Combos are the heart and soul of Monster Hunter Rise's combat system. Mastering them is essential for maximizing your damage output and becoming a proficient hunter. While every weapon has its unique combo patterns, Lance stands out with its distinctive rhythm of blocks and counters.

At its core, Lance's gameplay revolves around a simple yet elegant dance: block incoming attacks, then strike back with precision. Don't let this straightforward approach fool you though - there's incredible depth to Lance's defensive options and follow-up attacks. A skilled Lance user knows exactly when to counter-attack and, just as importantly, when to hold back to maintain defensive positioning.

Rise gives Lance hunters an impressive defensive moveset to choose from:

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  Normal Guard: Your reliable fallback for multi-hit attacks or tricky timing windows

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  Instablock: Perfect for well-telegraphed attacks with clear wind-ups

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  Guard Dash: Quick repositioning while maintaining defense

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  Shield Tackle: Great for interrupting faster attacks

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  Spiral Thrust: Excellent counter with built-in mobility

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  Counter Thrust: Classic counter-attack with generous timing

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  Sheathing Retreat: Your escape option for unblockable attacks

After successfully defending, you'll want to capitalize with your offensive options. Your bread-and-butter attacks are Cross Slash for general use, Charged Wide Sweep for raw damage builds, and Leaping Thrust for elemental setups. The key to high-level Lance play is reading the monster's recovery animations to know exactly how many attacks you can safely fit in. Sometimes you'll have time for a full Cross Slash into Charged Wide Sweep combo, while other openings might only allow for a quick Cross Slash or a single poke. Remember - it's better to land one safe hit and maintain your defensive position than to get greedy and eat a counter-attack.

When a monster is toppled or immobilized, you have several powerful combo options. The comparison below breaks down each combo's metrics:

• Raw builds benefit most from the LT + CWS + GD loop

• Element/Status builds excel with Leaping Thrust only loops

• For sharpness efficiency, consider CWS + ST

Comparative analysis of raw damage, element/status application, sharpness consumption, and hits per second.

Your Hit/second ratio directly impacts how quickly you can stack effects like Powder Mantle and Intrepid Heart, making it an consideration beyond damage.

Lance requires a reset after every third attack. Using just pokes, you can reset by waiting (inefficient), hopping (fast but no damage), or using Guard Dash/Shield Tackle (optimal). The following sections detail the best combos for each reset option.

Guard Dash provides both defensive repositioning and access to Leaping Thrust, making it the optimal reset choice for most situations. The move's versatility allows for effective combo loops while maintaining defensive capabilities.

For raw damage builds, Charged Wide Sweep delivers the highest motion values. The ideal combo incorporates Guard Dash and Leaping Thrust to loop CWS efficiently.

When monster positioning makes landing Charged Wide Sweep difficult, switch to a double High Thrust approach. This three-attack sequence (Leaping Thrust + 2 High Thrusts) provides reliable damage with the added benefit of the third hit's increased damage modifier.

Without easy access to Leaping Thrust, Shield Tackle builds use different loop strategies. Shield Tackle provides KO potential and modest damage while serving as an effective combo reset tool.

The optimal Shield Tackle combo incorporates as many Charged Wide Sweeps as possible within the three-attack limit before resetting with Shield Tackle.

For shorter openings, a simplified Shield Tackle + Charged Wide Sweep loop offers superior positioning flexibility, KO buildup, and sharpness efficiency at the cost of raw damage output.

Elemental builds have a clear winner: Leaping Thrust spam. This straightforward approach delivers exceptional elemental damage through multi-hit attacks while maintaining low sharpness consumption.

Spiral Thrust delivers impressive raw damage when all three hits connect with a weak point. However, this can be challenging even against downed monsters. Additionally, using Spiral Thrust means giving up Anchor Rage, which provides more consistent damage bonuses over longer periods.