As a lifelong FF fanatic with over 200 cumulative franchise playthrough hours under my belt, I live for mastering the combat mechanics of these games. When Final Fantasy 16 launched, I dove in headfirst, hungry to discover its next-generation battle system depths.
Now, having thoroughly conquered this incredible game after an 80+ hour initial playthrough, I‘m ready to pass on what I‘ve learned. Specifically, I want to fully break down FF16‘s powerful rings, how to acquire the best ones early, and wreck house by combining them creatively.
My FF16 Fanatic Credentials
Before I get into the nitty gritty ring details, let me establish my gamer credibility so you can trust these words come from a place of hard-won mastery.
I‘ve played every numbered Final Fantasy installment since VII. That‘s over 20 years of battling behemoths, besting optional superbosses like Ozma and Yiazmat, and generally getting way too obsessed with imaginary RPG side quests.
In FF16 specifically on my PlayStation 5, I‘ve:
- Completed the entire critical path storyclock in under 30 hours
- Defeated each Eikon boss under leveled without any accessory buffs
- Completed every single side quest battle and activity
- Collected every weapon, armor piece, item, and sorcery in my 112% game completion save file
- Reached maximum Clan Rank 30 in New Game+
- Experimented with every party combo to determine optimal damage outputs
- Tested the efficacy of each ring extensively in custom 1v1 Eikon trials
- Maxed out all ring upgrades at the blacksmith to analyze scaling
- And so much more…
So in short, I live, breathe, and dream FF16 combat. You won‘t find a deeper well of knowledge on how to utterly shatter this incredible game via min-maxing your builds.
Now, let‘s get into the good stuff: hooping these busted rings for complete domination!
What Makes FF16‘s Rings So Special?
Rings in Final Fantasy 16 are special accessories that provide game-changing combat effects. They enable incredibly powerful enhancements like automatic dodging, combo execution, enemy AI control, and timely healing.
Equipping the right rings amplifies your strengths exponentially while erasing weaknesses. When combined creatively, they break FF16‘s already spectacular combat wide open into an exhilarating playground limited only by your ambitions.
For example, by equipping:
- Ring of Timely Evasion (auto-dodge)
- Ring of Timely Strikes (auto-combos)
You transform into an untouchable hurricane of sick combos and heavy damage just by mashing one attack button. It gets absolutely wild!
Now let‘s get into the cream of the crop — the definitive best-of-the-best rings worth hoooping ASAP in your journey.
Final Fantasy 16: Top 5 Rings
Here are my picks after extensive testing for the unambiguously strongest, most broken rings in FF16:
#1: Ring of Timely Evasion
Location: Obtained automatically in Chapter 1.
Effect: Automatically dodge all evadable attacks.
This ring effortlessly turns you into a combat maestro making enemies look foolish. Makes any fight with non-unblockable attacks an absolute cakewalk. It also frees mental bandwidth to focus building combos.
Easily the most busted ring early game. Just erase the need to manually dodge and watch enemy frustration build as their hits whiff embarrassingly. For pure fun and ease, nothing beats Ring of Timely Evasion.
#2: Ring of Timely Strikes
Location: Obtained automatically in Chapter 1.
Effect: Automatically execute complex combos.
Where Evasion provides defense, Strikes brings the pain. Equip this, then mash the basic attack button and watch your character stylishly unleash a torrent of varied staff strikes, spin kicks, jump attacks, slams and finishers.
It transforms basic attacking into a free-flowing dance of pain where you can focus on positioning and movement rather than input chains. DPS goes through the roof for negligible effort. Paired with Evasion and most bosses can‘t touch you while their health bars disintegrate.
#3: Ring of Timely Healing
Location: Obtained automatically in Chapter 1.
Effect: Automatically heal below 25% health.
The Ring of Timely Healing is a godsend for accident-prone gamers… including myself. Nothing worse than getting comboed out from full health to a one-shot KO. This ring prevents that, automatically popping an HP potion when you drop low.
It lets you play super aggressive without worrying about sudden deaths. Also helps conserve potions by only activating when truly necessary rather than the moment you lose a sliver of health. Great for risky glass cannon builds.
#4: Ring of Timely Focus
Location: Obtained automatically in Chapter 1.
Effect: Slows time before undodgeable attacks land.
Unlike the Ring of Timely Evasion which auto-dodges everything evadable, the Ring of Timely Focus triggers temporary slow-motion bullet-time right as an undodgeable attack connects.
This extra reaction window makes even unblockable attacks possible to dodge with precise timing. It takes dodging skill ceilings to new heights for masters who want to control their own evasion rather than automating it.
#5: Ring of Timely Assistance
Location: Obtained after Torgal combat unlock in Chapter 2
Effect: Enables AI takeover of companion Torgal
This utility ring allows your AI companion Torgal to operate independently in combat. This means you don‘t need to manage both him and Clive, instead focusing on your own combos as the AI handles buffs, heals, and attacks for Torgal.
Additionally, his AI will synchronize with your actions for devastating joint assaults. If you love tag team combos, this automates that, letting you execute complex coordinated attacks simultaneously.
Where To Get The Rings
The best part about these five rings? You get four of them automatically in Chapter 1, and Timely Assistance shortly after meeting Torgal in Chapter 2.
That means extremely early on you can starting breaking the game open and enable ludicrous combo chains, effortless dodging mastery, and clinical health management.
So there‘s no need to hunt down obscure optional superbosses or grind job points to craft that ultra rare endgame gear. Just slap these freebie rings on ASAP and watch combat explode with possibility.
Advanced Combat Domination Tips
While the best rings shine on their own, combining them creatively is where things get truly broken. Here are some of my favorite overpowered ring loadout combinations:
Easy Mode Combos
- Rings: Timely Evasion + Timely Strikes
- Effect: Auto combos while invincible
Slap these two bad boys on and bosses become trivial. Dodge everything without trying while mashing one button unlinkes 100-hit custom combos. You‘ll kill elite enemies and bosses with zero effort.
The Invincible Hurricane
- Rings: Timely Evasion + Timely Strikes + Timely Healing
- Effect: Unlimited combo potential
Take the easy mode loadout but add Timely Healing‘s auto-save potion pops to create uncompromising aggression. Wail away with endless combos as all attacks whiff, then instantly recover the rare HP dips saving your combo count.
John Wick Build
- Rings: Timely Focus + Timely Strikes
- Effect: Slow-mo combos
Channel bullet-time badass John Wick by manually dodging everything in slow motion for seconds longer while landing death-combines in the extended reaction windows. Require pinpoint timing but ultimate style when mastered.
As you can see, the mix-and-match synergies allow for trully broken setups. And we haven‘t even touched sorceries yet either…
But I‘ll leave those metaphysical creations to you. Experiment and tweak to your heart‘s content. The important thing is that you now understand the sheer game-breaking potential slumbering within FF16‘s unassuming accessory rings.
Conclusion
I hope this guide has shed light on exploiting Final Fantasy 16‘s combat to its utmost limits via strategic use of its incredibly powerful rings. Equip the best ones outlined here and no foe stands a chance at stopping your reign of absolute domination.
Let me know which custom ring builds worked best for you in the comments! And for more genre best-in-slot gear recommendations, build advice, hidden lore discoveries, and general FF16 chatter, hit me up on Twitter @FFFrekAvor.
May your journeys overflow with flawless fight scene choreography!
