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 while providing cover for allies, but will charge when the units behind them die, or move away.

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.

Their shields can be pierced by using a punch through mod, such as Metal Auger, Seeker, Shred, Power Throw and Seeking Force. A Rank 0 mod with +0.2 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.
 * Their bashing does pure Impact damage compared to the Butchers' attacks, dealing significant shield damage, although does far less health damage.
 * 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 opportunities meet.
 * The shield does not necessarily protect the entire body of the lancer. Block-shaping of the shield reveals a sight of the their head and feet, allowing confrontations above or in front of the Shield Lancer.
 * Shield Lancers are prone to shotgun blasts, as every shot chances an opportunity to pass through the edges of the shields, via spread.

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" or "hop over" 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.
 * If a player is bashed and resisted from the Shield Lancer while Melee-attacking (through the Melee-knockdown resistance effect), the player will not be able to collect the loot around himself/herself until this player sheaths their respective melee weapons to their ranged weaponry.
 * Occasionally, dying during stun-time causes the Shield Lancer's corpse to awkwardly launch out of place, regardless of Blast procs, through the opposing direction of his shield in a mirror-like fashion.

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.
 * Up until Update 9 their weapon of choice was the Sicarus. Despite the change of weaponry, Enemy Sense and Corrosive Projection still show Sicarus-armed Shield Lancers.
 * They also still fire in 3-round bursts albeit very rapidly, with little delay between bursts. Similar behavior can be seen in Viper-armed Seekers.
 * Before ability cards were removed in Update 15, the Shield Lancer's drop table mistakenly labeled Roar as its predecessor Radial Blast.

Media
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