Monster Hunter Now uses the player's real-life location to place an avatar on the gameplay map, which is divided in-game into different types of terrain. Players can interact with small and large monsters on the map by tapping on them, triggering combat. Combat with large monsters is limited to 75 seconds (unlike in mainline Monster Hunter games, where fights may last up to 50 minutes), while smaller monsters generally require just several seconds to defeat. Resource nodes are also present in the map, allowing players to collect in-game resources to craft armor or weapons. Purchasable items allow player to temporarily increase their interaction range with the virtual environment. The game contains passive features, providing the player with some resources and marked large monsters for later combat when the game is not active. On release, the game featured three different types of terrain (forest, swamp, and desert), along with six weapon types and 13 large monsters from the Monster Hunter series. The terrain map is refreshed every 24 hours, and available monsters vary depending on the terrain. A health system is present for players, with health regenerating over time or replenished by items which could be obtained daily at no cost or purchased from the in-game store. It also features an augmented reality camera mode.