Lost Ark Gunlancer PvE Guide: Stats, Skills, And Builds

by | Last updated Feb 1, 2024

Welcome to our Lost Ark Gunlancer guide! The Gunlancer is a very unique class in the game, being the only one that can be a ‘Tank.’ The word Tank is in quotes because Lost Ark doesn’t have tanking in a traditional sense. Monsters can attack just about everyone and most attacks hit areas, so while the Gunlancer can taunt, monsters won’t always just be attacking the Gunlancer. 

All that being said, it’s still a very fun class, focused on defensives and being tanky, while still being able to output decent damage.

Gunlancer Leveling Guide

Leveling in Lost Ark is more of a tutorial for the class than anything else and you will have a fairly smooth experience doing just about anything. However, with that being said, there are a few things you can do to optimize your leveling experience. 

To maximize damage while leveling, you should focus all your skill points on the following skills: 

  • Charged stinger
  • Shout of Hatred
  • Guardian’s Thunderbolt
  • Gunlance Shot

These skills should make up the core of your rotation, as they provide huge damage and are very easy to use. If you have any leftover points, you can use them to test out new skills.

Best Gunlancer PvE Engravings and Stat Priority

Like most classes, the Gunlancer can be split into two builds, based on its class-specific engravings: Combat Readiness and Solo Knight. 

Combat Readiness is the Tank spec, which focuses mostly on defenses and staying alive. Meanwhile, Solo Knight is a damage variant, perfect for anyone who wants to be somewhat tanky, but still dish out a solid amount of damage. 

Combat Readiness stat priority: Spec and Crit (Take Spec until 1300, then rest into Crit)

Solo Knight stat priority: Crit and Swiftness (Take Swiftness until 475, then rest into Crit)

Best Combat Readiness Engravings

  1. Grudge
  2. Barricade
  3. Combat Readiness (Level 1)
  4. Stabilized Status
  5. Spirit Absorption
  6. Cursed Doll

Best Solo Knight Engravings

  1. Grudge
  2. Super Charge
  3. Solo Knight
  4. Master Brawler
  5. Cursed Doll
  6. Spirit Absorption

Gunlancer Chaos Dungeon & Cube Tripods and Skill Builds

When it comes to Chaos Dungeons and the Cube, Gunlancer is a very straightforward class. There’s a good build that covers both elements for both Combat Readiness and Solo Knight options and should be your go to. As for Awakening skills, you should use Guardian’s Protection for all builds.

For new players, to read these builds simply look at which skills are colored and pick the upgrades based on the small images below the names. Then, add runes to skills for even more upgrades.

Gunlancer Raid Tripods and Skill Builds

Things get a bit more complicated in raids. There are now two main different builds for each engraving build, and both can be adjusted slightly depending on the raid. If you’re playing Combat Readiness, you’ll want to focus more on defensives, while Solo Knight will pick up more damage options. 

Best Gunlancer Gems

Attack GemsCooldown Gems
Surge CannonSurge Cannon
Guardian’s ThunderboltGuardian’s Thunderbolt
Shield ChargeShield Charge
Shield BashShield Bash
Dash Upper FireShout of Hatred
Counter GunlanceNelissa’s Energy
Bash
Counter Gunlance

Best Gunlancer Card Sets

For both builds, you should go with:

  • We’ll Meet Again and Forest of Giants
  • OR
  • Lostwind Cliff

Best Gunlancer PvE Combos

In Lost Ark, skills combo together to create a powerful chain of moves that is much more effective than using each move individually.  As such, there will be a huge damage difference between players who know how to get the most out of their class, and those who don’t. 

That being said, most fights are very dynamic, so you won’t always be able to complete your full combo, as surviving should be the key focus. Still, here’s how a core combo looks for both Gunlancer builds: 

Combat Readiness Combo

  1. Shout of Hatred (To taunt enemies)
  2. Bash
  3. Surge Cannon
  4. Shield Charge
  5. Guardian’s Thunder
  6. Optional Dash Upper Fire
  7. (When expecting incoming damage) Nellasia’s Energy

Solo Knight Combo

  1. Shout of Hatred
  2. Bash
  3. Surge Cannon
  4. Charge Stinger
  5. Optional Dash Upper Fire
  6. Optional Fire Bullet
  7. (When expecting incoming damage) Nellasia’s Energy

Thank you for checking out our Lost Ark Gunlancer Guide! Now you should be ready to get the most out of your class and progress through the endgame in Lost Ark. We’ll keep this page constantly updated, should any changes happen.