It must be said that the topic of the Pact's deployment of “Lance” type weaponry bears special examination. Lance weapons are directed energy weapons not unlike Pulsars in their baseline technology. Pact Lances are easily identified by their long, notably thick barrels, rather untidy external coolant tubes, and a cluster of cylindrical power accumulators at the rear.

The key difference that makes Lance weapons stand out as unique is their operating principle. Rather than discharging pulses of energy as a Pulsar does, a Lance builds its charge up to a critical level and then unleashes it in a brief but continuous beam. The duration of the Lance beam is distinctly limited, normally only a few tenths of a second, but sufficient for the beam discharge to be swept across a short arc, allowing the larger versions to potentially catch multiple targets in a single shot.

This method of attack offers potentially pinpoint accuracy, although in reality with both firer and target often on the move, a minor miscalculation—or bad luck—can cause the narrow effect area of the beam to only score a glancing blow or even miss entirely. Even a glancing strike from the beam, however, can cause critical damage. Armor offers extremely limited protection against the narrow focal area.

Interestingly, focusing on a single point, while intuitive, is actually detrimental to the effect, as it increases the chance of a miss and degrades the beam focus due to the rapid outflow of particles and gases ablating from the target zone. Increased use of Lance weapons has become a notable feature of Pact/GuardCorps conflicts in recent cycles, potentially as a response to improvements in GuardCorps' zeoform armor.