so, I wanna become a lance knight because of..... reasons.
any tips you guys can give me?
Lance is one of the weapons that I'm better with, since I always play defensively anyways. And that is an important thing to keep in mind - it is probably THE best defensive weapon class. Use it as such.
Also, use the back-hop at the end of pretty much every series of triple-thrusts - since the straight and angled thrusts are the two main things that one should use when Lancing - since the back-hop cancels out the fairly long end-lag of the thrusts.
It is best to try to use the sideways variants of the back-hops - side-steps, I guess - because it is usually better to be pressed right up against the monster when attacking it; being pressed right up against it helps with the specific timing of the evasive hop invincibility, and, if evading isn't your strength, it helps lessen the block-stun of blocking since you will be hit by the move earlier.
The charge is usually only useful for when a monster is tripped.
Make good use of the counter. It is amazing when used properly and can be used to help stop charging monster from messing up your positioning if you counter the charge - the counter-attack will usually miss - and cancel the end-lag with a back-hop or side-step.
The advancing shield-bash is so-so, it isn't bad, but it doesn't do much. It's pretty much just used to add slight damage after the blocking-dash.
The horizontal swipe is almost solely used for swatting away small monsters.
There is very little reason to not be blocking while walking while fighting a monster, unless you're using them sweet hops.
So, in general, triple-thrusts are your main attack and you should usually hop-cancel them at the end, counter when you need to, and block with that beautiful shield.
Dash Juice, Mega Dash Juice, and a Constitution skill are very good when used in conjunction with a Lance.