Best time to start exploring/ side content?

[muccmaster]

When's a good point in the story to start exploring and doing all the side content? It sucks doing it super early when most of the gameplay systems aren't unlocked yet so you basically have to go back around the same areas multiple times.

[Homebrew]

Unsolicited advice: the problem with doing too much super early regardless, even if a lot of things are unlocked early (they are), is that this game let's you break it the way the previous LAD titles did, where you can do side content and become OP as hell very early on, making the entire main story a snoozefest -- literally, in my 50+ hours I died one or two times.

But to answer your question more directly, you can definitely do most things pretty early on. You can beat most minigames, climb your way up the ladder in the coliseum, upgrade your ship, etc. There are a few things that unlock later but you won't really waste your time, and fast travel is super convenient in this one if you need to revisit areas (click on taxi location, spend $10, fast travel).

[Loiya]

it's really easy to become OP, I'd avoid putting on attack-boosting rings entirely unless you're doing the pirate-y side content
the main story has a couple times where it asks if you're far enough in that section to proceed, so if you're fine with Only Doing Ship Battle/Island Content When The Game Literally Forces You To then I'd suggest doing that and save the rest for postgame

[Shiber Kivan]

Chapter 3 will see you having everything unlocked. It also adds more bounties so it seems like a good time to hard on Honolulu.

[RKade83]

After you get the hook in Chapter 2 and then again when bounties get reset in Chapter 3.

[Sentient_Toaster]

At the start of Chapter 3, you can complete the entire Devil Flags part of the game (all fleets and islands) if you want. There's also a fair number of substories open by then, and AFAICT they generally don't seem to have a risk of sending excessively tough enemies against you even if you do them ASAP.

I went around doing bounties before doing the first major objective within Chapter 3; at that point, you can finish something like 63/86 with the remainder spawning sometime later, I guess.

[Razzr]

Play it any way You want, that's the best way.

[a passerby]

beauty of this game is you can do whatever whenever you feel like it. Although playing until you unlock the hook might be a better priority since the hook allows you to get things as you're roaming about

[Mr. 85]

I'd avoid upgrading your attack power otherwise the game is a cakewalk. I wish they removed the ability to upgrade attack so the devs can balance the battles better like in the older titles.

[MisterPool]

Originally posted by muccmaster:

When's a good point in the story to start exploring and doing all the side content? It sucks doing it super early when most of the gameplay systems aren't unlocked yet so you basically have to go back around the same areas multiple times.

There are only 5 chapters, so what may feel early in the longer games in the franchise is not so early in this game. The game pretty much begs you to do the side quests to unlock more crew members so you can upgrade your ship and get back out to sea. You can do it with 10 crew members, but the side quests will give you silver and gold crew that can be leveled higher making you more effective in coliseum battles. If Honolulu is getting repetitive it helps to take a break and go sailing. A lot more island and sea combat opens up in Chapter 3.

Originally posted by a passerby:

beauty of this game is you can do whatever whenever you feel like it. Although playing until you unlock the hook might be a better priority since the hook allows you to get things as you're roaming about

This is good advice.