Not all DPS bring vast arrays of tremendous burst damage abilities to their kit. The Ninja class is one of those classes that lack multiple skills that deal massive damage for their raids. However, they make up for their lack of large DPS numbers with their abundance of powerful and flashy utility actions. These abilities make raids against bosses much more accessible, especially for newer content. However, this job can be pretty intimidating and challenging to play. Fortunately, this FFXIV Ninja Guide will help players understand this class further.
What is a Ninja in FFXIV?
Ninjas are skilled combatants who hail from the Far East lands. They are highly trained in various jutsus, which allowed them to thrive in their war-torn lands. These characters who walk in the shadow can use and manipulate the energies of the environment at will. Their hand weaving manifests their power and can channel various attacks. Ninjas can turn the tide of war in their favor.
This is considered the most mobile and agile class in the DPS field. Though they lack multiple strong DPS attacks, their Trick Attack action has one of the largest and strongest burst potentials. However, outside this ability, Ninjas deal mediocre damage. This reason is why players aspiring to become Ninjas should learn the ins and outs to ensure that they can bring out the most in their short burst window.
How to Unlock the Ninja
Unlike many jobs, becoming a Ninja will require players to undergo several steps before becoming masters of many jutsus. To be eligible to be one, adventurers must first become a level 30 Rogue. However, Rogues are not a starting class in the game, so gamers must also unlock this field.
To join the base class, players need to reach level 10 with any Disciple of War or Magic job. After getting that milestone, gamers can join the Rogues Guild in Limsa Lominsa by accepting the "My First Daggers" quest. After that, reaching level 30 should be the main priority. Once players reach the milestone, they can become a Ninja by accepting the "Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night" quest from Jackie in Limsa Lominsa.
FFXIV Ninja Gear and Materia
Like many DPS, Ninjas want to increase their damage output by focusing on stats that would enhance their attack capabilities. Though they only have one considerable burst ability, this job needs attributes that would boost the power of Trick Attack. Here are the best combat stats that players should get for their melding:
- Weapon Damage
- Dexterity
- Critical Hit
- Determination
- Direct Hit
- Skill Speed
Weapon Damage and Dexterity are the main priority attributes since these stats can only be found in weapons and items, which is why gamers should focus on getting the best in slot gear. Critical Hit is the next focus since it increases the likelihood of landing crit attacks which pairs well with the class' Critical Hit Bonus Damage. Determination is optional since it allows damage to scale even further. Direct Hit and Skill Speed are the last priorities since they do not help the Ninja's kit tremendously.
Besides picking the right items with Weapon Damage and Dex, players should also make sure that their gear displays substats that benefit the Ninja class. Here are the BiS items for this job:
- Asphodelos Daggers – DH +36 | DH +36
- Augmented Radiant's Visor of Scouting – DET +36 | DET +36
- Asphodelos Himation of Scouting – CRIT +36 | CRIT +36
- Asphodelos Gloves of Scouting – CRIT +36 | DH +36
- Asphodelos Hose of Scouting – DET +36 | DET +36
- Augmented Radiant's Greaves of Scouting – DET +36 | DET +36
- Asphodelos Earrings of Aiming – DET +36 | DET +36
- Augmented Radiant's Choker of Aiming – CRIT +36 | DH +36
- Augmented Radiant's Bracelet of Aiming – DET +36 | DH +36
- Asphodelos Ring of Aiming – DET +36 | DET +36
- Augmented Radiant's Ring of Aiming – CRIT +36 | CRIT +36
Important Quests
Almost every mission in the Ninja questline is essential. Most of them unlock necessary skills for the Ninja's kit or provide rewards such as items and coffers. Here are the most critical tasks that players should do right away when available:
- Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night (lvl 30) - unlocks Ten
- Killer Combinations (lvl 35) - unlocks Chi
- Pirates versus Ninjas (vlv 40) - unlocks Sukuchi
- Tough Guys (lvl 45) - unlocks Jin and rewards Ninja Hatsuburi, Ninja Tekko, Ninja Hakama, and Ninja Kyahan
- Master and Student (lvl 50) - unlocks Kassatsu and Against the Ninja I and rewards Ninja Chainmail and Koga Garb Coffer
- The Impossible Girl (lvl 52) - unlocks Hakke Mujinsatsu
- Ninja Assassin (lvl 54) - unlocks Armor Crush
- Medieval Espionage (lvl 56) - unlocks Dream Within a Dream and Adept Assassination
- In Her Defense (lvl 60) - unlocks Against the Ninja II and Hurajin and rewards Iga Garb Coffer
- When Clans Collide (lvl 70) - unlocks Ten Chi Jin and Against the Ninja III and rewards Kega-kakushi Garb Coffer
- Oboro's Big Idea (lvl 80) - unlocks Against the Ninja IV and rewards Heaven's Eye Materia VII, Savage Aim Materia VII, and Savage Might Materia VII
How to Play Ninja in FFXIV
Ninjas are melee DPS that can also attack from a mid-range distance with their abilities. They weave their attacks with their various buffs and utilities to deal damage and increase their party's potential. Players must understand how to combine the Ninja's multiple spells and actions to amplify their attacking power. Here are the skills and abilities for this job:
Weaponskill
- Spinning Edge – attacks with 220 Potency and generates 5 Ninki
- Gust Slash – attacks with 160 Potency that generates 5 Ninki and has a Spinning Edge combo action, which deals 320 Potency
- Throwing Dagger – attacks with 120 Potency that generates 5 Ninki
- Aeolian Edge – deals 140 Potency and 200 Potency when attacking from the rear, which has a Gust Slash Combo action that deals 360 Potency and 440 Potency from behind while generating 15 Ninki
- Death Blossom – deals 100 Potency to all nearby units and generates 5 Ninki
- Hakke Mujinatsu – deals 100 Potency to all nearby foes and has a Death Blossom combo action, which deals 130 Potency, extends Huton's duration by 10 seconds to up to 60s, and increases Ninki by 5
- Armor Crush – attacks with 140 Potency and 200 Potency when done from the flank and has a Gust Slash combo action, which deals 360 Potency, 420 Potency from the side, extends Huton's duration by 30s up to 60s, and increases Ninki by 15
- Hurajin – deals 200 Potency and activates Huton for the 60s, while also generating 5 Ninki
- Phantom Kamaitachi – the shadow unit deals 600 to the first enemy in 5 yalms and 50% less to the rest and generates 10 Ninki, which can only be used when Doton is active
- Forked Raiju – dashes towards a target to deal 560 Potency lightning damage that generates 5 Ninki, which can only be activated when Raiju Ready is under the effect
- Fleeting Raiju – deals 560 Potency lightning damage which generates 5 Ninki and can only be used when Raiju Ready is active
Ability
- Shade Rift – summons shadows that block damage up to 20% of max HP for 20 seconds
- Hide – becomes invisible, making you undetectable to most enemies, excluding enemies, ten levels higher or with special sight, and reduces movement speed by 50% while generating two stacks of mudra and ending the effect of Doton
- Mug – delivers 150 Potency damage and increases damage received by a target for 20 seconds, and increases the chance of gaining additional items if used as a finishing attack while generating 40 Ninki
- Trick Attack – delivers 300 Potency and 400 Potency when used from the rear and increases damage received of the target by 10% for 15s, which can only be used during Hidden
- Ten – executes the ritual mudra "Heaven" hand gesture for 6s with a max of 2 charges, which activates weaponskills mudra cooldown, and Ninjutsu upon execution
- Ninjutsu – activates a specific ninjutsu action depending on the mudra made beforehand, while activating weaponskills cooldown and Ninjutsu upon execution, which also generates two charges to all mudra during Hide
- Chi – executes the ritual mudra "Earth" hand gesture for 6s with a max of 2 charges, which activates weaponskills cooldown, mudra cooldown, and Ninjutsu upon execution
- Assassinate – deals 200 Potency damage
- Shukuchi – rapidly moves to a target location and has 2 charges
- Jin – executes the ritual mudra "Man" hand gesture for 6s with a max of 2 charges, which activates weaponskills cooldown, mudra cooldown, and Ninjutsu upon execution
- Kassatsu – activates single Ninjutsu without consuming any mudra charges while increasing the next Ninjutsu's damage by 30% for 15 seconds
- Dream Within a Dream – deals with a threefold attack with 150 Potency each
- Hellfrog Medium – deals 160 Potency fire damage to a target and nearby units for 50 Ninkis, which shares a recast timer with Bhavacakra
- Bhavacakra – deals 350 Potency unaspected damage, which deals 500 Potency when Meisui is active for 50 Ninki
- Ten Chi Jin – temporarily transforms all three mudras into ninjutsu actions, which will convert to another action again when one of the ninjutsu actions is used until all three have been used or the skill duration ends
- Meisui – cleanses Suiton and generates 50 Ninki while also increasing Bhavacakra's damage to 500 Potency
- Bunshin – generates five stacks of Bunshins, with each allowing shadows to attack enemies whenever a weaponskill is used where their Potency depends on the action executed (Melee: 160 Potency, Range: 160 Potency, AoE: 80 Potency) and increases Ninki by five every time a shadow attacks while activating Phantom Kamaitachi Ready
- Hollow Nozuchi – conjures corrupted earth of Doton wherein enemies standing on it take 50 Potency bonus earth damage, which requires Hakke Mujinsatsu as a combo action, Katon, Gokka Mekkyaku, or Phantom Kamaitachi to activate while Doton is in effect
Ninjutsu Abilities
- Fuma Shuriken – deals 450 Potency ranged ninjutsu attack and has a Mudra Combination with Ten, Chi, or Ji
- Katon – deals 350 Potency fire damage to a target and nearby foes and has a Mudra Combination of Chi > Ten or Jin > Ten
- Raiton – deals 650 Potency and has a Mudra Combination with Ten > Chi or Jin > Chi while generating a stack of Raiju Ready and ends the effect of Raiju Ready when a melee action is used
- Hyoton – deal 350 Potency ice damage that inflicts Blind for 15 seconds and has a Mudra Combination with Ten > Jin or Chi > Jin
- Huton – reduces the recast time and auto-attack delay for weaponskills by 15% and has a Mudra Combination with Jin > Chi > Ten or Chi > Jin > Ten
- Doton – conjures a corrupted earth zone that deals 80 Potency damage to foes who enter the patch while inflicting 40% Heavy for 18s and has Mudra Combination with Ten > Jin > Chi > or Jin > Ten > Chi
- Suiton – deals 500 Potency water damage while activating Suiton Effect, which allows the use of abilities that require Hidden without the starting the effect for 20s, and has Mudra Combination Ten > Chi > Jin or Chi > Ten > Jin
- Goka Mekkyaku – deals 600 Potency fire damage to a target and nearby foes and has a Mudra Combination with Chi > Ten or Jin > Ten, which can only be used while Kassatsu is active
- Hyosho Ranryu – deals 1,300 Potency Damage and has a Mudra Combination with Chi > Jin or Ten > Jin, which can only be used when Kassatsu is active.
Melee DPS Actions
- Second Wind – instantly recovers HP
- Leg Sweep – stuns a target
- Bloodbath – recovers HP based on the portion of physical damage dealt
- Feint – reduces a target's physical damage by 10% and magic damage by 5%
- Arm's Length – conjures a barrier that nullifies knockback and vacuum effects
- True North – voids all action direction requirements
Job Mechanics
The Ninja class has two gauges that players should monitor. These meters allow the activation of specific skills. The first one is Huton, which only indicates its duration and activates upon learning Huton. The second is Ninki, which displays the stacks of Ninki. This meter fills whenever weaponskills are used and allows the execution of skills such as Hellfrog Medium or Bhavacakra.
Ninja Skill Rotation
The key to becoming an effective Ninja is understanding the various rotations and skill combinations to ensure optimal damage output. This class also relies heavily on positional, so gamers should be skilled in character placement. Here are the best rotations that players should remember:
Opener
- Huton > Suiton (Kassatsu) > Spinning Edge > Gust Slash (Mug + Bunshin) > Aeolian Edge (Trick Attack) > Phantom Kamaitachi (Dream Within a Dream) > Hyosho Ranryu > Raiton (Ten > Chi > Jin) > Fuma Shuriken > Raiton > Suiton (Meisui) > Fleeting Raiju (Bhavacakra) > Fleeting Raiju (Bhavacakra) > Raiton > Fleeting Raiju
Off-Global Cooldowns
Trick Attack > Hyosho Ranryu > Dream Within a Dream > Raiton > Fleeting Raiju > Mug > Bunshin > Phantom Kamaitachi > Ten Chi Jin
Basic Single-Target
- Spinning Edge > Gust Slash > Aeolian Edge > Armor Crush
AoE Rotation
- Death Blossom > Hakke Mujinsatsu
Tips
- While all the combinations matter, the main thing to remember is that gamers should never forget what the final symbol is set. Ninjas should only know how many Mudra will be involved in the combo, as the ending will always be the same.
- Trick Attack is the most potent ability.
- Huton should always be used when it is active.
Using Ninjas can be very intimidating, especially for newer players. However, their unique gameplay makes them very entertaining to use. Gamers must practice the rotations more until they become the masters of shadow.
