I played through the campaign to the end of Act 1 and then went on a major free world bender unlocking towers, hunting, exploring and getting my Karma up to unlock my fav weapon, the Shredder. Now that I have my preferred load out and most crafting out of the way, I'm not sure whether to start knocking off enemy strongholds, play more of the campaign, do some side missions, or do more exploring and gathering collectables.
What's your approach at this mid-game juncture (after you're well equipped), and why?
Most of the time I'm doing side missions and collect things. If I do most of the missions I go to explore radio towers to spot new activities. I also like to take enemy outposts. I take strongholds after missions that's linked with stronghold leader. Let's say that I do one story mission per 7 side missions. This game is one big sandbox - do what you want. I don;t even use fast traveling, because driving this beautiful place is great and you can always met some enemies, people that need help etc. I just sometimes pick a spot on the map and just go there to see what is there.
I typically unlock towers, then hunt and craft, then take down strongholds, before taking on tougher missions, but I do a lot of side quests and exploring for chests and mani wheels, etc along the way. The fortresses and Shangri-La aren't as hard as I thought they'd be though. I've yet to use any tokens.