Ninja is the double-dagger-wielding job in Final Fantasy XIV capable of not only causing a lot of damage but doing so with style. With a skill for each possible situation in the game, playing Ninja is the right choice for those looking to contribute to their group in more than one way.
On the other hand, it’s not easy to take out everything this job has to offer. Ninjutsus, the Ninja’s signature moves, aren’t a walk in the park. But, after mastering Ninja, players have one of the strongest skills in the game.
How to unlock the Ninja job in FFXIV
To unlock Ninja, players need to level up their Rogue up to level 30. The they can go to Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks at X: 6.0 Y: 6.1 to talk to Jacke. This NPC gives the “Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night” quest that, once completed, rewards players with the Soul of the Ninja crystal.
An introduction to Ninja in FFXIV
The jobs in FFXIV are split into four groups and the Ninja is one of the melee dps jobs available in the game. It is the perfect fit for players who are looking for a job as complex as Monk but as cool to look in action as Reaper. Ninja’s abilities not only make up for the job’s innate necessity to stay closer to the target but they also add a lot of value to the group.
As a melee dps, Ninja has some skills with positionals. This means their potency, as well as the efficacy of additional effects, depend on using the skills in either the enemy’s flank or rear. Fortunately, only two skills have positionals. Aeolian Edge should hit from the target’s rear and Armor Crush from the target’s flank.
What distinguishes Ninja from the other melee jobs is its signature moves, the Ninjutsu skills. Using them involves performing a sequence of up to three mudras – Ten, Chi, and Jun –, which depending on the order, might activate one of the seven basic Ninjutsus. These skills invoke the real Ninja spirit one might be looking for when picking the job. Style is not the only thing they have though. Ninja can use them to attack enemies from afar, an ability quite unexpected coming from a melee job.
While Ninjutsus are why the job stands out, they are also responsible for making Ninja a complex job to play. Players need to learn all the combinations as well as quickly analyze the scenarios to know which Ninjuntsu to cast. At the same time, because mudras follow the same rules as other combos, making the wrong combination or using other skills before either finishing the mudra sequence or casting the Ninjutsu will break it. In this situation, the Ninjutsu skill changes to a bunny and players can only start a new sequence of mudras once the Mudra effect ends.
Even though playing Ninja might sound complex, the payoff is worth it. This job has one of the strongest skills in the game – Hyosho Ranryu with 1300 potency –, and good utility as well. In addition to it, Ninja also has the Mug skill, which places a debuff on the enemy, increasing the damage they take by five percent. Hence, having a Ninja in any party is always a good idea considering what a good all-rounder this job is.
For further explanation regarding all the skills, check the Final Fantasy XIV official Ninja guide.
FFXIV Level 90 Ninja skill rotation and opener
Because of how situational using Ninjutsus can be, performing Ninja’s level 90 rotation well is a matter of knowing the fillers the job offers as well as which skills players must keep on cooldown. Although more streamlined than the rotation, the level 90 opener demands practice from players.
The level 90 opener players can use in most fights goes as follows:
- Huton (-8 seconds)
- Hide
- Suinton Mudras (-6 seconds)
- Suinto (-1 second)
- Kassatsu
- Spinning Edge
- Pot
- Gust Slash
- Mug
- Bunshin
- Phantom Kamaitachi
- Trick Attack
- Aeolian Edge
- Dream Within a Dream
- Hyosho Ranryu
- Raiton
- Ten Chi Jin
- Fuma Shuriken
- Raiton
- Suiton
- Meisui
- Forked Raiju
- Bhavacakra
- Fleeting Raiju
- Bhavacakra
- Raiton
- Fleeting Raiju
After players have completed the opener, it’s time to use the filler rotation. Ninja has a single-target filler rotation that players should use in between burst windows. Keep using the combo Spinning Edge > Gust Slash > Aeolian Edge.
During the rotation, players must always have Huton up. In case the timer is below 30 seconds, the filler combo must end with Armor Crush instead of Aeolian Edge to refresh the buff. On the other hand, using either Mudras or Huraijn to bring Huton back is only for situations when the buff drops or there’s downtime ahead.
The rotation also implies using Ninjutsus to prevent overcapping mudras. Prioritize Suiton if Trick Attack is close to getting out of cooldown and Raiton for a single target or Katon/Doton for groups of enemies.
The second adaptation players must keep track of throughout their rotation to use any Ninki skills to prevent overcapping the resource. While it’s important to keep the Ninki bar as filled as possible, players must use Bhakacakra, Bunshin, or Hellfrog Medium so they won’t generate Ninki over 100 which is the maximum players can hold. Otherwise, players will lose all points generated as their bar is full and lose the chance of causing damage with these three skills.
The Ninja Huton and Ninki Gauge in FFXIV
Ninja has two gauges to assist players in keeping track of two key elements related to the job’s rotation. The first one players unlock is the Huton gauge, which displays the buff remaining duration. Players must check this gauge to know when they should finish the filler combo with Armor Crush to refresh Huton.
Ninja’s second gauge is the Ninki Gauge and it shows how many Ninki points players have accumulated, up to 100. Ninki points are acquired by using abilities such as the filler combo, Forked Raiju, and Fleeting Raiju.
The Ninja Mudra System in FFXIV
As mentioned before, Ninjutsus are abilities only Ninja has access to. At the same time, they add flavor to the job, Ninjutsus make playing Ninja a challenging task. These skills are not only tricky because players need to combine from one to three mudras to perform a specific action.
Described below are all the combinations of mudras for each Ninjutsu. To make the process of learning the combinations easier, players should focus on memorizing the number of mudras as well as the last mudra each Ninjutsu requires.
- Fuma Shuriken: Ten or Chi or Jin
- Raiton: Ten > Chi or Jin > Chi
- Katon: Chi > Ten or Jin > Ten
- Goka Mekkyaku (under Kassastsu): Chi > Ten or Jin > Ten
- Hyoton: Ten > Jin or Chi > Jin
- Hyosho Ranryu: Ten > Jin or Chi > Jin
- Huton: Jin > Chi > Ten or Chi > Jin > Ten
- Doton: Ten > Jin > Chi or Jin > Ten > Chi
- Suiton: Ten > Chi > Jin or Chi > Ten > Jin
Ninja food, pots, gear - current for Patch 6.5
The best way to prepare a Ninja in terms of gear is to focus on using pieces that come with Critical Hit, Determination, Direct Hit, and Skill Speed.
Following this priority is the best scenario when players are still working towards their best set. When it comes to Ninja, the BiS focus on pieces from the Ascension and Augmented Credendum sets, as described on Etro.gg. For consumables, players should opt for Baked Eggplant and the Grade 8 Tincture of Dexterity.
