Lancer (ランサー, Ransā?), Knight of the Lance and Heroic Spirit of the Lance (槍兵の英霊?), is one of the Three Knight Classes among the seven standard Servant classes summoned for the Holy Grail War. Servants placed within this class, many of which are Heroic Spirits who were knights, are very agile, display excellent close combat skills, show proficiency in hit-and-run tactics that capitalize on range and speed, and are skilled with long-range melee weapons such as spearWPs and lanceWPs. The qualifying conditions to be placed within the class are second only to the Saber class, requiring overall excellent attributes and a high agility attribute. Their only particular class ability is Magic Resistance, and although they "tend to be less flashy than the other classes", they display great reliability.[1][2]
Known Lancers
- Servants marked with ‡ are also able to be summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders.
- Servants marked with † are also contracted to Hakuno Kishinami in the world of Fate/Extella.
- Servants marked with ⁜ are those who change class mid-story but do not display characteristics substantially different from the original class.different from the original class.
Nonstandard Lancers
Servants possessing the Class of Lancer for special reasons unrelated to a proper summoning.
| True Name | War | Master |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Iri | Grand Order | None |
| Gilles de Rais (Fake) | Grand Order | Joan of Arc (Alter) |
| Ibaraki-douji (Swimsuit) | Grand Order | Ritsuka Fujimaru |
| Joan of Arc (Alter Santa Lily) | Grand Order | Ritsuka Fujimaru |
| Kiyohime (Swimsuit) | Grand Order | Ritsuka Fujimaru |
| Meltlilith (Swimsuit) | Grand Order | Ritsuka Fujimaru |
| Minamoto no Yorimitsu (Swimsuit) | Grand Order | Ritsuka Fujimaru |
| Tamamo-no-Mae (Swimsuit) | Grand Order | Ritsuka Fujimaru |
Other qualifying heroes
| True Name | Current Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Achilles | Rider | |
| Alexander the Great | Rider | Fate/Ace Royal only |
| Gilles de Rais | Caster | Fate/Ace Royal only |
| Heracles | Berserker | |
| Ishtar | Archer | |
| Jason | Saber | |
| King Arthur (Male) | Saber | Fate/Ace Royal only |
| Lancelot | Berserker | Fate/Ace Royal only |
| Lü Bu | Berserker | |
| Mori Nagayoshi | Berserker | |
| Penthesilea | Berserker | |
| Rama | Saber | |
| Usui Sadamitsu | None | [3] |
Development
|
« Once again, I took my cues from 15th-century Germany, specifically the mercenary soldiers known as the LandsknechtsWP. From what I understand, they were trained in a wide variety of weapons, particularly the pike. In this tarot card image, Lancer is holding a spear in his left hand and has a short sword called a KatzbalgerWP sheathed behind his right hand. » |
| (Chihiro Aikura - Tarot Card Lancer, Fate/complete material II) |
References
- ↑
[] Fate/complete material III: World material - Records of Heavens Feel - Servant System: Class, p.015 Class
A "Servant Class" is a container prepared for materialising a Heroic Spirit that is summoned into the current era as a Servant.
There are seven Servant Classes: Sabre, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin and Berserker. Since there cannot be repeats of any one class, the seven Servants participating in a Holy Grail War will be of different classes.
Heroic Spirits determine their classes on the basis of their characteristics, and then summoned as the Servant of the corresponding class. For instance, the only class appropriate for Artoria is Sabre, but Hercules, who was said in legends to be proficient with all weapons, can be summoned into all classes but Caster. The affinity between the Master and the Heroic Spirit will determine which class the Heroic Spirit will be summoned into. However, the Einzberns, as one of the "Three Founding Families" and well-informed of the rules of the Servant system, was able to preemptively interfere with the system and summon Hercules as Berserker.
Among all the classes, Sabre, Lancer and Archer are also called the "Three Knights". They are frequently Heroic Spirits from the Age of Gods when sorceries were common. Due to high magic resistance, modern magi are unable to inflict damage to them.
The Assassin class is special, as the only qualifying Heroic Spirits are the Hassan al-Sabbah's.
Saber
Knight of the Sword. The compatible Heroic Spirit naturally needs to possess legends as a knight of sword, as well as the highest levels of attributes in all but MGI. Class Abilities include Magic Resistance and Riding. Also, compatible Heroic Spirits usually excel in delivering powerful burst attacks.
Lancer
Knight of the Lance. Its high qualifying conditions are second only to Sabre. Attributes are excellent overall, in addition, AGI must be high. Of course, Servants of this class are proficient in hit-and-run tactics that capitalise on range and speed. This class includes many Heroic Spirits who were knights.
Archer
Knight of the Bow. A class that excels in possessing powerful Noble Phantasms. The qualifying condition is not attributes, but the possession of powerful projectile weapons or special abilities related to projectile weapons. Highly effective as scouts. They have not only the Magic Resistance ability of the Knight Classes, but also the class ability of Independent Action.
Rider
Mounted soldier. Heroic Spirits who rode mounts (not limited to living creatures) qualify for this class. Although attributes tend to be lower compared to the Three Knight Classes, this is compensated by the abilities of the mount described in legend. Besides Magic Resistance, class abilities also include high Riding.
Caster
Magus. Qualifying conditions only include mastery of sorceries of the highest calibre. Due to this trait, the qualifying Heroic Spirits tend to have low combat abilities. In addition, since the majority of Servants have Magic Resistance, this class is thought to be the weakest of all.
Assassin
Assassin. The only qualifying Heroic Spirits are the generations of Hassan al-Sabbah's, and one of them would be summoned. All of them do not have glorious legends as heroes, thus possess low attributes. Class ability is Presence Concealment, and the use of this ability during battle is the lifeline of Assassin.
Berserker
Mad Warrior. Heroes who have gone berserker during battle qualify for this class. Normally it is considered ideal if a Servant can wield power at the level of the original Heroic Spirit, but "Mad Enhancement" allows for the attribute enhancement of the Servant beyond the ability of the original at the cost of sanity. A class originally used to enhance weak Heroic Spirits. - ↑
[] Fate/Side Material - Encyclopedia: Lancer [Servant], p.077 [T] Lancer [Servant]
Heroic Spirit of the lance. Requires supreme agility, as well as excellent close combat skills. Though they tend to be less flashy than the other classes, they are a very reliable type of Servant.
The Lancer in the story has a rough and tumble personality, but at his core he believes in justice and is easy to get along with. He is an agreeable youth acting out the role of one gentle in disposition yet strong in body.
His true identity is the great Celtic hero, Cu Chulainn.
If the stage of this Holy Grail War were anywhere but Japan, he would be a shining existence on par with Heracles and King Arthur.
As was mentioned in the story, he is a Heroic Spirit that specializes in survival, capable of returning alive no matter how hopeless the situation. Unfortunately, this time luck wasn't on his side.
It is said that in the midst of battle he would unleash a fearsome war cry, and at the same time his body would swell and bulge with muscle as his behavior became like that of a demon.
However, though he possesses the qualifications to be a Berserker there is no doubt that the Lancer class suits him best.
He responded to the summoning solely because he wanted to engage in a valiant fight to the death, but this simple wish was never granted to him.
He is a tragic Servant, who embodies the cynical notion that "wishes don't come true".ランサー【サーヴアント】
槍兵の英霊。最高の敏捷性を求められ、白兵戦にも優れた能力が求められる。華やかさはないが堅実なサーヴァントタイプ。
粗野で暴力的な性格だが、根は正義の人で人懐っこい。気は優しくて力持ち，を地で行く好青年である。
正体はケルトの大英雄クーフーリン。
この聖杯戦争の舞台が日本でなければ、ヘラクレスやアーサー王に並ぶ光り輝く存在だったろう。
本編でも述べられた通り、生き延びる事に特化した英霊。どのような死地からも生還するが、今回は運が無かった、と言わざるを得ない。
曰く、“戦闘時では雄叫びと共に体が盛り上がり、悪鬼の如く振舞った”とか。
パーサーカーの条件も備えた人物だが、やはり彼に はランサーが似合っていよう。
“死力を尽くした闘い”を求め、それを代償として召喚に応じたランサーだが、願いが葉えられた事は一度も無かった。
願いとは葉えられないもの、という皮肉さを体現した悲運のサーヴァントである。 - ↑ Fate/Grand Order Chaldea Ace