The Gunlance, much like it’s less explode-y brother, is a weapon for true Monster Hunter purists. Both weapons require poise, finesse and a giant dose of bravery. Constantly positioned in the most dangerous of spots, they ask a lot of their hunters, but in return they give that most coveted of rewards: Copious amounts of Swag.

Of the two however, the Gunlance probably just beats it’s brother on the Swag-o-meter – it does have explosions after all. Still, what good is all of that Swag potential if you’re wielding the wrong thing? Well you’re in luck, we’re here today to recommend the Top 3 Low Rank Gunlances in MHGU!

3. Striker’s Gunlance

What does the first time Gulance user really want from the weapon? Of course they want to create as many explosions as possible! In order to do so then, you’ll really want a ‘Normal’ type of Gunlance: These types focus on utilising the Full Burst attack as much as possible, for maximum ‘splodes!

Still, you can’t focus entirely on the Full Burst all the time, so you’ll want a solid all round Gunlance early in the game. Look no further than the Striker’s Gunlance then. It has some great starting sharpness, meaning you’ll be up in the monster’s face for longer, and the raw damage starts out in a good place. On top of this, the upgrade path isn’t too bad and it comes with a single slot, which can be super useful in Low Rank when you’re struggling to get more than a few skills out of your equipment.

Shopping List:

• Dragonite Ore: Mine these in the Volcano locale, more info HERE.
• Firestone: Rarely mine this in the Volcano locale, or as a reward from Urugaan hunts.
• Lightcrystal: Would a Gypceros’ head for a good chance at one of these.
• Carpenterbug: Capture these from most bug spots in low rank.

2. Princess Panoply

Perhaps then, you’re looking for a weapon similar to the Lance, but with just a little bit more swag? Well, the Long style Gunlance is ideal for you. This type focuses on using single shells alongside your thrust attacks, and produces a consistent stream of damage to the monster, as oppose to the other types that aim for singular, big damage hits.

That being said, you’ll be looking for a weapon that excels in doing both stabby and explodey. The Princess Panoply is an ideal candidate for this: Not only does it come with a good amount of green damage, but it also features the Poison status, which you’ll be able to keep applied to the monster as you continuously use the lance attacks. This is offset somewhat by having lower than average raw damage, however if you can keep the debuff active this is easily recouped.

Again this one gets a small bonus for having a slot available. It’s also going to be fairly easy to upgrade, given that the Rathian is a monster you’ll frequently encounter.

Shopping List:

• Rathian Shell: Frequently carved from a slain Rathian.
• Rathian Spike: Carve a Rathian’s tail for the best chance at these.
• Flame Sac: Either rarely carved from a Rathian, or go capture some Yian Kut-Ku.
• Malachite Ore: You can mine these in most Low Rank locales.

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1. Jaya Gunlance

Firstly, we’re not a huge fan of the Wide type Gunlance in Low Rank, so you’ll note that we’re recommending another Long type: In our opinion, the wide type isn’t ideal for learning monster patterns, so we’d advise you stick to the Long and Normal where possible.

That being the case, we’re showcasing a slightly more advanced Long type Gunlance here, in the Jaya Gunlance. This weapon comes from the Seregios series of weapons, which means they have a very important secondary attribute: They sharpen themselves after you evade – something you’ll be doing often with the Gunlance, as you hop around the monster to reach it’s weak spots. For reference, with the Lance and Gunlance this requires 9 hops for a notch of sharpening, whereas other Blademaster weapons only require 5 evades.

On top of this wonderful benefit, the weapon also comes with some good raw damage, a sliver of blue sharpness, a spare slot, 10% affinity and level 2 shots! In all honesty, we’d recommend you look at the entire catalogue of Seregios weapons – they all come with the self sharpening feature and they’re an ideal upgrade to go for whilst working towards high rank.

Shopping List:

• Seregios Bladescale: You’ll carve plenty of these from Low Rank Seregios.
• Seregios Talon: Would Seregios’ leg for a high chance at these.
• Seregios Impaler: Break and carve Seregios’ tail for a high chance at these.
• Monster Bone+: These appear as rewards in 5-Star Quests.

That does it for our Low Rank Gunlance recommendations. Let us know what you think of our picks in the comments below. Or perhaps you think we’re stupid for picking those three and you have some infinitely better choices? By all means, still comment below, we’ll just prioritise replying to the nicer ones thanks..

You can check out more Monster Hunter lists, tips and tricks HERE.