Monster Hunter Now: A Beginner’s Guide, the augmented reality RPG developed by Niantic, has taken the gaming world by storm, offering players an opportunity to embark on thrilling hunts for iconic monsters from the Monster Hunter franchise. While the game’s hunting mechanics are more accessible than those in the main series, success still demands a touch of skill to take down these formidable creatures and craft powerful equipment from their parts.
Let’s delve into the world of Monster Hunter Now and uncover some essential tips for beginners. These insights will set you on the path to becoming a formidable hunter.
Follow the Tutorial, But Explore Further
The game’s tutorial takes you from level 1 to level 11, introducing you to its core features while limiting access to advanced content. Getting to level 11 swiftly is a smart move as it grants you more freedom to explore everything the game offers. Fortunately, progressing to this point isn’t overly challenging; you merely need to complete the tutorial levels. Once you hit level 11, Monster Hunter Now truly opens up, giving you the freedom to chart your own course.
Optimize Your Armor Set
Upgrading your equipment in Monster Hunter Now is a gradual process, requiring both materials and Zenny. To maximize your efficiency, consider mixing and matching armor pieces from various monsters. This approach reduces the need to gather specific materials repeatedly.
For example, instead of relying solely on Jagras armor, think about incorporating pieces from Jagras, Kulu, and Pukei. By doing so, you’ll need fewer Jagras materials, allowing you to upgrade your armor more frequently.
Daily Item Collection
Every day, the in-game shop offers a small bundle of free items, primarily potions. These daily shop bundles are a lifesaver when your potion reserves run low. Make it a habit to collect these bundles, which become available each day. If you keep your notifications on, you’ll receive a morning reminder to grab your daily items, ensuring you never run out of essential supplies.
Preserve Your Potions and Paintballs
Potions and Paintballs are precious resources in Monster Hunter Now. While they offer significant advantages, they are also relatively scarce. To make the most of them, save these items for critical situations.
In less intense situations, rely on Fire-Aid Meds for healing and utilize Palico Paintballs to tag monsters. You can obtain a few First-Aid Meds for free from the shop daily, and your health regenerates gradually over time. Prioritize First-Aid Meds before depleting your Potion supply.
Keep Notifications Enabled
Even when Monster Hunter Now is idle on your phone, your trusty Palico continues to collect items for you. These items can include rare finds, and the best part is, they don’t cost you a thing. However, to make the most of this feature, ensure your notifications are active. Your Palico’s bag has a limited capacity, and you can only empty it when you receive a notification and tap the pop-up!
Explore Weapon Variety
Your journey as a hunter begins with the Sword and Shield in Monster Hunter Now, but you’ll unlock additional weapon types as you progress through the game. Completing Chapter 2 will grant you access to the Greatsword, while reaching Hunter Rank 15 unlocks the Long Sword, Light Bowgun, Hammer, and Bow.
Since your weapon choice is crucial in Monster Hunter, consider crafting and experimenting with various types. Having weapons with different elemental attributes becomes invaluable when facing monsters with various weaknesses.
Complete Quests and Specials
Defeating small monsters doesn’t earn you many HR (Hunter Rank) points, and taking on large monsters provides only a modest boost. To level up efficiently, focus on completing Quests specific to your questline and your daily Special quests. Keep an eye on the timer in your Special page to maximize your questing opportunities; you can complete two sets of three quests each day. Additionally, your Quests section can generate new quests as soon as you finish the current ones. These quests offer superior rewards compared to aimless monster hunting.
Plan Thoroughly
Preparation is paramount in Monster Hunter Now, especially before tackling challenging hunts. As you advance through the game and encounter higher star-rated monsters, you’ll face foes with increased health and greater damage output. However, they also yield higher-grade materials.
Before advancing to the next star rating, evaluate your equipment. If you’ve struggled to defeat monsters within the time limit, consider further gear upgrades before progressing. Rushing into higher star levels unprepared could lead to encounters you can’t conquer.
Gather Extensively
Collecting materials is essential for upgrading your weapons and armor in Monster Hunter Now. While large monster parts take the spotlight, common materials like Iron Ore and Sharp Claws are equally vital. To ensure a steady supply of these items, collect everything you come across.
Gathering nodes can be automatically harvested by your trusty Palico when you approach them. However, you must manually hunt small monsters to obtain their materials. Additionally, attacking small monsters contributes to your weapon’s SP gauge, making subsequent battles against large monsters more manageable.
Target Weak Points
Every large monster in Monster Hunter Now possesses a vulnerable spot that can be broken for additional material drops after a successful hunt. Furthermore, crafting and upgrading the Kulu Headpiece to Grade 2 unlocks the Lock On skill. This ability allows you to concentrate on a specific area of the monster while wielding a melee weapon.
Breaking monster parts not only yields more materials with minimal extra effort but also staggers the monster, granting you precious moments for additional attacks. Make the most of this mechanic to streamline your hunts and increase your chances of success.
In conclusion, Monster Hunter Now offers a unique augmented reality hunting experience, and mastering it requires careful planning and strategic gameplay. By optimizing your armor set, preserving resources, exploring weapon variety, planning thoroughly, gathering materials extensively, and targeting weak points, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a top-tier hunter in this captivating world. Happy hunting!