Gunlancer Lost Ark Class Guide

Detailed breakdown of the Gunlancer Class in Lost Ark
Gunlancer Lost Ark Guide

Our Gunlancer Lost Ark class guide covers everything you need to know about this Gunner subclass, including its overall role in the team, its strengths and weaknesses, some tips, and more. Lost Ark allows you to control a number of classes, who all come with different benefits in PvE and PvP content. So if you want a breakdown of the Gunlancer Lost Ark class, we’ve got you covered below.

Gunlancer Class Guide Overview

The Gunlancer in Lost Ark is a Warrior type that wields a Gunlance and Shield. Their musical instrument is a War Horn. The Gunlancer is the closest thing to a Melee Tank class that excels at mitigating damage, taunting, interrupting abilities, and providing a strong shield for the party. On a lesser note, they can also provide a few buffs and debuffs to assist the party: enemy damage reduction, enemy defense reduction, and increased attack damage. If you are the type of player that likes to absorb blows like a champ and also help support your party, the Gunlancer is the right choice for you.

With that said, there are two distinct playstyles that players can choose through the use of class engravings:

  • Combat Readiness: “Tank” (Higher Defense but less Damage) or
  • Solo Knight: “DPS” (Higher Damage but less Defense)

Their Identity Gauge, the Shield Gauge, fills up automatically while in combat and upon successful hits to enemies. The more that is full, the more powerful the effect of the Identity Skill that is used. The player can choose between either of the two Identity Skills: Defensive Stance or Shield of Battlefield.

Defensive Stance provides a shield around the player that protects from interrupts. The player moves 50% slower and the Gauge constantly drains. The effect can be toggled on and off. It has a cooldown of 2 seconds.

Shield of Battlefield is an targetable jump attack that pushes and knocks down enemies within the area. It also absorbs all damage dealt to the player and party members within the area. This effect lasts up to 5 seconds, dependent on how full the Shield Gauge was when used. It has a cooldown of 1.5 minutes

Role of a Gunlancer

Gunlancers are the closest you will find to a Tank class in Lost Ark. They focus on keeping the boss facing them, leaving their rear exposed to party members and helping to mitigate damage. They are one of the slowest classes in the game, but make up for it with their great survivability. They can also be a powerful Burst Damage DPS class. Gunlancers also provide many benefits to the party, these include: providing an Increased Damage Taken Debuff on the Target, an Attack Power Buff to the Party, Providing a Shield for the party, and Countering many boss abilities.

Strengths

  • Very high survivability
  • Very high burst damage
  • Provides Shield to self and party members
  • Can Remove a Debuff from party members
  • Provides Buff to increase party damage
  • Provides Debuff on target that increases damage taken
  • Provides Debuff on target to reduce defense

Weaknesses

  • Very slow base movement speed
  • Shorter range dash ability

Skills

The following table is a list of all Lost Ark Gunlancer Skills that you will unlock and at which level you will do so.

LevelIcon Skill NameCooldown (seconds)TypeDescription
10iconBash10NormalPerform a shield attack that inflicts 111 Damage and stuns foes for 3s.
10iconDash Upper Fire16ComboAdvance 3 meters61 forward, striking foes with your gunlance to inflict Damage, launching them into the air. Use the skill again to fire a shell and inflict 246 Damage.
10iconFire Bullet7NormalPerform a shelling attack at foes at close range, inflicting 141 Damage.
10iconRising Gunlance9NormalInflict 32 Damage by sticking the spear into the ground, then pull it out to inflict 126 Damage to foes in front of you, launching them into the air.
10iconSharp Gunlance5NormalThrust the spear forward, inflicting 155 Damage.
10iconShield Bash9ComboPerform a fierce shield swing to inflict 35 Damage. Use the skill again to inflict 84 Damage with the following swing.
12iconLeap Attack16PointLeap 9 meters toward the target location to strike at the ground, inflicting 275 Damage.
14iconGuardian’s Thunderbolt20NormalCall forth a lightning strike from the sky to inflict 392 [Lightning] Damage to foes in a 5 meter radius, electrocuting them for 3s.
16iconHook Chain24NormalThrow a long chained hook to inflict 74 Damage, then pull that foe to you, inflicting 84 Damage.
18iconShield Charge16HoldingCharge forward with your shield raised in front of you. While charging, inflict 43 Damage with each hit.
20iconCharged Stinger30ChargeWhile in a defensive stance, focus energy and thrust the spear in front of you.
You can slowly change the direction of the attack while focusing energy. Damage varies according to the charge stage: 225 Damage when undercharged, 525 Damage on Level 1, and 751 Damage when overcharged.
24iconShout of Hatred30NormalLet out a fierce roar. Inflicts 203 Damage to foes within a 8 meter radius, taunting non-player foes for 5s and disabling certain skills on them. Challenge or higher foes cannot be taunted again for a set period of time.
28iconShield Shock12NormalStrike the ground with your shield, inflicting 136 Damage. Foe Move Speed -40% for 4s.
32iconCounter Gunlance20NormalRaise the shield to defend attacks from the front for 2s. You can negate the Damage using 10000% of Max HP.
If you defend an attack, perform a counterattack within 1s, inflicting 553 Damage and knocking foes back.
36iconNellasia’s Energy40NormalLet out a roar. Damage to all party members in a 24 meter radius -10% for 6s.
40iconGunlance Shot18NormalPerform a vicious thrusting attack to inflict 83 Damage and focus energy at the tip of the gunlance. The energy draws foes toward you, inflicting 169.8 total Damage. When the energy is charged enough, fire a shell to inflict 165 Damage and launch the foe into the air.
50iconSurge Cannon30HoldingCompress the energy using the exploder on your weapon, then propel it out in front of you.
If the energy is not fully compressed, inflict 373 Damage and push foes away. When fully compressed, inflict 745 Damage and knock back foes.
LevelIcon Skill NameCooldown (minutes)TypeDescription
50iconGuardian’s Protection5NormalUpon using the skill, recover 100% Shield Meter and release a 10 meter radius protection aura in the nearby area for 10s. Foes within the aura take 111 Damage and become stunned for 4s. Within the aura, all party members take -40.0% less Damage and become immune to Pushes and debuffs.
50iconLance of Judgment5NormalSummon a giganticspear of light at the target location, inflicting 111 [Holy] Damage and launching foes into the air. Crit Rate +10% for all party members within a 5 meter radius for 10s.

Gunlancer Levelling Guide

We recommend that you try out all the skills and play whatever is the most fun for you. However, if you just want to speed up the process (maybe that’s the most fun for you) or you’re tying to power through levelling an alt, follow this level by level breakdown of what skills to use and level up and which tripods to activate.

You can swap between saved skill tree slots whenever for free (even in combat as long as no skills are on cooldown). It’s recommended to use both your skillbook slots, choose abilities based on this: one for AoE (packs of normal enemies) and one for Single Target (Boss/Elites).

Skill Progression

At early levels you will use the Fillers listed here:

  • Sharp Gunlance
  • Rising Gunlance
  • Fire Bullet
  • Shield Shock

You will automatically unlock the skills below as your combat level increases and earn more skill points. Assign skill points following this priority:

  • Charged Stinger (Unlocked at Level 20) to Level 10
  • Shout of Hatred (Unlocked at Level 24) to Level 7
  • Guardian’s Thunderbolt (Unlocked at Level 14) to Level 10
  • Gunlance Shot (Unlocked at Level 40) to Level 10
  • Filler(s) of your choice

You will have left over skill points at some levels and between levels not listed below, just put them into whatever you feel like or wait until the next checkpoint to save time removing points later. You can also swap out Sharp Gunlance for any of the other fillers listed above if you so choose.

Below is a Gunlancer Skill Levelling chart that shows progression of skill points and their Tripods.

LevelIcon Skill NameSkill LevelTripod 1Tripod 2Tripod 3
11iconSharp Gunlance4Giant Wheel
12iconFire Bullet4Lucky Chance
13iconRising Gunlance4Quick Preparation
14iconGuardian’s Thunderbolt7*
(remove points from everything else)
Undying HeatTough Strike
18 icon Sharp Gunlance7Giant WheelUnexpected Twist
20iconCharged Stinger7*
(remove points from Sharp Gunlance)
Weak Point DetectionCharge Enhancement
22 icon Sharp Gunlance7Giant WheelUnexpected Twist
24iconShout of Hatred7*
(remove points from Sharp Gunlance)
Quick PreparationLaw of the Jungle
25iconCharged Stinger10*
(remove points from Guardian’s Thunderbolt)
Weak Point DetectionCharge EnhancementLast Charge
28iconGuardian’s Thunderbolt7Undying HeatTough Strike
32 icon Sharp Gunlance7Giant WheelUnexpected Twist
33iconGuardian’s Thunderbolt10*
(remove points from Sharp Gunlance)
Undying HeatTough StrikeLightning Stalk
36 icon Sharp Gunlance7Giant WheelUnexpected Twist
40iconGunlance Shot7Nimble MovementWeak Point Detection
41iconGunlance Shot10Nimble MovementWeak Point DetectionClose Explosion
43 icon Sharp Gunlance7Giant WheelUnexpected Twist
47 icon Sharp Gunlance10Giant WheelUnexpected TwistPummel
49 icon Fire Bullet7Lucky ChanceEnhanced Strike

Combat

For Normal packs of enemies, the Gunlancer AoE rotation is:

Guardian’s Thunderbolt > Sharp Gunlance > Any other Fillers

For Bosses, the Gunlancer Single Target rotation is:

Identity Shield (if ready) > Shout of Hatred > Charged Stinger > Gunlance Shot > Any other Fillers

Gear

Just equip the highest Item Lv. item you find. Focus on Agility for increased movement speed, reduced casting time, and faster skill cooldowns. Secondly, your next best stat is Specialization.

Gunlancer PvE Guide

Below are our detailed articles on the different styles of play the Gunlancer can have in Lost Ark. For PvE, a character who has just reached level 50 combat level can now access their Final Skill and the Awakening Skills. For optimal play, players should make use of the 2 Skill Presets that they have access to for free. Generally speaking, they should be set up for:

  1. Multiple Targets: AoE Skills utilized in Chaos DungeonsThe Cube, etc.
  2. Bosses: Single Target Skills utilized in Guardian Raids and Abyss Dungeons

The Class Engravings can also change the way you choose your skills. Once the effects of your chosen one have been applied to your gear, you may need to change your skills accordingly.

Gunlancer Chaos Dungeon and Cube Build

Check out our detailed guide for the best Gunlancer build for Chaos Dungeons and Cube instances. In this article we break down the best skills to choose for clearing this content with relative ease.

Included in this guide is a skill variation for a fresh level 50 player. There are also 2 more builds for when you have collected more skill points. If you are in need of more skill points for these builds, check out our guide showing you where to get all of the available skill points in Lost Ark.

Gunlancer Raid Build

Check out our detailed guide for the best Gunlancer builds for Guardian Raids and Abyss DungeonsIn this article we break down the 2 playstyles that the Gunlancer can have through tuse of their class engravings. The best skills, tripods, runes, stats, and engravings to use for each of them are explained in detail here.

Included in this guide is a skill variation for a fresh level 50 player. There are also 2 more builds for when you have collected more skill points. If you are in need of more skill points for these builds, check out our guide showing you where to get all of the available skill points in Lost Ark.

Gunlancer PvP Guide

In Player versus Player Arenas, Gunlancers are a valuable asset to the team. They provide a large amount of crowd control (CC) effects such as stuns and knockdowns, and the burst potential is very high. Their shields are also valuable to help teammates peel or engage.

PvP Stats

  • 800 Agility
  • 440 Endurance

or

  • 950 Specialization
  • 300 Agility

Gunlancer Skills PvP Build

Feel free to change whatever skills you like depending on your playstyle and how you see fit.

Useful Stuns:

  • Counter Gunlance (Tripod 3: Lightning Strike Spear)
  • Hook Chain > Bash
  • Guardian’s Thunderbolt (Tripod 3: Electrocution)

Knock-up/down combo

  • Shield Charge (Tripod 3: Unending Attack) > Dash Upper Fire

Try out using Leap Attack with the Tripod 3: Leap for some mobility and Tripod 2: Shockwave for extra knock up potential.

The main source of damage is going to be through Surge Cannon or Gunlance Shot after a stun. Surge Cannon has a long casting time, so make sure to land those stuns before using.

The Best Gunlancer PvP Awakening Skill is Guardian’s Protection due to it’s very high defensive capabilities. However, if your team finds it would be more helpful to have more damage use Lance of Judgment.

Below is a general PvP build that is a great foundation to build upon.

IconSkill NameSkill LevelTripodsNotes
iconSurge Cannon102
3
2
High Damage
iconGunlance Shot103
1
1
High Damage
iconCounter Gunlance101
1
2
Tripod 3: Lightning Strike Spear –Stun (if successful)
iconHook Chain101
2
1
Pull enemies in then Bash
iconBash101
1
2
Stun
Tripod 2: Ready Attack – Attack Buff
Tripod 3: Echo – Increased stun duration
iconGuardian’s Thunderbolt102
3
2
Stun
Tripod 2: Wide Strike – increased range
Tripod 3: Electrocution – increased stun duration. Can swap out for Lightning Stalk for preference
icon Shield Charge 102
3
1
Movement Ability
Tripod 3: Unending Attack – knock up
iconDash Upper Fire41Damage

Here’s Youtuber Hermandad with some extraordinary 1v3 PVP.

Best Gunlancer Engravings

Combat Readiness (Tank)

Mandatory

IconEngravingDescriptionSource
iconCombat ReadinessLv. 1: Normal skills Damage +20%. Shield Amount +30% in Defensive Stance. Damage +4% for 10s when hit while in Defensive Stance (stacked up to 3 times, once every 1s).
Lv. 2: …Shield Amount +40% in Defensive Stance. Damage +5%…
Lv. 3: …Shield Amount +50% in Defensive Stance. Damage +6%…
Guardian Raid
Abyss Dungeon
iconGrudgeLv. 1: Damage +4% to Boss or above monsters. Damage -20% from Boss or above monsters.
Lv. 2: Damage +10%. …
Lv. 3: Damage +20% …
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconBarricadeLv. 1: Damage to foes while shielded +3%.
Lv. 2: …+8%.
Lv. 3: …+16%.
Chaos Dungeons
Cube

Optional

IconEngravingDescriptionSource
iconCursed DollLv. 1: Atk. Power +3%. Healing -25%, natural recovery excluded.
Lv. 2: …+8%. …
Lv. 3: …+16%. …
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconStabilized StatusLv. 1: Damage +3% when your HP is above 80%.
Lv. 2: Damage +8% …
Lv. 3: Damage +16% …
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconAwakeningLv. 1: Awakening Skill Cooldown -10%. +1 maximum use.
Lv. 2: Awakening Skill Cooldown -25%. +2 maximum uses.
Lv. 3: Awakening Skill Cooldown -50%. +3 maximum uses.
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconSpirit AbsorptionLv. 1: Atk./Move Speed +3%.
Lv. 2: Atk./Move Speed +8%.
Lv. 3: Atk./Move Speed +15%
Chaos Dungeons
Cube

Solo Knight (DPS)

As many skills are Charge type attacks, the engraving Super Charge will help boost DPS greatly.

Mandatory

IconEngravingDescriptionSource
iconSolo KnightLv. 1: Gunlance skill Crit Rate +5%. Crit Damage +30%. Battlefield Shield cannot be used. Shield Meter consumption during Defensive Stance +100%.
Lv. 2: Gunlance skill Crit Rate +10%. Crit Damage +40%….
Lv. 3: Gunlance skill Crit Rate +15%. Crit Damage +50%….
Guardian Raid
Abyss Dungeon
iconSuper ChargeLv. 1: Charge skills’ charging speed 8%. Damage +4%.
Lv. 2: …+20%. …+10%.
Lv. 3: …+40%. …+20%.
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconGrudgeLv. 1: Damage +4% to Boss or above monsters. Damage -20% from Boss or above monsters.
Lv. 2: Damage +10%. …
Lv. 3: Damage +20% …
Chaos Dungeons
Cube

Optional

IconEngravingDescriptionSource
iconCursed DollLv. 1: Atk. Power +3%. Healing -25%, natural recovery excluded.
Lv. 2: …+8%. …
Lv. 3: …+16%. …
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconMaster BrawlerLv. 1: Head attack Damage +5%
Lv. 2: Head attack Damage +12%
Lv. 3: Head attack Damage +25%
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
Field Bosses
iconBarricadeLv. 1: Damage to foes while shielded +3%.
Lv. 2: …+8%.
Lv. 3: …+16%.
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconSpirit AbsorptionLv. 1: Atk./Move Speed +3%.
Lv. 2: Atk./Move Speed +8%.
Lv. 3: Atk./Move Speed +15%
Chaos Dungeons
Cube

Gear Sets

Below is a list of all the gear sets and their bonuses that available to Tier 1 Gunlancers. You can mix and match 2-Set bonuses using 2 or 3 different ones. Depending on your playstyle and what’s available to you, you may want to take two 2-set bonuses instead of a full 5-set Bonus. You can also have one set for Chaos Dungeons and other Solo Content, and another for Guardian Raids and other Group Content.

Item LevelRaritySet Bonus NameEffectsSource
385RelicDark Night2-Set: When attacking a foe, 30% chance for +8% Atk and Move Speed for 6s. (Cooldown: 3s)
5-Set: Increases Crit Rate by 40%, but decreases Crit Damage by 40%.
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Welcome 3)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Nightmare 1-4)
385RelicPhantom Memory2-Set: Attack Speed and Move Speed +5%
5-Set: Increases Damage with an Awakening Skill to Seed or lesser monsters by 60%. Increases Damage to Challenge or lesser monsters by 60% when hitting them with an Awakening Skill for 10s. (Cooldown: 60s)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Welcome 3)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Nightmare 1-4)
385RelicVoid Afterimage2-Set: Decreases damage taken by 30% when HP is below 30%.
+15% Atk. Speed and Move Speed, +10% Skill Cooldown.
5-Set: When hitting a foe with a normal attack, +15% Additional Damage for 3s (Cooldown: 1s)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Welcome 3)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Nightmare 1-4)
340LegendaryAwakened Hatred2-Set: Combat Resource Recovery Speed: +30%
5-Set: Crit Damage +25
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Boisterous Elemental2-Set: Increases Attack Speed and Move Speed by 4% for 6s, up to 8% when attacking monsters Boss rank or above. (Cooldown: 3s)
5-Set: Increases damage to monsters Boss ranked or above by 12%.
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Dense Confusion2-Set: Attack Speed and Move Speed +4%
5-Set: Crit Rate +15%
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Enraged Nature2-Set: Move Speed +8%
5-Set: Atk. Power +4% for 8s, up to 12% when attacking a monster Boss ranked or above. (Cooldown: 3s)
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Mist2-Set: Decreases damage taken from Normal ranked monsters by 20%.
5-Set: Increases damage dealt to monsters Challenge rank or below by 15%.
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
302EpicAncient2-Set: When hit while HP is below 20%, restores 3% of Max HP for 15s each time you hit a Normal monster. (Cooldown: 60s)
5-Set: Increases damage by 17% when hitting 3 or more foes.
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)
302EpicRugged Valley2-Set: Move Speed +8%
5-Set: Atk. Power +4% for 8s, up to 12% when attacking a monster Boss ranked or above. (Cooldown: 3s)
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)
302 Epic Seraphic Oath2-Set: Attack Speed +8%
5-Set: Additional Damage +10%
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)
302 Epic Stalwart Years2-Set: Attack Speed +8%
5-Set: Additional Damage +10%
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)

Why not also check out our Lost Ark Deadeye builds, which covers everything you need to know about the class and its role.