How to master Bomb Lance [2025 Update]

Comfortable equipment and some tips for PVE and PVP.

Good day to you, fellow reader

This guide is dedicated to my in-game passion weapon - Bomb Lance. And I am going to teach you how to become familiar with this unique piece of art.

! disclaimer !
You can agree and disagree about provided information below. It's up to you.
Guide is based on my own experience. I prefer to play agressively, any other gamestyle can require other loadout.

This builds includes CONDUIT trait as must-have.

𝙻𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚝
Bomb Lance with any preferable ammo type

𝙼𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚞𝚖 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚝
Here goes your creativity. Take any pistol you like to run with. Make sure you will be able to shoot on long distance in case of emergency to fight back.

𝚃𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚜

• 𝙺𝚗𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚜. Will save your time dealing with Immolator.
  
• 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙰𝚒𝚍 𝙺𝚒𝚝. You would like to heal… right?
  
• 𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚖𝚋. Helps to extinguish fire on teammates body, also kills Immolator.
  
• 𝚀𝚞𝚊𝚍 𝙳𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛. Your №2 helping tool to shoot lamps, barrels, screaming horses, zombies and hunters (in case your ammo suddenly ended at the wrong time). Takes some time and practice to become habitual.

𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜

• 𝚁𝚎𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚝. Useful for long or first aid draining fights. Can be replaced by second Vitality Shot.
  
• 𝚅𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚝. In case of Small-HP-Left-Emergency
  
• 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚝. Your №1 helping buddy to run Louisiana swamps for pure 10 minutes.
  
• 𝙰𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚝. Helpful to deal with poisoning. This can save you from doubled poison and concertina wire.

Bolt Thrower
Reloading time is very important in tough situations.



Conduit
Helps to obtain more stamina and save money on Stamina shots.



Berserker
Can be found randomly in match. Can't be bought in menu.

We, Bomb Lance mains, got blessed with variety of custom ammo.



Dragon Breath has same effect as Dragon Breath in Romero. You make people burn, lose their bars and, most important, make them panic.



Harpoon has same annoying energy as Dragon Breath because enemy needs time to stop bleeding in order not to bleed out.



Steel Ball Ammo represents fair fight with shotguns. As with Romero, player has one chance to hit (preferably kill) before reload.



Waxed Frag Charge is good for spamming frags on distance. Don't find this type of ammo that effective to use regularly.



Basic Ammo is a must-have in every match. It's The Ammo. Use it to quickly kill bosses, blow up enemy hunters, and take down Meatheads fast. This ammo type should be equipped as second ammo permanently (I mean not changed to custom ammo).



My top:
1. Steel Ball
2. Basic ammo
3. Dragon Breath
4. Harpoon
5. Waxed Frag Charge

Basic Skin. Available for everyone who reached 78 rank.


Shellback. Can be obtained by purchasing DLC "Crossroads".

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255000/Hunt_Showdown__Crossroads

The Shrike. Time-limited skin during event “As the Crow Flies”.

Tooth to Tail. Can be obtained by purchasing DLC "Cold Blooded"

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1761570/Hunt_Showdown__Cold_Blooded

When it comes to choose custom ammo type, I prefer Steel Ball Ammo.

Right now (April 2025) I run with Sparks pistol as secondary.
My tools and consumables are on this screen:

You are the best support for your team. Always remember that. You are going to participate mostly in all PVE content.

You must know how to deal quickly with all types of bosses. The easiest bosses are Assassin and Butcher. Main thing - don't let teammates (especially randoms) interfere. Just say to them - “Let me solo him” (reference to Elden Ring). Better for them to stay outside for a few minutes, so boss will focus only you.

𝙱𝚄𝚃𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁

This guy is VERY scared of Bomb Lance. Once you shoot Harpoon straight into his body and start to slice chunky boy - he will try to run away in any direction with scream. Run after him and finish the job.

𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙽

This one takes practice. It’s very important to be alone with boss. Good variant is to tie persistent “I found an ax, going to help” teammates somewhere outside and perform your swing dance, but, unfortunately, only in RDR2 tie option is available.
Nevermind. So, you come in the boss lair. Wait for Assassin’s greeting animation and shoot Harpoon straight in his body. Then start to cut him as a professional left mouse clicker until Assassin is dead.

𝚂𝙿𝙸𝙳𝙴𝚁

Still is very important to be alone, so all attacks will be directed to you. Two Harpoon shots and one swing with Bomb Lance after Spider calms down. Or you can shoot three times to speed up process.

𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙱𝙴𝙰𝙺

Hardest boss to deal with because of cutting attacks of Bomb Lance. Scrapbeak is vulnerable to piercing damage (knife, pitchfork). Long range swings can help to deal with him and stay on distance to avoid unwanted damage. Don’t be greedy, have patience. Concertina wire is easily destroyable by Bomb Lance, but being stuck in it doesn’t help to move away from 50 hp damage from boss.

𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙹𝙰𝚆

Very easily and fast can be killed by method "Come in water for a second, jump back on land, chop gator".

Bomb Lance is very situative weapon. Prepare to suffer from shotguns, fannings and pair pistols. Mainly from shotguns. Sometimes opponent doesn’t give any sign of having one of these advantages, so it can be too late.

Here are some tips to improve your skill:

𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚜!
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Pitching Crematorium
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Healing-Waters Church
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Blanchett Graves
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In Dark Souls games your sword can penetrate walls and deal damage to enemies, but not in Hunt: Showdown. You will be in a very awkward situation. So when you are going in narrow places - be ready to shoot Harpoon. Better try to “catch” somebody than knock walls.

𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚢 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢

If there is a big distance - better let enemy run away. Try to shoot Harpoon or secondary weapon, but don’t chase too long. There is no point of doubtful kill.

𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚜𝚜

There is no 100% chance of easy kills, but with team behind you can make enemies panic and miss their shots, or even don’t realize that somebody is already inside. In one swing you can kill three people at once.

𝙺𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚐𝚞𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎

Don’t. Ever. Come. Inside. Building. Where. You. Have. Heard. Shotgun. Trade or your death doesn’t make things easier for the team. You can be lucky one time, but it isn’t the rule.

𝚃𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜

Be careful, but not too much. There is always a moment when you can make a good push. Some enemies won’t let you come too close, so keep in mind that sometimes it is better to continue shooting with a secondary weapon.

𝙱𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎

Why? You can easily find a cover to reload Harpoon. Also YOU control the situation. Listen to teammates information and to yourself (enemy steps and other sounds). There is less maneuver for enemy hunters to escape Harpoon or slash attack. Also be careful not to get stuck somewhere by yourself. And remember narrow paths!

𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝙱𝚞𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝 - 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚞𝚝

Depends on distance. It’s better to be sure that the enemy is dead, than have a moment of disappointment. Plus you can always give a nice shot in the body from a secondary weapon.

𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢

For now it’s the hardest part. As Crytek nerfed jumps and squats, you can be stuck for a moment in “slow-motion” that ruins everything. So… yeah… be aware.

𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚎:
Don't get discouraged by unlucky first times. Even Rachta couldn't handle:
https://youtu.be/3IwaP1foPsM
𝚃𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜:

▶️Team wipe[www.twitch.tv]

▶️ONE BUT FURIOUS[www.twitch.tv]

▶️*scared scream* -> bonk - *scared scream* -> meow -> slash -> ppl everywhere speech[www.twitch.tv]

▶️Let me revive my teammate in peace[www.twitch.tv]

▶️STOP STOP STOP[www.twitch.tv]

See that big buddy?

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You can complete “Melee kill 50 Meatheads” in Book of Monsters by hitting him 6 times. It is a completely silent method, so just dodge his attacks and Meathead is done.

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This violet box gives only 2 Harpoon charges, so better not to shoot everything at once.

Bomb Lance is an interesting combination of shooting and melee weapon. Everybody should give it a try at least once.

[Mithrandir]

Great guide.

[HΞARTLΞSS]

Flash bombs can be looted from Toolbox. 20 mins of stamina is divine. Or it is necessary to have two traits - Determination and Greyhound (to compensate absence of stamina "for right moment"). That takes 2 slots and 7 points. Not so worth.
Yep, If somebody sneaks around, prefers to be slow, it's okay. Even doesn't need stamina in that case. I prefer to act aggressively, so there is no time to wait for stamina recovery. Just run and slice.

Traits can be applicable to any kind of weapon. It's not a crossbow or bow that requires specific traits.
Lightfoot is situational, doctor and physician are what everybody takes, pitcher costs 6 points and doesn't make big sense for Bomb Lance (Harpoon is avaliable and doesn't require any trait).
Whispersmith also can be applied to any weapon, but not so worth to have.

Only my opinion. I wrote how I play. I saw how other people play. Each is individual in his playstyle.

[Darmelo]

It feels incomplete to talk about the bomb lance without talking about utility and traits.

Flash bombs are non negotiable.
One big stamina shot is enough if you wait for an engagement to use it.

Lightfoot is a must have. Period.
Doctor and physician lets you drop one vit shot to make space for another flash bomb.
Silent killer can make all the difference, an experienced player will run as soon as they hear you change a melee.
Pitcher makes some cheeky and unexpected flash bomb angles and timings possible.
Whispersmith isn't as crucial but the bomb lance equip sound is very distinct.
Kiteskin for the funny fort carmick roof jump.

Put it all together and outplaying people with these utilities, some game sense, and a bit of luck is one of the best feelings in the world.

[BobMarleyC]

uwu bullets box best companion for bomb lance

[HΞARTLΞSS]

I have played with many randoms, who: used knife, didn't take stamina, didn't take part in beating boss, used pair pistols as secondary and so on. I hope these people will take stamina (at least) from now if they see that guide o:

[HΞARTLΞSS]

There is no goal to offend anybody, I'm sorry only tribute to cool weapon

[[SPIT] †Joud™]

As a bomblance main this is so offending don't share our secrets please

[Weaponizedautism]

<no obrez mace
bad guide

[Pepsi1937]

Nice COCK!!!

[HankC]

nice guide, thx