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

The Ring of Timely Strikes is an accessory item that you automatically get at the start of Final Fantasy 16 (FF16). Like all Timely Accessories, it is essentially an accessibility option made into an in-game item to make it more flavorful. So, some players will find it more useful than others.

I am not a disabled gamer (apart from color blindness so mild that it rarely impacts gaming), but making accessibility options into in-game items feels like a misstep to me. You can only equip a maximum of three accessories at once and no one should have to choose between getting a cool item buff and actually making the game playable.

Still, for what it’s worth, here are my experiences with the Ring of Timely Strikes.

What does the Ring of Timely Strikes do in Final Fantasy 16?

The question should really be, what doesn’t the Ring of Timely Strikes do in Final Fantasy 16? When you have the Ring of Timely Strikes equipped, then every single one of your Abilities and Torgal’s Abilities are mapped to the Square button. I should emphasize that Torgal’s Abilities are included, because this means that if you have the Ring of Timely Strikes equipped, you do not also need the Ring of Timely Assistance equipped.

Exactly what happens each time you press Square is determined by an AI algorithm, which seems reasonably smart to me. For example, it’ll trigger area-of-effect Abilities when you’re surrounded by enemies, and ranged or dashing Abilities when you’re attacking at a distance. This includes Magic and Eikonic Feats, as well as all equipped Eikon Abilities, so you need never use Triangle, Circle, or L2 again. The Ring of Timely Strikes doesn’t disable the other button and button combinations, however, so you can still use “manual override” if you feel like it.

Related: What does mastering Abilities do in Final Fantasy 16?

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

Personally, I think the combat system is the best thing about Final Fantasy 16, so I found using the Ring of Timely Strikes made the game really boring. It also didn’t feel like it made me fight better, as I had a lot less control over Clive. Although it did seem to be pretty good for triggering strings of Battle Techniques, which should improve Battle Performance.

But Final Fantasy 16 is a game that prioritizes spectacle over gameplay. So whether you’re disabled or not, if you’re in it for the flashy cinematics and not up for learning button combinations, then you totally should use the Ring of Timely Strikes. And you should probably play in Story-Focused mode too.