Monster Hunter Now is Niantic and Capcom’s brainchild based on the popular ARPG series. While this MH game is more beginner-friendly and bite-sized, there’s still much to figure out if you’re a newbie hunter. If you’re familiar with Pokemon GO, then you’ll be familiar with the concept Monster Hunter Now brings to the table.
Just like trainers in Pokemon GO used to travel across their surroundings by visiting cities and other spots to catch Pokemon, you’ll be (more or less) doing the same in MH Now. The only difference is that you’ll need to fight and hunt down small and large monsters to collect their materials. You can use the resources you acquire to upgrade your weapons and armor. In turn, you’ll be able to hunt higher-ranking monsters. Since there are a couple of things the game doesn’t explain well, here are some tips to help you.
Starting Out in Monster Hunter Now
Monster Hunter Now mimics the same gameplay mechanics of Pokemon Go, wherein characters move as per the movement of the players. A fixed radar will then search for monsters present near your character.
Since Monster Hunter now has a slow-paced progression system, you’ll be forced to log back in each day rather than be able to grind out all sorts of equipment in one go. If you want to start the game on the right foot, here are a few practices you can do.
Don’t Use Your Painballs and Potions Too Much
Paintballs and Potions are two valuable consumable items equally as rare as some materials in the game. Unless you need to use them, I recommend holding onto these items for as long as possible—only using them when you’re forced to.
Alternatively, you can use your First-Aid Meds to heal yourself and your Palico Paintballs to tag large monsters for you. This is because you can pick up First-Aid Meds from the shop for free every day. Plus, your health regenerates slowly over time anyway, so unless you’re doing some intense exploring, try to rely on your free meds before going through your Potion supply.
Another tip to have a consistent stock of Potions and Paintballs is to let other players use your referral code when starting Monster Hunter Now. You can find your referral code by clicking your character on the bottom left of the screen. Then, press the ‘View’ button to copy or share it with a friend or two. If the person you referred the code to uses it and gets to Hunter Rank 6, you’ll both get 5 Potions, 3 Paintballs, and 300 Zenny.
Dodge, You Fool!
You’ve probably noticed that whenever you fight a large monster, it would sometimes glow red. That, my dear Hunter, is your time to dodge. Dodging is essential to make it out alive in this dog-eat-dog (in this case, monster-eat-monster) world. You can block their attacks, but you’d still take some damage. You can dodge whenever the red outline within the monster pops up, but if you dodge at the last second, it’ll result in a slo-mo animation where you can do a counter-attack.
Don’t Be Afraid to Try Out Different Weapon Types
You’ll only have the Sword and Shield at the start of your journey. As you progress, you’ll unlock the other weapon types in the game. Namely, the Greatsword by completing Chapter 2 and the Hammer, Bow, Light Bowgun, and Longsword upon reaching Hunter Rank 15.
Once all of them are available to craft, I advise crafting a few to try out different playstyles. Like in the main Monster Hunter games, your weapon choice will determine how you play. And besides, it doesn’t hurt to have a few weapons around with different elements. That way, you’ll be able to target various weaknesses of specific monsters as you progress.
If you’re having trouble picking which weapons to craft first, you can peruse our Monster Hunter Now Weapons Guide to learn more about them in detail.
Gather Everything You Can Find
You’ll need an assortment of materials to upgrade your weapons and armor. While you mainly need large monster parts, you’ll also need common resources, such as Iron Ore and Sharp Claws. To ensure you have enough of these items when the time comes for an upgrade, it’s best to gather everything you come across.
You can find gathering nodes around the areas you’ll explore. The nodes can be automatically gathered by your Palico when you’re near them, but as for the small monsters, you need to hunt them manually to get the materials. Not only do small monsters give crafting materials, but they also slowly increase your Special Skill gauge, which can make hunting large monsters easier. Moreover, they don’t take any effort to kill, so don’t be afraid whenever you encounter them.
Break Parts to Get More Rewards
All large monsters have a weak spot that can be broken if you attack that specific part enough. Breaking parts is beneficial since you’ll earn additional material drops after you’ve completed the hunt. It’s one of the easiest ways to get more resources for little effort. It also helps that whenever you break a part, you’ll cause the monster to stagger, letting you get some extra hits in before they resume their attacks again.
I highly recommend crafting the Kulu Headpiece armor to gain the lock-on skill, which enables you to lock on to specific body parts of a monster. It’s not needed, but it can make things easier for you. You can also use blunt weapons, like the Hammer or Great Sword, which are excellent for breaking arms and heads. Meanwhile, sharper weapons, such as the Long Sword, have more chances of cutting off a monster’s tail (if they have one).
Do Urgent Quests ASAP
Urgent quests are something you should do immediately if you have one. Typically, you’d see these during the beginning stages of your playthrough. You need to complete them as soon as possible because all urgent quests have a time limit. If you finish them before the time’s up, you can earn more rewards than doing the daily assigned quests.
Preparation is the Key to Victory
Prepping before heading out has always been a “must-do” in the Monster Hunter series, and the same can be said for Monster Hunter Now. As you progress to new chapters and complete main quests, you’ll start to unlock monsters with higher star ratings. The great thing about this is they’ll drop materials of a higher grade that you can use to upgrade your equipment. But on the flip side, these monsters have more health and can pack a punch than you’re typically used to.
Be sure to take a nice, long look at your equipment before you hunt a monster with a higher star rating. If you’ve been barely finishing off the large monsters within the time limit, then it might be time to get some upgrades before moving on to the big leagues. If you progress to the next star level before you’re even ready, you’ll be in for a world of hurt.
