Monster Hunter's loyal Gunlance enjoyers are eating good in Wilds as the unpopular weapon finally seems to have been given some love: "WE ARE SO BACK!"

A character with white hair holding the Gunlance weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds.
(Image credit: Capcom)

Monster Hunter Wilds is threatening us all with a good time, as Capcom has now unveiled its often unpopular Gunlance weapon, and it now looks ridiculously cool. 

Gunlances have been around for some time now, having first debuted in Monster Hunter 2 over 18 years ago, and while the concept of a piercing weapon with the ability to fire out explosives is pretty rad, over the years they've proved to be rather divisive. While it has its fans, generally speaking, you wouldn't expect to see the Gunlance at the top of any tier lists, and being a fairly slow armament, it doesn't suit everyone's playstyle. However, Wilds' version is looking very promising, as it includes a selection of exciting abilities that Gunlance enjoyers are thrilled about.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Gunlance | Weapon Overview - YouTube Monster Hunter Wilds: Gunlance | Weapon Overview - YouTube
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Over on the r/Gunlance subreddit, the weapon's faithful users have been dutifully unpacking everything that's been shown, and throughout it all, the sentiment is clear: "WE ARE SO BACK!!!!" There appears to be "a dozen of new moves and combos" to work with, with one enthused fan pointing out: "We got actual guard points. The shield is no longer a fancy decoration."

"Wow! Shelling is fully integrated with the Gunlance moveset now and an Adept-like guard that seems without penalty like [Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate] for a counter slam burst," another writes. "This is the most significant rework for a weapon Capcom [has] ever done."

It's also been pointed out that the Focus Mode targeting modifies the weapon into something that's neither gun nor lance, which is rather funny all things considered. "The way the focus mode transform the Gunlance into a drill is hilarious," one Reddit user says. "Hands up now for the drill-lance!" 

Regardless of what your stance on the Gunlance was before Wilds, looking at this footage, it's hard to argue that it doesn't look like a ton of fun. Hopefully the weapon will be able to pick up a few more fans than usual when the action RPG launches next year.

Monster Hunter Wilds' Insect Glaive looks slicker than ever with new moves - including one straight out of The Matrix: Reloaded.

Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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