Gunlancer

Community Guide
LAST UPDATED
November 30, 2025
Editors
Boodendorf, Arsonistic

How do the two builds compare?

Left
Right
Summary

Slow front attacker with high burst, then downtime with low damage.

45-55 casts per min.

85-90% uptime required for max DPS.

Sits on the boss and shields through attacks, DPSing when others can’t.

55 casts per min.

90-95% uptime needed for max DPS.

Blue is an uptime goblin.

Pros
  • Tanky
  • Bursty (good with downtime)
  • Extremely tanky
  • 5 mobility skills
Cons
  • Low mobility
  • Short range
  • Push-back on most skills
  • Slow movement speed
  • Short range
  • Wonky below 80 Enlightenment
Left
Summary

Slow front attacker with high burst, then downtime with low damage.

45-55 casts per min.

85-90% uptime required for max DPS.

Pros
  • Tanky
  • Bursty (good with downtime)
Cons
  • Low mobility
  • Short range
  • Push-back on most skills
Right
Summary

Sits on the boss and shields through attacks, DPSing when others can’t.

55 casts per min.

90-95% uptime needed for max DPS.

Blue is an uptime goblin.

Pros
  • Extremely tanky
  • 5 mobility skills
Cons
  • Slow movement speed
  • Short range
  • Wonky below 80 Enlightenment

Chaos Dungeon

Surge Cannon
Surge Cannon
Level 14
5
5
5
Galewind
Awakening
Engravings

Ark Passives

Evolution
Crit
Crit
30
Swiftness
Swiftness
10
Illicit Spell
Illicit Spell
2
Limit Break
Limit Break
1
Strike
Strike
2
Standing Striker
Standing Striker
2
Enlightenment
Spear Training
Spear Training
3
Sophistication
Sophistication
3
Lone Knight
Lone Knight
3
Lance Master
Lance Master
1+
Gunlance Hit Stance
Gunlance Hit Stance
3
Strategic Move
Strategic Move
1+
Leap
Unleashed Power
Unleashed Power
5
Release Potential
Release Potential
3
Instant Spell
Instant Spell
3
Awakening Amplifier
Awakening Amplifier
1
Strike Spear
Strike Spear
3

Engravings

Core Engravings
Pick One

Skills

Shout of Hatred
Shout of Hatred
Level 10
1
5
1
Focus

Synergy, Taunt, Meter Generation

  • Taunt can cancel boss patterns.
  • Doesn’t generate meter while in Defensive Stance, so you should disable it (Z) before use.
  • Wealth runes do not work because the generation is a flat +20% from Open Weakness(1). This flat generation only scales with your Spec stat, not runes.
  • QR runes reduce current CD and work for the skill they’re on, which is why it’s used here; it’s an increase to Synergy uptime and Shield generation.
  • Only use Focus rune with the other 2 tripods:
  • Wide Hit(2) lowers risk of missing agile targets.
  • Ready Defense(3) lets you tank huge damage for extra greeding.
  • 24s cooldown, same as a 30s skill with lvl10 CD Gem. So no CD Gem needed. Optional for syn uptime.
Bash
Bash
Level 4-7
1
1
0
Vision

Counter, Stagger, Weak Point

  • The main reason to pick Bash is an extra counter vs Shield Bash.
  • Concussion(2) is an option for more stagger.
  • You can set it to level 4 instead of 7 if you're running Fire Bullet or Rising Gunlance so you can run those at level 13 instead of 10.
Charged Stinger
Charged Stinger
Level 14
5
5
5
Galewind

Big Damage, Weak Point

  • Has a narrow hit area.
    While this moves you a significant distance when fully charged, it’s generally recommended not to use it as a gap-closer due to wasting a large amount of damage (-15% dmg when not used with your 2 synergies).
Surge Cannon
Surge Cannon
Level 14
5
5
5
Galewind

Big Damage, Stagger, Weak Point

  • Always pair with synergies.
  • Has a wide hit area, especially on the last shot.
Gunlance Shot
Gunlance Shot
Level 14
5
5
5
Galewind

Damage

  • Deals less damage if the button is released before the final hit, even if the charge meter is full.
  • Close Explosion(2) is what makes it a “Charge” skill, even if it’s functionally more like a Holding skill.
Dash Upper Fire
Dash Upper Fire
Level 14
5
5
5
Overwhelm

Counter, Damage, Stagger

  • Both the lunge and the shot attack can counter.
  • Use during Defensive Stance ensures the counter can’t be interrupted.
Counter Gunlance
Counter Gunlance
Level 14
5
5
5
Protection

Damage and Defense

  • Lower DPS than Core damage skills because you can’t trigger it without getting hit.
  • Skill puts up your shield for 2 seconds, if you get hit during this time it cuts the remaining 2s short, removing the shield and executing an attack. The shield tanks all attacks during the same server tick(testing shows 5-10hz, i.e: ~0.1-0.2s).
  • Using Protection rune gives a shield that lasts for the full ~1s attack animation, giving better protection vs multi-hit attacks. Push and Status immunity lasts during the entire attack animation.
Fire Bullet
Fire Bullet
Level 10-13
5
5
5
Quick Recharge

Weak Point, Stagger, Filler DPS

  • This has low damage and is mainly useful as filler when you have nothing better to use.
  • Lucky Chance(2) has 50% chance of reducing cooldown with 2 hits, both capable of proccing, meaning effectively 75% chance of reset.
  • Weak Point Enhancement(1) is good for big destruction checks.

T Skill and Awakening

Spear Dash
Spear Dash

Gets [Gunlance Skill] bonuses.

Awakening
Guardian’s Protection
Hyper Awakening
Guardian's Oath

-40% dmg taken and push+status immunity for

party members in a 10m radius for 10s.

This is generally the superior option for harder content.

Fills shield gauge.

Can be used in the prep-circle, with chaos dungeon build and an Engraving preset with Awakening for a short cooldown shield refill.

Awakening
Lance of Judgment
Hyper Awakening
Justice Served

Does more damage than the other awakening.

Usable for homework content.

Hyper version may blind your allies due to having a lot of visual noise.

Gem Priority

Gems are listed in order of most to least important from left to right. Grayed out icons are optional.
DMG
DMG gem 0DMG gem 1DMG gem 2DMG gem 3DMG gem 4DMG gem 5DMG gem 6
CDR
CDR gem 0CDR gem 1CDR gem 2CDR gem 3CDR gem 4CDR gem 5CDR gem 6

Rotation

No rotation image for this selection.
Notes

Shout > Spacebar > Bash > Surge > Stinger > T > GLS > DUF

DPS Distribution

No DPS image for this selection.

Ark Grid Cores

Sun
Moon
Star
Order
Tactical ControlTactical Control
Defense TacticsDefense Tactics
Defensive BarrageDefensive Barrage
Chaos
Flashy AttackFlashy Attack
Smoldering Strike | Absorbing StrikeSmoldering Strike|Absorbing Strike
AttackAttack