Shelling Styles

A brief introduction to the three different shelling styles and the non-shelling style, with the purpose of allowing players to make an educated decision regarding which style(s) suits their preferences,

Table of Contents:

A low commitment style with lots of room for QoL, that used to be a meme on base game but pulled a 180 and became a force to be reckoned with in Iceborne.

Long is the pure shelling style, so you spam shells at the monsters while laughing at their HZV, for they became nothing more than suggestions. The focus of the gameplay is to position yourself in a way that allows you to keep chaining charged shell after charged shell, which is not much of a problem when you factor in the low animation commitment, the sheer amount of QoL skill you can fit in a long gunlance build and the extra range on the shells. 

Pros:

- Highest charged shell damage 

- Longest range on shells 

- Plenty of slots (Since it only needs to spec for shelling damage, and sharpness is not much of a problem) 

- Constant influx of damage 

- Doesn't care about hitzone values (HZV)

- Safest of all styles (low animation commitment, decent range and room for QoL skills) 

Cons: 

- Damage reaches it's cap after artillery 5/ focus 3/ capacity boost/ and felyne bombardier 

- Gameplay can be considered dull if compared to other styles (Highly subjective) 

- Currently the only shelling style that is yet to reach shelling lvl 7

Combo: Charged shelling 4x (Holding O after an attack or a quick reload) > Quick reload (R2+O)

A fast paced styled with the lowest animation commitment, The king of base game, back in full force. (God bless Raging Brachydios)

For wide shelling, the name of the game is aggression, so you're always glued to the monster, unleashing a barrage of thrusts and shells. As for the gameplay, since it got the strongest uncharged shell among all styles, wide uses a mix of lateral thrust and shelling, abusing it's low animation commitment to squeeze damage at every little opening that the monster gives.  

Pros: 

- Highest uncharged shelling damage 

- Highest wyrmstake cannon damage

- Highest wyvern's fire damage 

- Lowest animation commitment (Makes it very safe to play) 

- Constant influx of damage

Cons: 

- Lowest burst fire damage 

- Smallest clip size (2-3) 

- Hitzone dependant (Since pretty much half of it's damage comes from melee attacks)

Combo: Lateral thrust (△) > Shelling (O) > Lateral thrust (△)> Shelling (O) > Lateral thrust (△) > Shelling (O) > Lateral thrust (△) > Quick reload (R2+O) 

*The combo is subject to changes, based on the current hitzones you have access or the need to reposition (More shelling or more thrusting)*

A style with high animation commitment and flashy gameplay, still suffering from the same problems it had on base game, with the tradeoff being the capability to dish out huge amounts of damage.

Normal shelling does not hold back, it unleashes all of it's shells at once with the burst fire, while slapping the monsters silly with some heavy hits. As for the gameplay, you want to look for openings (or make them yourself) to perform the fullburst combo, since that's where this particular style shines, but sometimes it can be a bit tricky, given the animation commitment that comes with it. 

Pros: 

- Highest burst fire damage 

- Biggest clip size (5-6) 

- Benefits the most from physical damage skills, compared to other shelling styles 

- Highest damage potential

Cons: 

- Lowest uncharged shell damage 

- Lowest wyvern's fire damage 

- Hitzone dependant (Since prety much half of it's damage comes from melee attacks)

- Highest animation commitment (Makes it rather risky) 

- Revolves around a ramp up combo 

- Requires good amount of match-up knowledge for efficient use

Combo: 

- Rising slash (△+O) > Overhead smash (△) > Burst fire (O) > Wide sweep (△) 

- Lunging upthrust (↑+△) > Overhead smash (△+O) > Burst fire (O) > Wide sweep (△) 

- Lateral thrust/Shelling (△/O) > Quick reload (R2+O) > Overhead smash (△+O) > Burst fire (O) > Wide sweep (△) 

- Jumping smash/Jumping reload smash (R2 mid air) > Burst fire (O) > Wide Sweep (△) 

*After the wide sweep, go into Quick reload (R2+O) > Overhead smash (△+O) for the fullburst loop*

*While the objective is to the be using the fullburst loop as many times as you can, if there isn't an opportunity to do so, you're better using using the wide shelling playstyle (Lateral thrust and shelling) untill said opportunity presents itself*

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A peculiar style from base game that, as the name suggests, revolves around ignoring all forms of shelling and using exclusively the melee attacks of the Gunlance's kit. It somehow managed to survive the WSB and find spot in the current meta.

Back from the ashes, the "Slaplance" managed to claw it's way to a degree of relevancy, enjoying this trend that Capcom is setting, of monsters with obscenely high hitzone values, like master rank Kulve Taroth and Alatreon. This style plays very similarly to normal shelling, focusing on performing the fullburst loop, but, obviously, without the burst fire,

Pros:

- Doesn't have problems with sharpness management (Due to how the style itself plays and having access to master's touch)

- Doesn't have to play around the WSB

- Fair amount of slots to work with (Since it doesn't have to spec for shelling)

Cons:

- Extremely hitzone dependant

- Considerable animation commitment

- Revolves around a ramp up combo

- Requires a fair amount of match-up knowledge for efficient use

Combo:

- Rising slash (△+O) > Overhead smash (△) > Wide sweep (△)

- Lunging upthrust (↑+△) > Overhead smash (△+O) > Wide sweep (△)

- Lateral thrust (△) > Quick reload (R2+O) > Overhead smash (△+O) > Wide sweep (△)

- Jumping smash/Jumping reload smash (R2 mid air) > Wide Sweep (△) 

*After the wide sweep, go into Quick reload (R2+O) > Overhead smash (△+O) for the fullburst loop*

*Much like normal shelling, the goal is to be using the fullburst loop (without the burst fire though) as much as you can, but it's not always possible, so, similarly to normal shelling again, if there isn't an opportunity to do so, the player is better off using a different playstyle in the meantime, which in this case revolves around using lateral thrusts, lunging upthrusts and rising slashes while waiting for a proper opening*