Lance's Switch Skills offer incredible depth and versatility, allowing hunters to drastically alter their playstyle based on preferences and situation. This guide breaks down each Switch Skill, explaining their mechanics and optimal usage to help choose the best options for different hunting scenarios.

Instablock is one of lance's most powerful defensive tools and a direct upgrade to Normal Guard in almost every situation. While it shares the same startup as Normal Guard, landing a perfect parry (pressing guard right before an attack hits) completely negates chip damage and knockback. A successful parry grants access to Cross Slash: one of lance's highest damage punish options.

The versatility of Instablock makes it exceptional. After a successful parry, hunters can chain into another Instablock to counter multiple attacks, or transition into other Switch Skills like Anchor Rage or Spiral Thrust for devastating follow-ups.

The risk-reward balance is surprisingly forgiving, pressing guard too early just results in a Normal Guard rather than leaving the hunter vulnerable. The main challenge comes from multi-hit attacks that require precise timing for each hit. While mastering these timings can be demanding, successfully pulling off an Instablock chain against rapid attacks is one of the most satisfying achievements in Monster Hunter.

Dash Attack is the classic lance charge that veterans will recognize from previous games. It lets hunters maintain forward momentum until stamina runs out, making it excellent for closing large distances. The strong finishing thrust packs serious damage when ending the charge with impact.

Shield Charge offers a different approach, trading extended dash distance for defensive utility. While the charge distance is fixed, the guard remains active throughout the animation. This defensive charge can be canceled into either a powerful thrust or a shield bash that deals significant KO damage.

Both options are highly effective, and the choice depends on hunting style. Consider whether the situation calls for mobility and distance coverage of Dash Attack, or Shield Charge's ability to maintain offensive pressure while blocking through attacks.

Both Guard Dash and Shield Tackle serve as exceptional defensive options with distinct advantages. These moves come with built-in knockback reduction equivalent to Guard Level 2, allowing hunters to block attacks that would normally cause significant pushback. For elemental lance builds, Guard Dash becomes particularly crucial due to its seamless access to Leaping Thrust.

Guard Dash excels at providing access to Leaping Thrust, one of lance's most potent DPS moves. The extended blocking window makes it perfect for defending against attacks that prove too fast or complex for Instablock timing.

This defensive maneuver particularly shines against monsters with predictable attack patterns, allowing hunters to maintain aggressive positioning while staying protected.

Shield Tackle trades the easy access to Leaping Thrust for a faster, more versatile block that can redirect in any direction. The move deals KO damage and returns the hunter to a neutral state, a crucial advantage that enables immediate follow-up Instablocks.

The neutral state advantage cannot be overstated, it opens up significantly more follow-up options compared to Guard Dash's more limited recovery options.

Anchor Rage stands out as an extremely versatile single-wirebug move that fits into any lance playstyle. The counter state blocks incoming attacks and follows up with a powerful thrust while granting a raw attack buff based on the blocked attack's strength. This buff persists for 30 seconds or until weapon sheathing.

The buff can be determined by the color of the glow around your weapon:

• 🔴

  Red: 5%

• 🟠

  Orange: 10%

• 🟡

  Yellow: 15%

Unlike Instablock, Anchor Rage can be performed from any state, making it an excellent panic option. The main limitation comes from multi-hit attacks that can catch hunters in the follow-up animation.

Spiral Thrust costs one wirebug and enables two directional dashes with significant offensive potential. The initial dash includes a Guard Point, and successful blocks trigger a 10-second blue glow indicating a 10% raw attack boost.

The attack sequence carries impressive motion values:

• First Dash: 50 MV

• Second Dash: 80 MV

• Final Thrust: 90 MV

While landing all hits on a weakspot theoretically offers top-tier DPS, achieving this consistently proves challenging in practice. Many hunters prefer Anchor Rage's more reliable damage boost, though Spiral Thrust's mobility and burst damage potential make it worth mastering.

It's still a lot of fun to use so I would recommend trying it out for yourself.

Skyward Thrust delivers a spectacular aerial attack sequence for one wirebug. The initial upward thrust deals 40 MV, but the real damage comes from the diving attack that can hit multiple times based on monster sizem each hit dealing 80 MV for up to 240 MV total, plus a 30 MV landing hit.

Common openings include:

• Chameleos enrage/risen transform/body slam

• Malzeno roar

• Rathian flip

• Narwa sac topple

• Valstrax inhale/wing slams

• Bazelgeuse roar

Many experienced hunters keep Skyward Thrust on their secondary scroll, switching to it when optimal opportunities arise.

Both of these single-wirebug moves serve distinct purposes in lance's toolkit, though their effectiveness varies significantly in practical hunting scenarios.

Twin Vine expends one wirebug to embed a kunai into the monster, creating a silkbind connection. While connected, hunters gain knockback reduction equivalent to Guard Level 3 and can quickly close distance by pressing the roll button to pull themselves toward the monster.

Despite its unique mechanics, Twin Vine struggles to justify its wirebug cost. The move faces strong competition from more reliable gap closers like Dash Attack, Shield Charge, Guard Dash, and even Sheathing Retreat. While the knockback reduction sounds appealing, the wire's fragility and situational nature make it less reliable than simply slotting Guard skills into the armor set.

Sheathing Retreat provides an immediate weapon sheath combined with a backward leap, all for a single wirebug. This defensive option proves invaluable for escaping otherwise unavoidable situations.

The move's initial frames include 40 iframes (at 60 FPS), enabling evasion through attacks that would be impossible or extremely difficult to block. Beyond pure defense, creative hunters can also use it offensively:

• Turn around first, then Sheathing Retreat + buffered mid-air jump for gap closing

• Quick access to items like flash bombs while airborne

• Repositioning for better angles on monster weak points

The versatility and reliability of Sheathing Retreat make it a valuable addition to any lance hunter's toolkit, especially against monsters with powerful unblockable attacks.