

In Ufotable's adaptation of Unlimited Blade Works, when Lancer fights Archer
for the first time (episode 0), near the end of the battle Lancer begins
charging his Gae Bolg, but is later distracted by Shirou.

Later, on episode 5 of the second season, when Lancer fights Archer again,
Lancer mentions that he wasn't fighting with his full potential back then
because he was under a Command Spell telling him to not kill.

If that is true, then why did Lancer even bother charge his Gae Bolg back
then? I imagine that the point of his Noble Phantasm is to finish off his
target.


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2015-05-13T19:34:06.160
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2015-07-20T00:26:47.660
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question
fate-stay-night
Why did Lancer prepare his Noble Phantasm during his first fight with Archer?


Lancer was specifically ordered to scout out the other masters and determine
their Servants' strengths by fighting them to a draw. He couldn't expect to
get a proper measure of Saber or Archer's strength, who were going to some
lengths to hide their abilities--indeed, both Saber and Archer were going on
about how their "true" weapon could be anything, but they weren't going to
bother revealing it--, unless he tried to force their hands. In a battle
between Servants, this pretty much always requires the use of their most
powerful Noble Phantasms. While use of his Noble Phantasm could result in the
deaths of either Saber or Archer, it seems likely that either the Command
limited the potency of the attack, or that the vagueness of "find out their
strengths" allowed him a bit of a loophole against such secretive opponents. A
Command not to kill them would seem likely to interfere with a Noble Phantasm
to some extent, perhaps giving the opponent just enough wiggle room to avoid
death (but not necessarily a severe injury, such as with Saber).

According to the [TypeMoon
wikia](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Lancer_\(Fate/stay_night\)):

> Contrary to his legendary battle prowess, his fighting in the Fifth Holy
> Grail War is extremely limited. Fighting several Servants to a draw, he will
> never start a fight on his own. Even if he gains a full chance to kill an
> opponent, he is to merely observe and is given no authority to attack. He
> can only go all out against an opponent during their second encounter due to
> the Command Spell, so his first true "battle without any binds" is against
> Archer. Without anything binding him, his strikes are much faster and harder
> to see than in the previous battle. The only way Archer is able to keep up
> with him in direct combat compared to the previous fight is due to the
> experience of previously fighting him.

Recall that Lancer was initially attacking Shirou before Saber had been
summoned. Shirou was simply an outside witness, and by Rin's commentary this
was strictly disallowed, and so it was completely natural that Servants would
disengage from their own fights to eliminate the witness. Once Saber is
summoned, Lancer backs off and waits for Saber to come to him and force the
combat (thought he doesn't seem to have problems with trying to provoke his
opponents). For the preceding fight with Archer, we do not know exactly how it
was initiated. We are introduced to the fight already in progress from
Shirou's perspective.


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2015-06-19T23:35:24.090
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2015-06-19T23:35:24.090
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answer