief preparation animation that functions like a small Wyvern Fire (with a 25 motion value if the animation hits the monster). A raw-focused

Gunlance in this style essentially gains a miniature Wyvern Fire for normal shelling.

Extreme Style

Extreme Style is a direct upgrade to all previous styles, adding enhanced mobility, a higher-tier version of Wyvern Fire, and Elemental Heat Blades.

As with all Extreme Styles, you can run with your weapon unsheathed, greatly improving mobility. While running, you can reload your

Gunlance or perform a Bombardment Boost, a fast forward dash with iframes that allows for various follow-up actions, including a Dash Cleave, which boasts the highest motion value on a .

Wyvern Fire in Extreme Style mirrors Earth Style's version, including Super Wyvern Fire. However, you can go even further beyond Super Wyvern Fire to perform an Extreme Wyvern Fire. This attack has a long build-up but deals approximately double the damage of Super Wyvern Fire. Since it requires fully loading all your shells into a Super Wyvern Fire, the strength of the Extreme Wyvern Fire depends directly on the number of shells loaded, so maximizing shell count is crucial.

The Heat Blade in Extreme Style functions similarly to Heaven Style. By pressing the kick input, you enter Heat Blade mode, which adds decent elemental damage if your weapon has an element and increases motion value if your weapon focuses on raw damage or status effects. Hybrid elements will randomly display one element per attack.


GL Tech Master	Twin Hiden, 30	Sharpness level +1 is added to GL Tech 【Cannon Ruler】.
GL Tech 【Cannon Ruler】	30	Gives Super High-Grade Earplugs, Attack x1.2 when wielding a Gunlance and Fencing+1. Wyvern Fire and Heat Blade cooldown-time is halved and Heat Blade activation time reduced to 3 seconds. Also grants Normal Shells +2, Long Shells +1 and Wide Shells +1 (stackable with Load Up or Gentle Shot).
GL Tech Kaiden	20	Increases attack by 1.1 and grants Fencing+1 when wielding Gunlance.
GL Tech Expert	10	Fencing+1 when wielding Gunlance.
GL Tech Novice	-10	Attack x0.8 when wielding Gunlance.

Skill Interactions


	Adjusts the element hitzones by +10. Determination applies the effects of Dissolver without the need for hitzone requirements, effectively forcing elemental damage or reducing/negating negative hitzones.
	+4 True Raw per hit. Up to 80 True Raw can be gained through leeching.
	20 seconds uptime. The duration can be refreshed by successfully using i-frames again.
	+5 sharpness recovery. When using Stylish Up get 2 free hits before sharpness is reduced.
	-3 sharpness per hit. Lavish Attack reduces the free hits granted by Stylish Up to 1.
	Max stack of 300 True Raw. Obscurity Up maxes out after two perfect guards, allowing subsequent guards to restore 2 or 20 sharpness depending on timing.
	1/12/26 hits to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively. All weapons share the same stage decay timer; Ice Age Up only affects the third stage’s decay rate.
	27/1250/? total Motion Value to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively. The third stage, exclusive to Rush Up, has a limited duration.
	12 seconds decay window. 13/36/44 hits required to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively (10/27/44 with Ceaseless Up). The third stage is also exclusive to Ceaseless Up, which decays by stages rather than all at once.
	40 seconds duration. 10/6 hits to reach stages 1/2 respectively (8/5 with Fencing+2). The previously hit hitzone is more vulnerable at Stage 2, and Fencing +2 slightly eases activation.
	1/2/5 evasions or perfects guards to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively. These effects apply to both successful evasions and perfect guards (where applicable), but attacking is necessary to advance stages.

Sigils Usability Ratings


		Boosts the Motion Value of the Rush Thrust (38 > 57). This is the primary unsheathe and done from moving and pressing the normal thrust while unsheathed.	Tech Boost
		Boosts the Motion Value of the Horizontal Slash Attack (34 > 51). Does not affect the Bombardment Boost follow-up.	Tech Boost
		Changes a Gunlance's shelling type to the one defined on the sigil: Normal, Spread, Long.	Other
		Upgrades shelling on a Gunlance by 1 level. Stacks for more levels, Lv9 shelling is maximum.	Other

Tips and Tricks

Heat Blade offers numerous benefits, including a second hitzone on every physical attack, extended reach, and no sharpness loss until it wears off, which then causes a -100 unit drop. On activation, it also restores some sharpness.
If the weapon has a status effect, Heat Blade doesn’t inflict extra. However, if it lacks an element, it uses the higher raw Heat Blade motion value.
Although
Weapon
Gunlance can gain similar guarding benefits as , it cannot negate chip damage, making blocking certain attacks potentially lethal, especially with active.
Hit requirements for multiple skills and
Buff
Transcend are easier to meet with Heat Blade activated.
Armor Skill
Recoil or allows to evade after shelling.
Armor Skill
Consumption Slayer can be freely exploited during Heat Blade’s uptime and can be offset with sharpness recovery.
The Super Wyvern Fire has iframes

in the recovery portion of the animation.

Weapons: Lance

Weapons: Hammer