Final Fantasy 16: Story Focused or Action Focused — Which is Better?

Upon starting Clive Rosfield’s journey in Final Fantasy 16, you’ll see two options: Story Focused and Action Focused. Each one has its own quirks, and even some drawbacks depending on your experience as a player. Our Final Fantasy 16 Story Focused and Action Focused guide discusses these two modes to see which one is better for you.

Should You Choose Story Focused or Action Focused in Final Fantasy 16

How to Change Between Story Focused and Action Focused

When you first launch FF16, you’ll notice the Story Focused or Action Focused options. Regardless of what you choose early on, you can always change it later in the game. Simply open the pause menu, then go to the Gameplay tab.

Timely Rings and Differences Between Story Focused and Action Focused

So, what exactly are the key differences between the two? Well, here’s the gist:

• Story Focused — Enemies are easier to beat, and Clive automatically has two Timely Rings equipped.
• Action Focused — Enemies are slightly tougher, which is more akin to the default/normal difficulty. Clive also won’t have Timely Rings equipped from the get-go. Instead, they’ll be in your inventory.

As for the Timely Rings themselves, these are accessories that make most challenges trivial. For instance, one allows for automatic evasion, whereas another causes various skills to trigger via a simple button press (no need for other button combinations).

Still, the only difference here is that you’ll have two equipped immediately if you pick Story Focused, but the accessories will still be in your inventory if you choose Action Focused. As such, it’s possible to select the Action Focused difficulty, all while wearing a couple of rings. You can learn more in our Timely Rings guide.

When Should You Pick Either Mode

In my opinion, the Final Fantasy 16 Story Focused mode is a good choice if you’re new to fast-paced action-adventure games. Compared to previous mainline titles in the franchise, FF16 has no turn-based combat at all. It’s a clear departure from a long-running mechanic in the series (even FF15 had a hybrid concept with Wait Mode). As such, Story Focus helps you become more comfortable with the combat system.

However, it also goes without saying that things will get too easy and boring if you activate Story Focused mode, all while you have multiple Timely Rings equipped. For veterans of the series, I recommend Final Fantasy 16 Action Focused mode instead. Likewise, if you do want to equip one particular accessory, I suggest the Ring of Timely Assistance. It allows Torgal the Dog to automatically attack, so you won’t need to input commands anymore.

And that’s it, that’s everything you need to know about the Story Focused and Action Focused options in Final Fantasy 16. For more tips and strategies, you can visit our FF16 guides hub.