Lance

Lances are all about threes. Attack three times with X and/or A, then sidestep or backstep and start over again.

There are many different styles of lancing, but the big two that are common are guard lancing and evasive lancing. Guard lancers make use of their enormous shield and proper timing to unleash powerful counterstabs. Evasive lancers forego their shield entirely, and take full advantage of side and backsteps to dance around the monster and attack nonstop. No matter what, follow the rule of three!

Keep tabs on your stamina, no matter what you’re doing. Hopping around and blocking both take stamina, especially blocking a heavy attack. Things like Mega Dash Juice can help in a pinch.

If you use your shield a lot, invest in Guard+1/+2 and/or Guard Up. Guard+1/+2 will decrease recoil and stamina usage when blocking, and Guard Up will make certain unblockable attacks (for example, a fire laser from Gravios) blockable. The latter is very situational, because not every monster has attacks that are unblockable, but it can come in handy.

If you prefer to use the hops to evade, Evasion+1/+2 and Evade Distance Up are invaluable.

Later on, skills like Mind’s Eye will be useful to pick up. The Lance, unlike other weapons such as Dual Blades, lacks any reliable attack with guaranteed ESP (the Dual Blades have Demon and Archdemon Mode, for example), and so if you are fighting a monster with particularly tough hide, Mind’s Eye will help you.