New Ninja, need tips

[hongman]

Hello all

Recently unlocked NIN, and it will be the FIRST melee job I party with. I lvled WAR to 10 before starting on NIN but that was solo in Ron, so doesnt count.

I have only leveled mage jobs so far, and although I have obviously seen many melees ibn action I just wanted to know what are the do's/donts.

So I will be NIN/WAR for Provoke. Upon entering dunes I will make sure I have the latest armour/katana.

Equip - STR+ or DEX+ or AGL+ or DEF+?
Food - ATK +?

Utsusemi - do I need it at 12? Will I get kicked if I dont have it?

Any other comments/tactics/strats would be useful, thanks.

[Jei]

You are expected to have Utsusemi at 12. Get kicked or not depends on how serious your leader is. I won't kick you but I'll be very disappointed at you. :D

What you go for depends on your I guess...

Stats - some go for STR, some go for AGI. STR boost your damage which helps you keep better hate while AGI raises your evasion and parry which also help you tank.

[Juntao]

not sure whats how your highest level or craft, but be prepared to farm/bcnm to cover the costs of tools <havent played in the past few weeks so i couldnt give you an honest answer on prices for tools> and some decent armor doesnt have to be the uber stuff but at least some decent stuff in my opinion.

But yea definitely have Utsusemi Ichi when u ding level 12. Dont have fame for norg or dont want to spend gil for the scroll on the AH go to windy and do the Bead Quest i recall its like 200 beads = 50 trades. make alittle cash and get some fame that should get most if not all the questable scroll quests in Norg

change your evade/shadow absorb text to like solid red or something so you can keep tabs on your shadow count a little easier.

food is easy, getting hit to much get food with evade , missing alot go for acc food, need to hit harder str.

armor depends on what you want to spend.

but if you

[Juntao]

sorry for the double post

[Srxjo]

Armor - STR and AGI
Food - Evasion, Attack or Acc
and yes you will need Utsusemi: Ichi to play Ninja at 12 people expect you to tank

[hongman]

Ok thanks for the replies so far.

I have been reading and skim,ming through some of the posts in here, and I would like to ask - what are the chances Ill be invites as a DD as opposed to a pure blink tank?

I have started the bead quest but I really got burnt out with that, done about 4 runs trading 20-24 necks at a time and my rice ball prices went from 172 to 168 >.<

So I am taking a break from farming those - I am seriously considering lvling THF to 15 just for TH1 to help out.

*off topic side note*

I farm yags how I farm crawlers and anything else. Dia, run to next one, dia, etc till I have ~10 and then kill them all 1 by 1 with blade (AGA spells rumoured to drop less?)

But what annoys me is when some random person runs through and starts picking off my yags!! Im like WTF get your own, there's plenty more!

*End off topic side note*

[Srxjo]

The only Time i DDed in the 30 lvls of Nin i wore all STR and ATT gear and i was the puller

[hongman]

Ok so Ill be tanking - this should be interesting to playing from the other end (all my PT experience is from RDM and BLM and SMN)

I cant see how one of my LS buddies went 20 lvls without having Utsusemi. I asked the LS last night and he recently got NIN to 24, having only cast Utsusemi the the 1st time at lvl 20!!!

I was kinda shocked at first that I am ending up lvlving 2 other jobs I had little intention of playing to have NIN as a viable sub for my RDM - had to lvl WAR as a sub for NIN, and it looks like THF as well to help out with farming. Though I think it helps out in the end, knowing how to play all the different aspects of a party.

This is killing my inv space as well, even having done Mog Safe 1 (60) and also gobbiebag 1-3 -.-

I gotta say though, famring yags in Giddeus as 38RDM/11NIN (for dual wield) was amazing, with 2 cent swords. Kinda liked being the DD :)

[Celeal]

My suggestion is plan ahead of time:

Plan ahead for Utsusemi: Ichi scroll and other ninjitsu scrolls --- Make inventory space for zinc ore or yag. bead, Norg fame, know your way (map) in Norg, SSG, Jungles... rusty leggings, etc. If you wait until the last minute, such as level nin to 12 before rising Norg Fame, or go to SSG and forgot to bring sneak/invisible, a map/guide, silver coin, etc, you will be screwed.

Plan ahead before your exp. party begins --- Make sure to bring enough tools. Look at your party setup and camp/mob, make a tactic before the party starts. If you wait until the 1st mob pulls in and see what happens, you will be screwed.

The tips for NIN: Always be prepared, and plan ahead of time. Try to make sure what you will be expecting before you engage the battle.

I strongly recommend to level WAR/MNK (tank) to lvl 18+ before leveling NIN. Knowing the mobs is important for tanking, such as how fast/hard the mob hit, its dangerous moves, how many hit can you take before you would died, etc.

[hongman]

Well I have done just that, leveled NIN to 11.5 and now Im working on Norg fame! Which is why I said I got burnt out from doing it in the end coz I have little patience for repetitiveness and random twats kept stealing my pulls. Any /tells along the lines of "Stop Stealing" were met with {Please Use Auto-Translate Function}.

I plan on doing bead farming every other day - so I dont get burnt out, and also level THF (I was going to do it later but nows a good as any)

All of a sudden, I have so much I want to do and its prioritizing it all....such as Rank5 for the Airship pass, leveling other subs, lvling my horribly neglected cooking skill, etc.

I think in all honesty I should be fine, as I have seen melee's and tanks in action enough times. Just wondered if there were anything in the background I needed to know.

I have been so used to keeping hate off me in my mage jobs, looks like I just have to try the opposite now.

[Malacite]

Well, just how good of a NIN do you want to be?

If you want to be the best of the best, you're going to have to fork out a lot of gil. You'll need tool bags, (such a nice feature, I'm glad SE put it in) throwing weapons (starting with darts to skill up until you can throw shuriken at 18), and the right food and gear.


Speaking of which, when I took my NIN to 37 (I was only levelling it to use as a sub job) I went with as much defense gear and food as I could get, and I wasn't sorry for it either. When those shadows go down, you're just another paper doll in the mob's way, and you don't want to get hit like one. Steamed Crab will work wonders up to 37 (might want to switch to fish kabobs in the 30's actually)

If you're going for evasion, use Jack-o-Lanterns. They give +10 accuracy and evasion, which is great since TP gain for NIN is usually pretty bad due to all the time you spend casting. In my experience, I find evasion doesn't really do a whole lot against EXP mobs since IT's are at least 8 levels above you, but then others say it works so I really can't disprove it. I just don't believe in it except for in the case of high lv thieves.

Dorado Sushi is another good option. You won't get any evasion from it, and the accuracy boost won't be nearly as good until later on, but you do get +3 enmity. As any NIN will tell you, holding hate is probably the hardest part of NIN tanking, along with keeping shadows up pre-37.

Oh, and on that note, try to keep your shadows fresh before every fight, and unless the mob attacks very quickly or often pulls off a double attack, start recasting shadows just as your 2nd shadow goes down (it takes 4 seconds to cast utsusemi: ichi). Also note that once you're 37 and have Ni, it will override Ichi and also gives you 4 shadows. However, you can't replace shadows from Ni with Ichi, so you *may* need to cancel your 4th shadow while casting Ichi if the mob hasn't hit it yet.


Finally, if you want attack food, go with rice dumplings. They give so many good bonuses and are usually cheap (about 10k a stack on my server. That's 1 stack of bronze ingots lol!)

Stats are as follows;

* HP +17
* Strength +3
* Vitality +2
* Agility +1
* Attack +20% (Cap: 45@225 Base Attack)
* Ranged Attack +30% (Cap: 45@150 Base Ranged Attack)
* HP Regeneration While Healing +2
* MP Regeneration While Healing +2
* Accuracy +5
* Resist Paralyze

So with those you get a mix of attack and accuracy. The ranged attack boost is especially good if you're throwing shuriken which, for a good while will have insane DPS (damage per second).


Good luck and have fun with NIN! ^^b


EDIT: Forgot to mention that all your physical weapon skills (You'll likely be using retsu most of the time unless it's Rin for opening distortion) are modified by STR and DEX (focus on the stats in that order)

[Sabaron]

Save up Beastman Seals for Utsusemi: Ni [Do Royal Jelly BCNM40 @ Waughroon]. Since I'm assuming that you're doing this for RDM/NIN remember the only reason RDM uses /NIN is for Utsusemi, so it's the only reason you'd ever level NIN in the first place. I see no reason not to make sure you had Utsusemi: Ichi by 12th--besides, you need to practice with it; /NIN is a defensive job as a sub, not offensive, so don't play it as DD while levelling and then turn around and play it defensively on sub. I think too many players are too interested in just levelling, levelling, levelling. You have to strike a balance at some point and say to yourself, "Before I level {Job}, I need to get {Things}". I put off WHM until I felt like buying Erase. I stopped levelling RDM when I needed to buy Dispel and crafted. I never go gimp. You'll never see me missing a spell unless I left it at home by accident like a moron, and I keep most of my gear upgrades on me unless they're not terribly important. Dual wield isn't that great especially if you spend 90% of your time casting spells--in fact, whenever I'm doing anything where I'll be the center of attention (i.e. RDM Tanking), I usually wear my shield anyway.

[Darki]

Hmmm.. I've allways lvl'd Mage jobs too, this is my first NIN, but i think some of you are taking it way too seriusly, Just work on your fame in norg slowly, bring a mage to Giddeus and farm out on Yagudos... Trade them on Windurst for the fame ((quest)) and keep count of how many uve traded so far... Im only lvl 6 NIN, i havent used food or anything, and i use rdm as sub. Maybe im playing 'wrongly' but i use my own strategy, which allways works! Gud luk!

[Mythos]

Hmmm.. I've allways lvl'd Mage jobs too, this is my first NIN, but i think some of you are taking it way too seriusly, Just work on your fame in norg slowly, bring a mage to Giddeus and farm out on Yagudos... Trade them on Windurst for the fame ((quest)) and keep count of how many uve traded so far... Im only lvl 6 NIN, i havent used food or anything, and i use rdm as sub. Maybe im playing 'wrongly' but i use my own strategy, which allways works! Gud luk!Well, any sub will work at level 6. Once you enter a party and have to work with others is when you have to really think about what sub you're going to use.

[Jarre]

I finally got my norg fame up to lvl 4 after just trading zinc ores I earned from normal exp parties on worms in tunnels and qufim and yag beads when camping Nm's in gideous. Word of advice when you get your fame up enough (I had rice balls down to 156) then do the Tonko ichi quest as well. Also if you fish doing the rusty sublingar and rusty leggings quests in Norg helps. (need 10 of each for NPC's) Now I have scrolls I wills tart lvling nin from 10, thankfully woodwork for me is at 23 so with image support I should be able to make my own tools if there is none in the AH.

As for a sub well /war is probably best for low level tanking as you will have provoke to help keep hate.

[bri360]

Hello all

Recently unlocked NIN, and it will be the FIRST melee job I party with. I lvled WAR to 10 before starting on NIN but that was solo in Ron, so doesnt count.

I have only leveled mage jobs so far, and although I have obviously seen many melees ibn action I just wanted to know what are the do's/donts.

So I will be NIN/WAR for Provoke. Upon entering dunes I will make sure I have the latest armour/katana.

Equip - STR+ or DEX+ or AGL+ or DEF+?
Food - ATK +?

Utsusemi - do I need it at 12? Will I get kicked if I dont have it?

Any other comments/tactics/strats would be useful, thanks.

I became a nin a while ago, and from what ive learned heard so far:

1. Dont be stingy on gear, your almost expected to have the best ones out there while tanking.
2. Make sure you have agi increased alot, other than that def is nice and str is useful. I recommend getting Winged Pendant, its a quested item you obtain from the priest person in the entrance to the Nsandy church.
3. Yes you must absolutly have utsusemi at 12, you will be kicked or just not invited if you dont, a nin will almost always be expected to tank even if theirs a war around. Only job that will replace you as tank is pld.
4. Remember to stock up on shihie, thats what allows you to cast utsusemi you will need roughly 4-6 stacks of 99 to get you through the dunes.
5. At lower lvl's dont spam utsusemi, its a waste of money and only cast at before the battle and maybe once in between if its unnecessary.

[Ziero]

*off topic side note*
I farm yags how I farm crawlers and anything else. Dia, run to next one, dia, etc till I have ~10 and then kill them all 1 by 1 with blade (AGA spells rumoured to drop less?)
But what annoys me is when some random person runs through and starts picking off my yags!! Im like WTF get your own, there's plenty more!
*End off topic side note*
Kinda skipping most posts here, but something I feel needs to be addressed.

No, no there is not plenty of other Yags around. Most of the time, when someone trains, it pulls all the linking mobs in that area to one person. That ties up everything leaving little to nothing for everyone else. It also slows down farming a lot for both the Trainer and anyone else in the area. As you're sitting there with a dozen mobs killing all the mobs that's time other people sit and wait for new mobs to show. And when they're all dead you're both sitting and waiting for repops, which will all pop at the same time as they were all killed within close timing to the others.

It's better to kill one at a time and move from mob to mob. The time it takes to link them could be spent killing and moving on. Once they die their repop timer starts and you're already moving on to another. By the time you finish a lap you can go back and they'll be repoping again with no downtime. But train farming in an area as busy and quest related as Gid is rather rude imo as other are lvling and farming themselves there. There will be plenty of mobs if everyone goes one at a time, but claiming 10-20 will just slow it down for everyone.

As for nin advice:

Highest Dmg katana in main hand, always. And use Blade: Retsu. Ignore other WS.
Get Utsu at lvl 12, hell get it at 11.
Buy a stack of Utsu Toolbags, you'll use them whether you main or sub nin.
Get at *least* 3 of the ele spells at 15, including the Ice one. Use these to skill up Utsu and hold hate.
Get and use your enfeebles. They're awesome.
Eat Navarin (Att%+ & Eva) or Rice Dumplings (Att%+ & Acc), which ever is better for the situation.
Get Eva/Def armor and Att/Acc armor. That's right, both. Switch as you see fit.
Do *not* put <calls> in any of your spells.
Never Mijin Gakura at full HP. If you have full HP that means you can survive long enough to be of use.
Make sure you always have enough tools, usually 50+ before you leave the city for DD/Debuffs and at least 2-3 stacks of Utsu.
There are other Norg Quests then the Yag one. Do them too. Most give you Nin spell rewards anyway.
Voke. Every 30 seconds. On the dot.
In early lvls, short bows and Racc are your friend. They stop being useful about 30 though.

All I can think of for now. Really, nin doesn't get too expensive till 40 when you get your Ni spells and start spamming them like no tomorrow. And I tell ya, as nice as haste is, it just means you'll have less time between casting an item away and blowing more gil.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

... when someone trains, it pulls all the linking mobs in that area to one person. That ties up everything leaving little to nothing for everyone else. It also slows down farming a lot for both the Trainer and anyone else in the area. As you're sitting there with a dozen mobs killing all the mobs that's time other people sit and wait for new mobs to show. And when they're all dead you're both sitting and waiting for repops, which will all pop at the same time as they were all killed within close timing to the others.

It's better to kill one at a time and move from mob to mob. The time it takes to link them could be spent killing and moving on. Once they die their repop timer starts and you're already moving on to another. By the time you finish a lap you can go back and they'll be repoping again with no downtime. But train farming in an area as busy and quest related as Gid is rather rude imo as other are lvling and farming themselves there.
I couldn't agree more.

Most of the time, players don't train farm because it's more efficient anyway. They're doing it to be selfish (i.e. they want to "scoop" the competition, and try to assert that getting a mob to follow after them is the same as having claim).

[Malacite]

Once you hit level 18, shuriken will be your best friend.

If you get lucky you can buy a stack maybe more cheap from the Tenshodo in Lower Jueno or Norg. Keep your throwing skill capped in the mean time with darts or a returning weapon (Boomerang/Chakram etc)


Shuriken will do a lot of damage very quickly but they can be expensive. If you have the gil for it, do it because you won't be sorry ^^.

If you get the chance, subbing Ranger will really help to land them at level 20+ when you get the accuracy bonus trait, plus you can put up sharpshot every 5 minutes.

[Silent Howler]

You are expected to have Utsusemi at 12. Get kicked or not depends on how serious your leader is. I won't kick you but I'll be very disappointed at you. :D
I recently unlocked Nin (so I could go as Blu/Nin instead of Blu/War) and I'm not going to get into a party in the dunes until I get to lvl 12 and can use Utsusemi, because this is the dunes we're talking about. Not everyone is smart. :P I would not be surprised if I got invited into a party at lvl 10 with the leader thinking "hey, they're a Nin! they can use shadows!"

:rolleyes: So, to avoid that, I'm just going to wait.