Should you use the Ring of Timely Assistance in Final Fantasy 16?

The Ring of Timely Assistance is an accessory item in Final Fantasy 16 (FF16) that you receive at the same time as Torgal the dog is first added to your party. You can find it under Gear on the Gear & Eikons screen, along with the four other Timely Accessories. The question is, should you use it?

It’s a tricky question because Final Fantasy 16 has a weird approach to accessibility options, which is what the five Timely Accessories are. By making them in-game items, the game makes them more flavorful. But it also means that players who really need accessibility don’t get to use accessories with other kinds of buffs.

Is the Ring of Timely Assistance worth using in Final Fantasy 16?

The short answer to this question is basically, maybe at first, but not later on. One thing is certain: the manual pet commands are a real pain in the ass. Switching back and forth between potions and Torgal is confusing and clumsy, and I know I’ve wasted so many potions because of pressing the wrong button on the D-pad at the wrong time. Equipping the Ring of Timely Assistance solves this problem. Kinda.

I say “kinda” because Torgal’s AI isn’t exactly great. When the Ring of Timely Assistance is equipped, he mostly just sics enemies, and I found the other two actions way more useful. I wanted him to heal me because I already wasted so many potions fumbling with the manual controls, and I wanted him to ravage enemies because it flips them into the air, enabling me to juggle them. So, even with the Ring of Timely Assistance equipped, I found myself using the manual Torgal controls anyway.

Related: Final Fantasy 16 difficulty settings: Should you choose Story-focused or Action-focused?

What’s more, pretty soon after getting the Ring of Timely Assistance, you’ll find other accessories with buffs that improve your attributes and the effectiveness of your Abilities, and I found these more useful than the Ring of Timely Assistance. So, I wouldn’t recommend it overall.

I should state that the only gaming-relevant disability I have is mild color blindness (and I don’t need the color blindness settings in most games), so the Timely Accessories in Final Fantasy 16 aren’t really for me anyway.

The Ring of Timely Assistance offers benefits to non-disabled players too, but I’d say that there are other better accessories. Whether or not you’re disabled, if you try the Ring of Timely Assistance and you like delegating responsibility for Torgal to AI, then you should use it. And don’t let anyone tell you you’re making the game too easy.