Using Blink Ichi

[Kirk]

Hey guys, I finally got blink I and was astounded by the amazing slow cast time! Are there any experieced blink tanks out there who can give some tips on the best way to keep blink on in a fight? Maybe even some macros what combine with provoke etc?

Thanks!

[qweezy]

Cast blink on yourself before the fight starts. Usually by the time the puller is back with the monster the 30 second recast timer is up. Provoke the monster, watch your log, once it hits your shadow twice start casting blink again. Your 3rd shadow will stop the incoming attack while you're recasting blink, usually by the time the 3rd shadow is gone you'll already have completed casting your blink ... that's another 3 free hits. Tell the tanks in your group to start provoking once you're taking damage .... it's more efficient that way. Once the 30 second timer is up, recast, provoke. Be warned though, playing this way will drain your gils fast.

Once you get blink 2 though, the casting time is so short you can slide it in inbetween mob hits. Blink 1 and blink 2 combo can let you tank the first 14 hits with no damage at all if you do it right . But most of the time you'll loose aggro cuz you are spending alot of time casting ... Thief is your friend .

[Kirk]

Thanks for the tips Qweezy! You info has made me a blinking fool! :spin:

[Bebetaro]

Just a few more random thoughts:

- pick your enemies
For a party with a ninja tank to be effective, this is VERY important. A general rule-of-thumb is to pick enemies with slow, heavy attacks (crawlers, beetles) over those with fast, weak attacks (bats, mandoras). Avoid MNK and THF type enemies at all cost.

- time your casting
Your casting may be interrupted if you get hit between 20%-80% casting. Try to time your recast so that you will get hit at around the 19% mark, and you have a higher chance of a successful cast (provided your enemy is a slow swing type).

Qweezy's method could work, but you have to be careful that if the enemy's 3rd hit misses, your new blink cast WILL NOT overwrite your previous cast that still have 1 blink left.

Before lv37 (learning of blink2), being a ninja tank WILL need a second taunter.

- post lv37 party
Most ninja uses the blink2-2-1-2 method. The difficult part again is the 2-1 part.

- other methods
Keep enemy slowed.
Have your mage keep haste on you if available.
Try to boost up your AGI and EVADE stats.
Keep ninjitsu level up.

[Kirk]

Thanks Bebe!

So to get this straight, a variation of Qweezy's method is to let all three showdows pop, then time it so that when monster moves to attack again hit blink so that it hits you before it reaches 20% and this will still allow the cast? Is this garunteed everytime or is it based on casting level or damage taken etc?

Thanks!

[Aldo]

I also use 2-2-1-2. Because its the safest method. As for the difficulty going from 2-1 ya, I can see the problems. Rule of thumb is that after the 3rd shadow dissappears I start casting blink1, assuming the last shadow will dissapear from a hit as i'm casting. But unfortunately, sometimes natural high evasion will allow me to just evade the next attack, leaving 1 shadow and thereby wasting a blink. Oh and as for Mandras, fighting them at low levels in Yuhtunga and Yotoar was actually rather easy, because I don't think they can get 2x slash (that is 4 hits). So i start casting during their first hit, even though the 2nd hit hits me during 20-80% it is counted in the same increment as the first hit, its just the animation of the 2nd hit that makes it seem like it SHOULD cancel my magic, but it doesn't :D

Oh btw Bebe, you get your ninjutsu maxed yet? Man I've been trying sooooooo hard, I use every ninjutsu but I'm always behind about 5 levels to my katanas. I'm hoping after I pass the genkai marker the gap will help me max it, atleast thats how it was for my dark magic when i was leveling drk.

Oh and btw, soloing WS is pretty cool with the lv2 elemental ninjutsus, just do the opposite ninjutsu of your WS's element, the monster gets temporary resistance to it -60, then your skill is like 2x the damage, really cool :D

[Bebetaro]

A way to do it is to manually cancel the last remaining shadow if the enemy's 4th hit misses. But to do that the blink2 will have to be cancelled around the 40-50% mark, or it won't be cancelled in time before the blink1 registered. I have yet to master this skill. :sweat:

My ninjitsu skill is lagging too. Casting constant blink and random elemental MB are just not enough to max out the skill level.

I hate mandoras because their double punch cancels TWO blinks at a time. :dead:

[Aldo]

blink2 will have to be cancelled around the 40-50% mark, or it won't be cancelled in time before the blink1 registered. I have yet to master this skill

/comfort. I know I tried doing that a few times out of frustration, it hurts 2x as much because you waste a blink pouch+ you have to wait for regen time ><. But i must say, the most important support for ninja is haste, always always always always hasting me, soo helpful! And consiquently, slow is the worst worst worst worst worst thing in the world for me! Fighting crawlers one time w/out a whm, and i was slowed, it prevents you from casting spells sometimes even when they are ready to use! But haste is sooooooo good, cuz it prevents slow + it lets you cast magic if the casting time lies within the regen time. ex: blink2 takes like 3 second to cast, you have 3 second regen left, you can still blink! Sooooooo cool, I was like, never getting hit i love haste so much