When you start playing Final Fantasy 16, you’ll be faced with a choice: Story-Focused or Action-Focused Mode.
It might sound a little confusing at first, especially if you’re not sure what sets them apart.
But fear not! In this guide, we’ll break down these modes, explain what makes them different, and even show you how to switch the difficulty if you change your mind later.
Story-Focused vs. Action-Focused
Although Final Fantasy 16 is a story-driven game, it is also action-packed with fairly challenging fights from time to time.
The purpose of these modes is to help players who might not be accustomed to action games ease into the new combat style.
These modes are nothing new in the industry. Story-Focused Mode can be considered the game’s “easy mode.” After all, it does make the enemies weaker and easier to defeat.
The idea here is to make it easier for you to progress through the stages and find out what happens next without necessarily trivializing every single battle.
If you choose the Story-Focused mode, Clive will automatically start with some Timely Accessories equipped: the Ring of Timely Strikes and the Ring of Timely Evasion.
- Ring of Timely Strikes: By mashing the square button, Clive will use varied combos and cycle through his many abilities.
- Ring of Timely Evasion: Clive will automatically dodge incoming attacks as long as the dodge is possible.
Note that these items can be unequipped so you can maintain your autonomy while fighting easier enemies. In other words, the experience can be fine-tuned to your liking.
You can equip up to three accessories, and you also have access to:
- Ring of Timely Focus: When equipped, time slows before an enemy is about to hit Clive. This ring doesn’t do anything when you have it equipped with the ring of timely evasion.
- Ring of Timely Healing: Equipping this will make Clive automatically use healing items when needed (as long as you have them).
- Ring of Timely Assistance: This will make Torgal fight on its own and use its abilities automatically.
As for the Action-Focused Mode, you can consider it the game’s “normal mode.” However, even though the enemies are tougher, the Timely Accessories can still be used in normal mode.
In the end, you have the freedom to decide whether or not to equip the Timely Accessories or fight in Story-Focused or Action-Focused mode, giving you a bit more control over the challenges you face.
It’s all about the experience you want from the game.
Note that using a pre-bonus item, such as the Braveheart Sword, might make the early game much easier than it’s supposed to be.
It can also make certain optional challenges in FF16 much easier.
How to Adjust the Difficulty Mid-Game
If you happen to regret your initial choice, just open the menu by pressing the options button and follow these steps:
- Navigate to System.
- Select Game Settings.
- Go to the Gameplay tab.
- Switch the difficulty mode.
By understanding the differences between Story-Focused and Action-Focused Modes, you can tailor your gameplay experience to suit your preferences.
Whether you want to immerse yourself in the captivating story or relish the excitement of formidable battles, the choice is yours to make.
FF16 New Game +
To access Final Fantasy 16’s New Game + mode, you must first beat the game. Once that’s done, you can play the game again while carrying over all your progress from your last playthrough.
On top of that, there are a few things that change with New Game +:
- The level cap is raised to 100.
- Enemy positioning can be different.
- There are new mini-bosses.
- Some enemies might behave completely differently.
- The game is, as expected, much harder in this mode.
- There is also a wider range of weapons and equipment available.
