There are many approaches to playing Final Fantasy 16, with some players looking to get into combat with the Eikons. Others prefer experiencing the fantastic story and don’t want to spend too much effort on combat. To accommodate both players, you can choose between Story Focused and Action Focused modes before you start the game. The Story Focused mode is meant to help you enjoy the story while making combat easy. Action Focused mode fits those who want to experience combat and fight through tough battles. Here are the differences between Final Fantasy 16’s Story Focused and Action Focused modes and which is right for you.
Differences Between Story Focused & Action Focused in FF16
Neither mode will affect the storyline, and events will play out the same regardless of your chosen mode. The main difference is the accessories you get at the beginning of the game. Story Focused players will get four unique accessories, known as Timely Accessories, shortly after the combat tutorial. Clive will already have two Timely Accessories equipped, while the other two are in his inventory. Depending on your struggles during the tutorial, you can freely switch out these accessories. You may notice these accessories helping you during tricky parts of the combat tutorial as they slow down time or make complex combos easier to execute.
Action Focused players won’t have these accessories at first but will obtain them shortly before Clive’s first combat mission. This event occurs shortly after the combat tutorial, and you won’t miss out on these accessories. However, you must equip these accessories manually in the main menu if you want to use them. The Timely Accessories will be the same no matter your choice, and they help you as if you were playing Story Focused. Since they aren’t automatically equipped for you, they are optional, and you can choose not to use them.
Your journey through Valisthea will be challenging, and you can choose how you experience it. The central conflict between Final Fantasy 16‘s Story Focused vs Action Focused modes is your use of Timely Accessories. You can choose not to use or rely on them to teach you how to fight. Even in Story-Focused mode, you can unequip the accessories once you find better ones. Using these accessories has no downside; the difference becomes negligible once you gain experience. They are helpful for automating more annoying parts of combat, but either mode will still require some involvement in combat. The real difference is how much you want to fight and how much you want to think.
