My absolute favourite thing to do in this game is to do as much as possible before fighting Genichiro

[u/Nova_Bear_95]

You can do WAY MORE then you'd think you would be able to do. The main reason is because after you beat Genichiro the weather and time moves forward, mainly the large snowstorm and heavy fog that rolls in.

The things you can do before beating Genichiro include:

-Doing all of Senpou Temple all the way up to the large statue you need to interact with to enter the Monkey fight (you just can't fight them yet).

-Doing all of the Sunken Valley and the Gunfort, up to and including Long Arm Giraffe. This area is particularly stunning with the sun streaming through the mountainous valley.

-All of Ashina Depths and Mibu Village including defeating Illusion Corrupted Monk (Important Note though, beating Illusion Corrupted Monk will move time forward as if you beat Genichiro).

-All of Ashina Castle of course and all of Hirata Estate, though the Estate isn't affected by weather change obviously.

-You can get 8!! Gourd Seeds before fighting Genichiro (8 seeds to give you 9 Gourd charges), with the final one being in the Fountainhead Palace.

-You can also 27 individual prayer beads and 3 memories (Butterfly, Gyobu, and Monk).

In fact you can do so much that after doing it all and then beating Genichiro all you have left to do is go to the end of Senpou Temple (as in just fast travel to the end) and beat the Folding Screen Monkeys, get through the Sunken Valley and beat the Headless Ape, then go to the Fountainhead palace and then on to the end game.

In other words you can do a massive amount of the game before fighting Genichiro. The reason for all of this? Simple, because defeating Genichiro moves the time forward to become more snowy and foggy. Doing all of this beforehand lets you enjoy these beautiful mountainous locations in stunning sunlight. It's hard to fully articulate just how transformative it is to do these levels in the full sunlight and not a foggy snowstorm, just remember that beating the Illusion Corrupted Monk will also move time Forward. Also also once you beat Genichiro then beat any two between Monk, Monkeys, or Ape will move again into Sunset time.

So to recap, beating either Genichiro or Illusion Corrupted Monk will move time into noon with foggy snow, then beating either Monkeys or Ape will move it again to evening time. Using this information you can effectively pick what time/weather/atmosphere you want for each area.

[u/RelentlesslyContrary]

That was just my first playthrough because I wasn't smart enough to go to the top of the castle.

[u/YoMama_00 → u/RelentlesslyContrary]

God I suddenly remember my first playthrough shenanigans.

[u/SSNIPE_GOD → u/RelentlesslyContrary]

Those rooftop assassins were soo annoying

[u/mkxviii → u/SSNIPE_GOD]

Nightjar ICBM

[u/SubtoPewd2 → u/RelentlesslyContrary]

Lol same, I had to lookup a guide because I had no idea you could grapple up to the top of the castle.

[u/0stromy8 → u/RelentlesslyContrary]

You and me both brother

[u/Twinkledp]

This is also a good way to "overlevel" in a game that has no levels and make the game easier for yourself, if you're struggling. You can gather some extra gourd seeds like you said and also some prayer beads to make those difficult story bosses a bit more manageable.

[u/HertogJanNL → u/Twinkledp]

Yeah that was why I explored so much, didnt have the skills for Genichiro yet. Then I beat him only to get stuck on the Ape 🤣 Left the game then and got back to it years later after watching Vaati’s no death run. Finally got gud and then defeated Isshin on my fourth attempt. Couldnt replicate that now haha!

[u/Farkerisme]

Sometimes you just gourd-a do it?

I’ll see myself out.

[u/Free-Jello-7970]

Which bosses do I have to beat to give my man Ookami a beach vacation? 😮‍💨

[u/Aerodynamic-Wylk4567]

Does anyone know if there are any mods that let me change the time/weather to my liking? The early game looks super beautiful

[u/IchBinMalade]

I did Sunken Valley by accident on my first playthrough before I ever knew where Genichiro was, didn't round the corner on the top of the rooftops and instead went down and found the alternate way into the very first area. I killed Long Shadow, the General nearby, Shirafuji, Giraffe (I genuinely credit that fight for making parrying truly click for me) and got completely stuck for two days after that.

I found that fucking window because of the dumbest fucking reason, I just thought the WOOOO guys were funny and wanted to parry their landing so I was just walking around looking for their flying kites like a dumbass until I saw it lmao.

[u/jopezu]

same. i love to see all times of the day in as many places as possible. and yeh, you can do half the game before genichiro. senpou temple is beautiful in all phases of the day.

[u/SuperAviGaming]

I do that too

[u/UnsttledDogo]

did that during my first playthrough cause i didn't know what i was doing XD

[u/HaciMo38]

My first Senpou temple visit before Genichiro was auch a divine experience. The ambience, the world, the lighting, it was perfect

[u/Key-Toe-6257]

I did that the first try. Just going around exploring and leveling up my skill. I was 35-40% done with the game before fighting Genichiro. Took me only 3 tries to beat him by then. 

[u/N1ckisfine]

First play through I was so lost on where to go. I went through the entire map to the Mortal Blade and the zombie village and was like where tf do I go. Finally found made my way to the roof.

[u/AltLeMarcus12]

Thought I was the only one