How to get the pocket watch and advance time in Rise of the Ronin

Rise of the Ronin is a modern open-world game with a full day and night cycle. But to make better use of that cycle, developer Team Ninja wanted it to mean more than just a lighting change. Certain missions in the game can only be attempted at a certain time of day.

If you decide to go after Fugitives, for instance, you might see that some of them roam certain zones or hang around certain towns only at night, or early in the morning. If you visit the area at a time of day different from that, you won’t find them. The solution to your dilemma is the pocket watch, which you acquire a little deeper into the game.

Here’s when that happens.

How to get the pocket watch and advance time in Rise of the Ronin

Much like the camera, the pocket watch is also a reward you get after finishing the second major mission in Rise of the Ronin: Follow Your Blade Twin. Once you’ve been introduced to your Longhouse and everything that entails, you’ll be alerted that you have unlocked the pocket watch, and can then use it to change the time of day.

Advancing time is simply a matter of using the pocket watch and picking the time of day you want to advance to (Morning, Noon, Night). Note that, much like the camera and horse flute, you need to have the pocket watch assigned to a shortcut (loadout). The pocket watch can then be used anywhere at any time, except during story missions (Battle Missions), for obvious reasons.

As we’ve recommended in our other guides, it’s best to leave these sort of situational items to their own set of shortcuts so as not to confuse yourself and accidentally trigger them in the middle of the action. To change shortcut groups, hold R1 and move right or left using the d-pad.

This does not apply to the glider (Avicula), however, which is always equipped and can be used anytime you're in the air.

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