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First, I've heard that Square intends to nerf Ninja ability to be a blink-tank. I don't know if that's true, but it seems logical enough to me, so my thoughts assume this is something they want to and will eventually do.
Ninjas seem to make pretty good pullers in this game, but there doesn't seem to be a significant advantage to having them as pullers. If we presume that Square never intended Ninjas to be tanks, which is a pretty safe assumption, perhaps the intended role was puller? If so, it seems that Square gave Ninjas not enough abilities to clearly define this role.
It occurred to me that as masters of stealth and the surprise strike, Ninjas would make an excellent 'puller' role. I would therefore suggest that if Utsusemi is to be nerfed, a method be used that would not remove the other benefits of Utsusemi, but simply make a Ninja incapable of tanking. To that end, it seems logical to adjust Ninja hate. Simply giving Ninjas the equivalent of an innate -50 or -100 Enmity, and they would be rendered incapable of tanking. They would very quickly lose the monster's attention. (This ability should only apply to Ninja mains, not subs, so that the many classes that *want* to lower hate can't simply sub Ninja). This also fits in with the idea of a ninja - strike and fade into the shadows unnoticed...without giving them the ability to lose agro at will.
Of course, simply nerfing their ability to tank would leave Ninjas rather below other classes. In exchange, they should, in my opinion, get abilities that fit the Ninja idea. Job abilities of Sneak and Invis would be a good start. 5 minute reuse timers, level 5 and 10 abilities. And fitting the master of stealth idea, give them a guaranteed amount of time that they're active for, with a random interval after that. Say, 60, 90, or 120 seconds during which Sneak and Invis *cannot* fail, and then normal random-failure chance after that.
Not enough, and it doesn't really give a defined group role, though. Ninjas already have some debuffs...how about we add to that role. But make it work in a pulling capacity only. Ninjas are masters of surprise, right? Give them abilities that can only be used if they surprise the enemy (read as, the enemy is not currently agro on anyone). That means only *one* of these debuffs can be landed on the same mob (make them not stack, so that attempts to de-agro and double-debuff the mob don't work also). Make them long-duration and non-dispellable. Say 5 to 10 minute duration. And make them some pretty significant debuffs. Clearly this would have to be balanced to be significant enough to be strongly desired (thus giving Ninjas a clear role that people *want* them for), but at the same time not overpowered. My thoughts would start with some melee debuffs, like cutting a monster's ATK, DEF, or ACC by 1/4 or 1/3 or so. Make it percentage-based so that the difference is basically the same on all monsters. Magic debuffs would also work.. At low levels, a debuff that cuts one elemental resistance - as they already have, but a second line that is much more significant, but requires the monster to be non-agro when it is cast. At higher levels, debuffs that cut down two elemental resistances (think L2 Renkei for combinations). At very high levels, a debuff that cuts down on 4 elemental resistances (again, L3 Light/Dark Renkei for the specific resistances).
Some of these ideas may be overpowered or underpowered, but balance would have to be done. The idea behind them is to give Ninjas a specific and desired role besides blink-tanking, and ones that fit with their 'master of stealth' and 'surprise attack' roles. The requirement of the monster being non-agro means that only one of these can be used in any given battle, and that the Ninja *must* be the puller in order for it to be used, therefore fitting into the 'surprise attack' role of a first-strike.
Now, I'm not a Ninja, though I do eventually plan to be one...but tanking - as a Ninja - doesn't appeal to me personally. I understand many of you probably enjoy the role, but as I mentioned...I'm working on the assumption that Square does indeed intend to nerf blink-tanking. So I'm really just throwing an idea up for discussion...what do you Ninjas think of it? If we assume that tank will no longer be a viable role, does this sound like a good set of abilities to replace the tank role to you?
Ninjas seem to make pretty good pullers in this game, but there doesn't seem to be a significant advantage to having them as pullers. If we presume that Square never intended Ninjas to be tanks, which is a pretty safe assumption, perhaps the intended role was puller? If so, it seems that Square gave Ninjas not enough abilities to clearly define this role.
It occurred to me that as masters of stealth and the surprise strike, Ninjas would make an excellent 'puller' role. I would therefore suggest that if Utsusemi is to be nerfed, a method be used that would not remove the other benefits of Utsusemi, but simply make a Ninja incapable of tanking. To that end, it seems logical to adjust Ninja hate. Simply giving Ninjas the equivalent of an innate -50 or -100 Enmity, and they would be rendered incapable of tanking. They would very quickly lose the monster's attention. (This ability should only apply to Ninja mains, not subs, so that the many classes that *want* to lower hate can't simply sub Ninja). This also fits in with the idea of a ninja - strike and fade into the shadows unnoticed...without giving them the ability to lose agro at will.
Of course, simply nerfing their ability to tank would leave Ninjas rather below other classes. In exchange, they should, in my opinion, get abilities that fit the Ninja idea. Job abilities of Sneak and Invis would be a good start. 5 minute reuse timers, level 5 and 10 abilities. And fitting the master of stealth idea, give them a guaranteed amount of time that they're active for, with a random interval after that. Say, 60, 90, or 120 seconds during which Sneak and Invis *cannot* fail, and then normal random-failure chance after that.
Not enough, and it doesn't really give a defined group role, though. Ninjas already have some debuffs...how about we add to that role. But make it work in a pulling capacity only. Ninjas are masters of surprise, right? Give them abilities that can only be used if they surprise the enemy (read as, the enemy is not currently agro on anyone). That means only *one* of these debuffs can be landed on the same mob (make them not stack, so that attempts to de-agro and double-debuff the mob don't work also). Make them long-duration and non-dispellable. Say 5 to 10 minute duration. And make them some pretty significant debuffs. Clearly this would have to be balanced to be significant enough to be strongly desired (thus giving Ninjas a clear role that people *want* them for), but at the same time not overpowered. My thoughts would start with some melee debuffs, like cutting a monster's ATK, DEF, or ACC by 1/4 or 1/3 or so. Make it percentage-based so that the difference is basically the same on all monsters. Magic debuffs would also work.. At low levels, a debuff that cuts one elemental resistance - as they already have, but a second line that is much more significant, but requires the monster to be non-agro when it is cast. At higher levels, debuffs that cut down two elemental resistances (think L2 Renkei for combinations). At very high levels, a debuff that cuts down on 4 elemental resistances (again, L3 Light/Dark Renkei for the specific resistances).
Some of these ideas may be overpowered or underpowered, but balance would have to be done. The idea behind them is to give Ninjas a specific and desired role besides blink-tanking, and ones that fit with their 'master of stealth' and 'surprise attack' roles. The requirement of the monster being non-agro means that only one of these can be used in any given battle, and that the Ninja *must* be the puller in order for it to be used, therefore fitting into the 'surprise attack' role of a first-strike.
Now, I'm not a Ninja, though I do eventually plan to be one...but tanking - as a Ninja - doesn't appeal to me personally. I understand many of you probably enjoy the role, but as I mentioned...I'm working on the assumption that Square does indeed intend to nerf blink-tanking. So I'm really just throwing an idea up for discussion...what do you Ninjas think of it? If we assume that tank will no longer be a viable role, does this sound like a good set of abilities to replace the tank role to you?
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