When does time pass? Read the cost before you act
Read the selected objective's time cost, distinguish day/night availability from urgency, and recognize a nearby activity that can advance time.
Read the next commitment before you act. Select your intended objective in the Journal: the silver timeline segments show its future time cost. Check its day/night marker and time-sensitive warning separately. Near an activity, a blinking Time Bar can warn that engaging will advance time without another confirmation.
Use the preview for that objective. It does not describe every later step of its quest.
Before you commit
- Open Journal and select the objective you intend to complete. Read the silver segments on the timeline at the bottom. Gold segments describe time already spent.
- Read its availability marker. A sun means day only; a moon means night only. If the objective needs the other phase, inspect your other objectives before deciding to change plans.
- Look for the separate time-sensitive marker. Ignoring that objective for too long has consequences. A phase marker tells you when something is available; it does not tell you how long you can postpone it.
- Watch for a blinking Time Bar as you approach an activity. It previews the segments that will fill. Some activities advance time without requesting confirmation once you engage.
- After completing a step, select the next objective and read again. Treat a new preview as a new decision. Do not carry forward a previous objective’s cost or phase assumption.
In Settings, Time-Progressing Activities Proximity Indicator controls the warning for walking into an activity that advances time. Enable it if those commitments keep surprising you. It provides a warning, not an extra confirmation step.
Read the clock
The Time Bar has 8 segments per phase. When all segments fill, day changes to night, or night changes to day. Time progresses through activities marked with the hourglass; the important cue is the activity’s cost, rather than how long you have been reading or looking around.
The diagram shows the size of each phase. To judge an actual objective, read its own preview and the current Time Bar together.
| Indicator | Meaning | Your next check |
|---|---|---|
| Hourglass on an activity | Completing the activity advances time. | Inspect its displayed cost before engaging. |
| Gold timeline segments | Time already passed. | Keep this separate from the next cost. |
| Silver timeline segments | Time that will pass for the selected quest objective. | Confirm the objective selection. |
| Sun / moon | Day-only / night-only objective. | Compare the required phase with the current one. |
| Time-sensitive objective marker | Ignoring the objective too long has consequences. | Read that objective before postponing it. |
| Blinking Time Bar | A nearby activity can advance time without confirmation. | Read the indicated segments before engaging. |
Read an objective
Example: you are considering a night-only objective while it is day. The moon answers the availability question. The silver timeline answers the cost question. If the objective also has a time-sensitive marker, that is a third warning to consider before choosing another activity.
Read the objective text first, then compare the other objectives currently available to you. If you choose something else, inspect its preview too. After the phase changes, return to the original objective and confirm that it is still available.
Example: one quest step is complete and another appears. The gold timeline now records elapsed time. Select the new step to see its silver preview; the previous step’s preview was not a quotation for the whole quest. Repeat this check at each commitment.
These checks help with the immediate decision. This guide does not cover quest-specific expiry conditions or ending routes.
Training costs
Skill learning has its own time decisions. Each rank has its own effect and Skill Point price, and advanced perks can also advance time. Compare the selected rank rather than applying one rule to every purchase.
For 
AnytimeEndless EffortIncreases Stamina.Rank 1: +25% maximum Stamina. 1 Skill Point; 0 time segments.Learn at a Shrine., the first two ranks each cost 1 Skill Point and 0 time segments. Its third rank has a 1-segment cost and an additional unlock condition. Check its learning message before planning that upgrade.
If you have points but are avoiding every purchase for fear of losing time, start with the first-rank comparison. It separates capacity, defensive cost and charge upgrades, with the actual price beside each option.
Troubleshooting
- Time advanced without a dialog. Check the proximity-indicator setting and watch for the blinking bar before approaching the next activity.
- The preview seems to describe the wrong action. Select the intended quest objective again. The timeline follows the selected objective.
- An objective has both a moon and an urgency warning. Night availability and time sensitivity are separate conditions. Read both before postponing it.
- A later skill rank costs time when the first one did not. Read each rank’s point cost, time cost and learning condition separately.
- The next stage costs more than you expected. Re-read its own preview. A completed objective does not establish the price of a new one.
Before spending time on training, choose an upgrade that addresses your current problem. If a fight is stopping progress, use the combat recovery checklist to identify what needs changing first.