>>39917261
Lances are great, but some players fetishize them.
Vs eldar, they're blast marker generators / ordnance killers. Don't count on them to do hull damage.
They're great versus head-on Imperials or space marines compared to the WBs you usually get if you try to trade them off. They're even with WBs, more or less, at armor 5+. Vs armor 4+ they're inferior. They're superior at long range, comparatively inferior at short range (same roll, but WBs get a bonus). Obviously they're also superior through blast markers. Well known among players, but worth saying: you almost always fire your lances AFTER any wb fire.
OK so how do you use them? Well long range ones on battlecruisers are good for focus-firing enemies that might not even be in view of your broadsides. If your main target's shields are still up after your broadside WBs, use your lances on a shields-down enemy in view instead.
Short range broadside lances are used like batteries, and IMO are over-rated.
Chaos should use them to punish imperials while closing range. Concentrated fire is really necessary here, but with the long range weapons Chaos gets, this is feasible.
Overall, they're great, but not all-powerful as some players seem to think.