I have been thinking about how to address this issue as well and found a few points to make Lancer a viable fighter but also almost equally as strong as everybody else.
Because in Fate/Hollow Ataraxia his master has died, he has disadvantages over other servants because he doesn't get any mana supply. It means that he can only sustain himself in battles with his own prana. This will limit the usage of his abilities such as Gae Bolg and even using the Runes, as it will drain out his stamina. As the series mentioned that he can use Gae Bolg several times in a day, I think I'll limit his noble phantasm usage up to 1-2 times a day/ in a fight. Moreover, if he uses his runes in battles (which I think he will rarely use it unless forced in a very difficult battle.) he can only use his noble phantasm once.
Considering this limit and his personality, Lancer will most likely do "fishing" with his pure physical strength instead of using his Gae Bolg and Runes as Lancer loves challenges and fun battles and he also needs to think about sustaining his stamina unless he faces a fight-to-death battle with some of the creatures.
For the Expert Monster Exterminator, as it is a passive skill, it can be either removed from Lancer or just weakened it to some extent. For my idea to weaken this skill, we can define this skill to increase Lancer durability against a normal Monster-Type Attack but will not be able to block strong/special attack. In terms of offense, Lancer normal attacks will inflict generally more damage to Monster-Type opponents however the effects will not be significant. For example a normal punch usually will only cause a monster to snap but Lancer's punch will cause them to be knocked a few meters away but it will not inflict heavy wounds or causes instant death.
But to make him a viable "front-liners" during a heavy fight with a "boss" (if there will be in the events) I suggest that he can use his runes and boost his Expert Monster Exterminator skill into its maximum level in order to have an equal ground with the boss. It doesn't mean that he will be able to insta-kill the boss, it's just that he can get more durability and offensive power to fight head on with the monster.
That is some few points I can think of to nerf Lancer but will also help the progress of the game. If this is unsatisfactory for the mods I think we can discuss how to measure Lancer's strength together.
Re: REVISION
I have been thinking about how to address this issue as well and found a few points to make Lancer a viable fighter but also almost equally as strong as everybody else.
Because in Fate/Hollow Ataraxia his master has died, he has disadvantages over other servants because he doesn't get any mana supply. It means that he can only sustain himself in battles with his own prana. This will limit the usage of his abilities such as Gae Bolg and even using the Runes, as it will drain out his stamina. As the series mentioned that he can use Gae Bolg several times in a day, I think I'll limit his noble phantasm usage up to 1-2 times a day/ in a fight. Moreover, if he uses his runes in battles (which I think he will rarely use it unless forced in a very difficult battle.) he can only use his noble phantasm once.
Considering this limit and his personality, Lancer will most likely do "fishing" with his pure physical strength instead of using his Gae Bolg and Runes as Lancer loves challenges and fun battles and he also needs to think about sustaining his stamina unless he faces a fight-to-death battle with some of the creatures.
For the Expert Monster Exterminator, as it is a passive skill, it can be either removed from Lancer or just weakened it to some extent. For my idea to weaken this skill, we can define this skill to increase Lancer durability against a normal Monster-Type Attack but will not be able to block strong/special attack. In terms of offense, Lancer normal attacks will inflict generally more damage to Monster-Type opponents however the effects will not be significant. For example a normal punch usually will only cause a monster to snap but Lancer's punch will cause them to be knocked a few meters away but it will not inflict heavy wounds or causes instant death.
But to make him a viable "front-liners" during a heavy fight with a "boss" (if there will be in the events) I suggest that he can use his runes and boost his Expert Monster Exterminator skill into its maximum level in order to have an equal ground with the boss. It doesn't mean that he will be able to insta-kill the boss, it's just that he can get more durability and offensive power to fight head on with the monster.
That is some few points I can think of to nerf Lancer but will also help the progress of the game. If this is unsatisfactory for the mods I think we can discuss how to measure Lancer's strength together.