Timespinner is, in many ways, a game about choice. The player is shown a complex conflict from multiple angles, then asked to decide how to resolve it, each possible choice branching off into one of thegame’s alternate endings. This theme of choice runs deeper than the game’s narrative, however.
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You’ll also need to decide which Passive Ring to equip in each game scenario. These are incredibly useful items, providing ongoing benefits that can give you an edge in combat and sometimes elsewhere. Of course, some Rings are better than others, so securing the most tantalizing trinkets in Timespinner for your playthrough is worthwhile.
10Bleak Ring
The first Passive Ring available in the game is also one of the most useful. Acquired from Neliste, the Alchemist provided you have the Blue Orb from the game’s tutorial; this Ring increases the damage you deal as you land successive hits on enemies in exchange for increasing the damage you take as well.
Given how many of the game’s Melee Orbs allow for rapid-fire close-range hits, this Ring can let you rack up huge damage if used correctly. It presents a risk and reward scenario since, to get the most out of it, you’ll need toconstantly put yourself in danger, but if mastered, this can be one of the most effective Rings in the game.
9Shield Ring
A lot of the damage you’ll take during your Timespinner runs will be from ranged attacks. Many enemies have them, and they often come out faster than you can avoid them. Thankfully, the Shield Ring is here to help solve that problem.
Providing a floating metal shield in front of Lunais, the Shield Ring completely blocks any projectiles that come your way, as long as they come from the front. This makes a lot of enemy encounters, and even some bosses, much easier to handle, especially when combined with a long-range weapon like the Gun Orb.
8Oculus Ring
One of the few Rings in the game with non-combat utility, the Oculus Ring boosts your exploration skills. Revealing the location of those pesky breakable walls, that withhold that final, infuriating one percent of map completion from somany Metroidvania players. It’s an invaluable tool for the endgame cleanup tour.
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Since the Oculus Ring has no impact on your combat abilities, you can easily slot it into any given build. This makes it a great choice at any point in the game, as having it equipped will prevent you from missing out on hidden rooms and the hidden treasures they contain.
7Icicle Ring
The Icicle Ring adds an extra ice arrow to your Melee Orb attacks, which considerably opens up your combat options. You can either use a short-range Orb and let this Ring round out your range, or you can use a long-range Orb and double down on damage from a distance.
Both options are great, and while the damage dealt by the icicles is minor, it adds up over time, particularly when combined with a fast-attacking weapon like the Blue Orb or Wind Orb.
6Scythe Ring
Weaponizing the floating forms of your Melee Orbs, the Scythe Ring effectively turns Lunais into a walking hitbox. This lets you rack up extra damage at close range, which pairs perfectly with close-range weapons like the Shattered Orb.
Beyond the extra damage, the Scythe Ring also has defensive utility. Since your Melee Orbs constantly orbit around Lunais, they’ll often intercept enemy projectiles, which can prove vital in hectic combat situations. This combination of offense and defense makes the Scythe Ring a versatile, powerful option for any build.
5Silence Ring
An incredibly simple option, the Silence Ring does one thing and one thing only: reduces the damage you take. While its description implies that this reduction is constant, the Ring actually only reduces the damage from a single hit before needing to recharge to do so again.
If you only take damage every so often, the Silence Ring will extend your survivability by a huge amount. For the best results, you’ll want to pair it with a long-range Melee Orb and wear down your foes from a distance, shrugging off their occasional hits with ease thanks to the Silence Ring’s protection.
4Shadow Seal
Part of a proud tradition of risk-reward items that includes Dark Souls’ Red Tearstone Ring and Hollow Knight’s Fury of the Fallen Charm, the Shadow Seal increases the damage you deal as your health decreases. This can let you breeze through combat encounters, provided you’re willing to put yourself in danger.
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Since somany of the Melee Orbs in Timespinnercan attack rapidly, the damage boost this Ring provides can make Lunais an unstoppable killing machine once it gets going. Just ensure you don’t get too confident and lose that last bit of health in the midst of your rampage.
3Tailwind Ring
Providing a flat damage boost in exchange for a small amount of Aura per attack, the Tailwind Ring can be an extremely useful addition to certain builds. Extra damage is always useful, and if you’re not planning to cast any spells during combat, you might as well use this Ring to channel it into your standard attacks instead.
While sacrificing spell casts might sound like a big downside, the reality is that you’ll probably deal more damage with the equivalent number of Melee Orb attacks, particularly with a damage boost active. This makes the Tailwind Ring a great choice for general combat and exploration.
2Star Of Lachiem
A late-game option, available once you’ve claimed the Empire Orb after the Emperor Nuvius boss fight, the Star of Lachiem is arguably the most powerful Passive Ring in the game. Its effect is simple: it gives you a third Melee Orb, an extra copy of the main one you have equipped.
This lets you make a third melee attack before your Orbs reset, effectively increasing your damage output by 50 percent. This is particularly good with slower Orbs since it gives them a sneaky speed boost, but it works just as well with faster Orbs too.
1Hope Ring
Working in a similar way to the Shield Ring, the Hope Ring provides a protective barrier around your equipped Familiar. Since your Familiar moves around regularly, this protects you from projectile attacks from multiple angles, coming in handy when facing foes on multiple elevations.
The effectiveness of this Ring varies depending on the Familiar you have equipped since each has its own attack pattern and movement style, but generally, this is a great option in projectile-heavy sections and can be the difference between life and death in a tight spot.
