As you enter the massive world of Valisthea in Final Fantasy 16, you may be wondering where exactly you should start in terms of getting your feet on the ground, and being ready to tackle the many challenges the game has to offer while following Clive’s incredible story. We’ve put together a list of what we think are the most useful gameplay tips to get you started on your adventures.
1. Story-Focused Versus Action-Focused Mode
While you start Final Fantasy 16 off with one general difficulty setting, there are still ways to adjust it based on the type of experience you’re looking for. You’ll be given the option to choose whether you want a “story-focused” experience, or an “action-focused” one.
Story-focused means that the overall difficulty of battle content will be scaled back, resulting in enemies with less HP that do less damage than normal, allowing you to pass fights relatively easily and enjoy the storyline first and foremost. In contrast, action-focused mode will keep enemies at a relatively normal difficulty, if the gameplay is what you’re set on and you want more of a challenge throughout the story.
Also, don’t be worried if you choose one of these modes and eventually decide you’re not satisfied with it. You can change from one to the other at any time via the System tab in the Main Menu as seen above. Side scroll to Game Settings, and the Gameplay option will allow you to toggle to either mode you wish.
2. Use Those Timely Accessories You’re Given
Along with being able to switch between story and action-focused settings, the game also provides the player with a set of “timely accessories”. These are incredibly helpful not just early on but throughout the story, as they can turn the tide with some of the most challenging content in the game.
Essentially they further adjust your combat experience via certain gameplay features, from dodging, to healing, to pulling off combos more easily. The five accessories include:
- Ring of Timely Healing – Clive will automatically use a potion to heal himself when his HP reaches a certain threshold. Standard potions are prioritized over High Potions.
- Ring of Timely Assistance – Your loyal dog Torgal will automatically attack and use his skills on his own, and also auto-combo attacks with Clive when able.
- Ring of Timely Evasion – Completely evade eligible attacks automatically.
- Ring of Timely Strikes – Clive’s combo attacks are executed with just the square button.
- Ring of Timely Focus – Time slows down before any incoming evadable attack, allowing Clive to dodge more easily. This effect doesn’t work if the Ring of Timely Evasion is already equipped.
3. How to Stock Up Potions Quickly
As you adventure through each new area of Final Fantasy 16, you’ll undoubtedly notice shards of light that beam up from the ground, which signal items you can pick up. One of the more common things to find are potions, and it turns out these shards of light can be a handy way to stock up on potions quickly and easily.
Every time you re-enter an explorable area of the game, the light shards in that area will respawn, and they will always have the same items in the same spots. For example, as seen above, near the very entrance to Caer Norvent Glorieuse Gate, there is a High Potion light shard location for you to take advantage of. Simply go over and pick up the potion, leave the area, come back and it will be there once again.
Repeat this as many times as you want. While it may take a bit of time, it can certainly be a good way to save some gil in the long run, especially earlier on when your funds are limited.