FF16’s approach to difficulty settings is a little different from what you might be expecting. There are two difficulty settings you can choose from in Final Fantasy 16. They are:

• Story-Focused
• Action-Focused

Instead of increasing or lowering the challenge of combat by making monsters do less damage or have more health, FF16 gives players unique accessories that reshape how combat functions.

This might make picking one of these difficulty settings a little confusing for some. Fortunately, we’ve laid out exactly what you can expect from all difficulty modes and which will be the best for you.

Which Difficulty Should You Choose in FF16?

The Action-Focused difficulty is the best difficulty to pick in Final Fantasy 16 unless you really want to avoid combat at all costs.

FF16 is not a difficult game, especially early on, and most players will likely be able to handle its combat.

However, because you can change the difficulty at any time if you find it too difficult, you can always switch to Story-Focused difficulty.

FF16 Story vs Action Mode Comparison

The Story-Focused difficulty mode is far easier compared to the Action-Focused difficulty mode due to the fact that two Timely Accessories are equipped by default.

If you pick the Story-Focused difficulty, the Ring of Timely Focus and Ring of Timely Strikes will be equipped by default, allowing you a greater window of time to dodge and for attack combos to be automatic.

These Timely Accessories are available in the player’s inventory in both Story-Focused and Action-Focused modes. However, if you choose Action-Focused, they won’t be automatically equipped.

Here is what all of the Timely Accessories do in FF16 accessories are:

• Ring of Timely Focus
  • When equipped, time slows before an evadable enemy attack strikes Clive. No effect when equipped with the Ring of Timely Evasion.
• Ring of Timely Evasion
  • When equipped, Clive will automatically evade attacks, as long as the attack can be evaded.
• Ring of Timely Strikes
  • When equipped, complex ability combinations can be executed by simply pressing Square.
• Ring of Timely Healing
  • When equipped, Clive will automatically use a potion when his HP falls below a certain point. Potions will be used before High Potions.
• Ring of Timely Assistance
  • When equipped, pet commands are executed automatically and Torgal’s actions will adapt to Clive’s. The Ring of Timely Assistance’s effects are included in the Ring of Timely Strikes.

It’s worth noting that you won’t unlock the Ring of Timely Assistance until after you reunite with Torgal. This happens about two to three hours into the game.

How to Change Difficulty in Final Fantasy 16?

Players can change the difficulty of Final Fantasy 16 at any time by going to Game Settings and changing the Gameplay option. Here is how you do it:

• Press Start to bring up the main menu
• Keep pressing R2 until you reach System
• Press R1 to move to Game Settings
• Hover over the Gameplay option with the left joystick
• Press left or right on the D-Pad to switch difficulty mode
• Press Circle to leave the settings menu

However, it is worth noting that switching from Story-Focused to Action-Focused doesn’t remove the assist items from your inventory.

If you want the game to be more challenging, unequip any assist items you have. That way, they will remain in your inventory but won’t affect the gameplay anymore.