Shield Lancer

Shield Lancers are defensive Grineer units that carry large metal shields in one hand and Viper pistols in the other. They slowly press forward while firing over their shields. Nearby Grineer will often use them as mobile cover to variable effectiveness. Shield Lancers will also use their shields as impromptu battering rams to knock players off their feet, often doing so when a player comes too close. Shield Lancers often will not charge players who have Grineer using them as cover, but will charge when the units behind them are killed or they move away.

Melee attacks completely bypass their physical shields. A jumping kick will knock Shield Lancers to the ground. Accurate players can damage Shield Lancers through the opening near the top of their shields, or by shooting their legs below the shield. Loki's Radial Disarm is capable of removing the shield from its wielder. Mag's Pull used to be capable of the same until the update 8.3, where it was changed to an AoE ability; it will now simply pull the Lancer towards Mag while knocking him down, which is arguably more useful.

Their shields can be pierced by a punch through mod, such as Metal Auger, Seeker, and Seeking Force. A Rank 0 mod with +0.4 Punch through is more than sufficient to achieve this.

Tactics

 * When a Shield Lancer finds a different ranged Grineer to back with, the pair then locates their places corresponding to the location of their target. This pairing takes time before they can make an attack, which makes both of them practically vulnerable during this period.
 * Both the shooter (of any range Grineer, except other shield lancers) and the Shield Lancer switch places in attacking their target. Which makes them in a pair less efficient in dealing their targets damage.
 * This also means that the Shield Lancer would move their shield out of the way before using his Viper against his target, while his shooter behind him crouches down.
 * When a player moves too close (about the Shield Lancer's melee range), on the other hand, both will shoot instead.
 * When alone, the Shield Lancer places his Viper on top of his shield and starts firing at his targets. This surprisingly makes the Shield Lancer independently versatile, as the shield is used as if he is a regular Lancer hiding behind cover.
 * Unlike the regular Lancers, Shield Lancers do not have plasma grenades.
 * Shield Lancers are suspected to be Viper-armed Butchers with knockback ability, as their melee damage is almost identical.
 * This is more believable since Update 11, as both Butchers and Shield Lancers share the same armor.
 * The habitual range of the Shield Lancer to bash spans about 8-9 meters. Reaching this range causes the Shield Lancer to charge straight towards their target delivering the blow.
 * If accompanied with a shooter, the Shield Lancer will bash targets around 2-3 meters.
 * It would also seem when they are charging against the players, they can still detect their targets while being cloaked by Shades before delivering the knocking blow.
 * The metal shields carried by these Lancers can block almost any projectile, this includes enemy projectiles such as the Napalm's flame projectiles and the Bombard's Ogris rockets. Make use of the Shield Lancers whenever the oppourtinities meet.

Bugs

 * At certain cases, when Shield Lancers die, they leave invisible shields where their physical versions were originally held. These can stop regular hitscan bullets from penetrating through.
 * Sometimes, even ragdolls can be hanged by this effect.
 * Apparently, texture effects like blood and bullet holes can also appear on these shields.
 * These shields lasts as long as their holders' corpses.
 * Occasionally, players can "climb" on the shield when jumping in front of the Shield Lancer, inconveniently stopping proper maneuvers.
 * Oddly, while alone and firing his Viper, he does not appear to actually look above the shield or through the slits, and simply faces the solid top part of the shield.
 * Has Radial Blast mod in its Codex drop table instead of Roar.

Trivia

 * Prior to Update 11, Shield Lancers used to have cyan helmets similar to those of regular Lancers. Currently, they share the same helmet and actual armor values with Butchers.