While some weapons get few changes with every game, the Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance video shows that our favorite artillery spear isn’t quite done changing yet.
The gunlance has famously gone through many iterations- partially because its main gimmick, allowing you to shell defense-ignoring rounds on top of your regular melee attacks.
In attempts to balance around a weapon that does flat damage regardless of everything from monster parts to elemental resistances, it’s had all manner of bells and whistles- from Generations’ Heat meter to the Stake from Monster Hunter World.
Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance New Moves
The Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance seems to be a return to form for the weapon- the short trailer shows a lot more focus on shelling, albeit with new tools to that end. These include a variant of Full Salvo for upswings, letting you seemingly unload all your shells at once for enemies with the audacity to stay off the ground. It also looks like there’s a downswing too, which should be good for monsters whose heads are off the ground.
On top of that regular shelling seems to have a longer charge period, with flashes that almost look like multiple levels instead of just charged and uncharged shots.
There’s also what appears to be the new guard point- considering the Gunlance is one of the few weapons in Monster Hunter to include a shield and allow you to attack with it up, the Guard Point is a neat way to maintain its defensive identity without reducing its overall aggression.
Of course, the real stinger appears to be what they’ve done with the Wyrmstake- while the Iceborne iteration of this explosive encouraged focusing it down for additional damage, the Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance appears to be more like a traditional mine, building up damage in one spot while you reposition with the sidestep or reload your shells.
This all comes to a climax with the Monster Hunter Wilds Gunlance Focus Strike, which turns the weapon into a drill, dealing a large burst of damage over multiple hits so you can better target the weakpoints.
These all really mesh with the old classics- charged shots and Wyvern’s Fire, to create a weapon that stays true to its more anchored roots but also embraces the fun of basically being a portable tank cannon made to hunt giant frogs.
