Ninja

Ninja.

Ninja is a trainable class unlocked by turning 1x Itchy Itchy Paradise to Thyton in Shadow of the Wind Village on Sho'Nuff. It costs 14 Wind Scrolls to fully train this class.

Ninja uses two special mechanic, Ambush, which grants an extra action after certain skills, and Catalytic Flow, which conditionally empowers Ninja and temporarily changes the effects of certain skills.

Skills

• Shadow Strike
  • 35 MP, 11 CD
  • Only available while 'Vanish' is active.
  • Attacks for 10 hits of (30 + 2X)% damage ((300 + 20X)% total).
    • X is equal to the number of unique 'Venom' DoTs on the target (max 440%).

• Vanish
  • 10 MP, 8 CD
  • Grants Ambush.
  • Applies 'Vanish' for 1 turn inclusive.
    • +100 Melee/Pierce/Magic.

• Catalytic Flow
  • 20 MP, 17 CD
  • Applies 'Catalytic Flow' for 5 turns inclusive.
    • See Mechanics.
  • Attacks for 2 hits of 50% damage (100% total).

• Shuriken Spray
  • 25 MP, 1 CD
  • Attacks all enemies for 1 hit of (130 + 10X)% damage.
    • X is equal to the number of unique 'Venom' DoTs on the initial target (max 200%).

• Furious Assault/Basilisk Venom
  • 20 MP, 14 CD
  • Attacks for 3 hit of 50% damage (150% total).
  • Inflicts 'Unsteady' for 3 turns, a stun.
  • If 'Catalytic Flow' is active, instead inflicts 'Basilisk Venom (Burst)' for 4 turns inclusive.
    • A 25% DoT.
    • +40 Health.

• Spider/Scorpion/Viper/Wyvern Venom
  • 10 MP, 0 CD (7 CD after using Viper/Wyvern Venom)
  • Attacks for 1 hits of 50% damage.
  • Inflicts 1 of the following Venom effects. Always inflicts the earliest effect in the sequence that is not currently inflicted.
    • 'Spider Venom' for 9 turns.
      • A 20% DoT.
      • -20 Boost.
    • 'Scorpion Venom' for 8 turns.
      • A 30% DoT.
      • -100 Crit.
    • 'Viper Venom' for 7 turns.
      • A 50% DoT.
      • -40 Bonus.
  • If 'Catalytic Flow' is active, instead attacks for 4 hits of 25% damage (100% total).
    • Instead inflicts 'Wyvern Venom (Burst)' for 4 turns inclusive.
      • A 25% DoT.
      • -30 All.
      • +30 Health.

• Blur
  • 20 MP, 8 CD
  • Applies 'Blurred Form' for 4 turns inclusive.
    • +120 Block/Parry/Dodge.
  • Attacks for 1 hit of (130 + 10X)% damage.
    • X is equal to the number of unique 'Venom' DoTs on the target (max 200%).
  • Inflicts 'Blurred Vision' for 4 turns.
    • -40 Bonus.

• Attack
  • 0 MP, 0 CD
  • Heals the player for 15 MP.
  • Attacks for 1 hit of 125% damage.

• Shadow Fade (DA-locked)
  • 10 MP, 9 CD
  • Applies 'Shadow Fade' for 2 turns inclusive.
    • +180 Melee/Pierce/Magic.

• Blood of the Lotus (DA-locked)
  • 15 MP, 17 CD
  • Attacks for 1 hit of 150% damage.
    • If the hit connects, extends the duration of all 'Venom' DoTs by 4 turns.

• Walk Within Shadows (DA-locked)
  • 0 MP, 15 CD
  • Purges all DoTs from the player.
  • Heals the player for 10% of their maximum MP.
  • Heals the player for (8 + 2X)% of their maximum HP.
    • X is equal to the number of unique 'Venom' DoTs on the target (max 22%).

• Rapid Strike/Frenzy (DA-locked)
  • 10 MP, 1 CD
  • Reduces the CD of Shadow Seeker by 1.
  • Attacks for 2 hits of (70 + 5X)% damage ((140 + 10X)% total).
    • X is equal to the number of 'Venom' DoTs on the target (max 210%).
  • If 'Catalytic Flow' is active, instead attacks for 8 hits of (25 + 1.25X)% damage ((200 + 10X)% total).
    • X is equal to the number of unique 'Venom' DoTs on the target (max 270%).

• Massive Strike (DA-locked)
  • 25 MP, 9 CD
  • Attacks for 1 hit of (200 + 10X)% damage with +200 Crit.
    • X is equal to the number of unique 'Venom' DoTs on the target (max 270%).

• Shadow Seal/Seal Venom (DA-locked)
  • 15 MP, 9 CD
  • Attacks for 6 hits of 20% damage (120% total).
  • Inflicts 'Shadow Seal' for 5 turns inclusive.
    • -Z STR.
    • -Z DEX.
    • -Z INT.
    • -Z LUK.
  • If 'Shadow Seal' was inflicted, applies 'Shadow Drain' for 5 turns inclusive after attacking.
    • +Z STR.
    • +Z DEX.
    • +Z INT.
    • +Z LUK.
  • Z is equal to (Player Level/2).
  • If 'Catalytic Flow' is active, instead inflicts 'Seal Venom (Burst)' for 4 turns inclusive.
    • A 25% DoT.
    • -60 Melee/Pierce/Magic.
    • -60 Block/Parry/Dodge.

• Shadow Seeker (DA-locked)
  • 25 MP, 32 CD
  • Grants Ambush.
  • Attacks for 2 hit of (50 + 5X + 50Y)% damage ((100 + 10X + 100Y)% total) (max 470%).
    • X is equal to the number of unique 'Venom' DoTs on the target.
    • Y is equal to the number of unique 'Venom (Burst)' DoTs on the target, capped at 3.

Mechanics

Ninja Ambush

• Ninja gains an extra action on the first turn, upon using Vanish, Shadow Seeker or a fully-powered Catalytic Flow.
  • Ninja Ambush! Extra attack.
  • The first turn extra action is delayed to your next turn upon using a potion or trinket, or an On-Demand special.
    • Using an On-Demand special as your second action has no consequences.
• Ninja can only gain one extra action per turn (i.e Vanish/Shadow Seeker/Catalytic Flow cannot be used as the second action to gain an additional third action in a turn).
• Defeating a monster as the first action will disable the second action for that turn.
  • If using Shuriken Spray, you will retain your second action if the last enemy damaged is not killed.

Catalytic Flow

• Upon using Catalytic Flow, Ninja applies 'Catalytic Flow' for 5 turns inclusive.
  • The effects of Catalytic Flow depend on how many 'Venom' DoTs are active on the target upon use.
  • 1 'Venom' DoT:
    • +20 Boost.
  • 2 'Venom' DoTs:
    • +20 Boost.
    • +100 Bonus.
  • 3+ 'Venom DoTs':
    • +20 Boost.
    • +100 Bonus.
    • +200 Crit.
    • Grants Ambush.
• While affected by 'Catalytic Flow', many of Ninja's skills are renamed, and inflict offense-oriented 'Venom (Burst)' DoTs instead of their regular effects, on top of potentially dealing more damage and/or hits.
  • Upon using Catalytic Flow, the cooldown of all affected skills are reset.
  • When 'Catalytic Flow' expires or is purged, skills are reverted to the original name and effects, but the cooldowns are NOT reset.

Summon Kunai

• The Honda's Legacy and Honda's Legacy EX Trinkets have a Trinket skill that affects Ninja skills.
  • Summon Kunai (Honda's Legacy)
    • 0 MP, 12 CD.
    • Attacks for 4 hits of 30% Poison damage (120% total).
    • Inflicts 'Orochi Venom' for 8 turns, a 25% Poison DoT.
  • Summon Kunai (Honda's Legacy EX)
    • 0 MP, 12 CD
    • Attacks for 4 hits of 35% damage (140% total).
    • Inflicts 'Orochi Venom' for 8 turns inclusive.
      • A 25% DoT.
      • -Z STR.
      • -Z DEX.
      • -Z INT.
      • -Z CHA.
      • -Z LUK.
      • Z is equal to (Player Level/2).
  • Both versions of 'Orochi Venom' are treated as a 'Venom (Burst)' DoT.

Rotation

As much of Ninja's damage comes from its DoTs, its rotations aim to apply a maxed Catalytic Flow as quickly as possible and inflict all of its venom DoTs on its target. The Honda's Legacy EX Trinket is highly recommended, as it is another burst venom that also helps line up Ninja's cooldowns for smoother rotations.

Ninja's free ambush turn at the start of the fight can be used to apply a shield with Blur/Fade, or to double up on inflicting venom, especially Orochi Venom if Honda's Legacy EX is equipped.

Without Honda's Legacy

1. Spider Venom + Scorpion Venom
2. Viper Venom
3. Catalytic Flow + Wyvern Venom
4. Basilisk Venom
5. Seal Venom
6. (Shadow Seeker) + Blood of the Lotus
7. Vanish + Shadow Strike

Until Catalytic Flow comes off cooldown, cycle between defensive skills and Rapid Strike to decrease the cooldown of Shadow Seeker. Note that due to Shadow Seeker's long cooldown, it can typically only be used every other burst cycle. Not only does this mean your second burst will do less damage, it will also impact the timing of your skills. Make sure Blood of the Lotus will be off cooldown by the time you need to use it.

During your downtime, Vanish can be used for a free 1-turn shield and provide a turn of cooldown. However, you should try to avoid using Vanish too late into your setup and losing access to it during a burst cycle, locking you out of optimal damage from Shadow Strike.

With Honda's Legacy

With the introduction of Orochi Venom, a burst venom that can be inflicted without needing to be in Catalytic Flow, Ninja gets better damage at the cost of a Trinket slot and an extra turn of setup.

1. Spider Venom + Summon Kunai
2. Vanish + Scorpion Venom
3. Viper Venom
4. Catalytic Flow + Wyvern Venom
5. Basilisk Venom
6. Seal Venom
7. (Shadow Seeker) + Blood of the Lotus
8. Vanish + Shadow Strike

Be careful about using Vanish early in the rotation; without the extra turn of cooldown from Shadow Seeker's extra action, it will still have 1 turn of cooldown when it needs to be used. During the initial burst rotation starting from turn 1, it is a relatively safe option, but for later rotations it should be used earlier.

If maximum damage is not needed and immediate burst is valued more, you can forgo using Seal Venom, giving you an extra turn to use Rapid Frenzy. While Ninja does benefit from having multiple Venom effects on its target, the difference between 6 and 7 is relatively minor. Since Shadow Seeker's bonus damage from burst venoms caps out at 3, Seal Venom is not strictly necessary, though it will lead to the most damage in the long run.

Strategy

Ninja is a defensive class that aims to set up its 3-step venom effects on a target, then quickly burst it down using its powerful DoT effects.

• Catalytic Flow is the most important skill for the class; you almost always want to use it after applying all 3 venom effects on your target to get the full extent of its buffs, as well as the bonus Ambush turn. Once Catalytic Flow is active, several of Ninja's skills have their effects changed, notably giving it access to 3 new burst venom DoT debuffs.
  • Wyvern Venom should almost always be inflicted first so that the rest of the DoTs can benefit from its -All debuff.
  • The order of Basilisk and Seal Venom aren't as important, so plan ahead for which debuff is needed more. Basilisk Venom is best inflicted against enemies with constant healing, while Seal Venom should be used if the boss already has or is about to gain +MPM/BPD buffs.
• Most Ninja skills gain bonus damage for each unique venom effect on its target. Notably, Shadow Strike and Shadow Seeker gain the largest damage bonuses, so they should be used with as many venom effects on their target as possible.
• Blood of the Lotus extends the duration of all active venom effects, which not only makes them deal more damage overall but also keeps their debuffs applied for longer.
  • Since burst venom DoTs only last for 4 turns, delaying Blood of the Lotus by even 1 turn will mean the first inflicted burst DoT will expire. As this will usually be Wyvern Venom, situations like this should be avoided at all costs, as it means a significant decrease in damage.
  • This duration extension also allows you to get stronger bonus effects even after Catalytic Flow expires, giving Ninja much higher burst potential than it initially seems.
• Both Rapid Strike and Massive Strike are strong filler options for extra damage after the initial Catalytic Flow burst rotation.
• Walk Within Shadows gains stronger healing with more venoms on the target, so it is usually best used around the same time as Rapid Strike/Massive Strike.
• Blur is a 4-turn BPD shield that has synergy with Scorpion Venom to prevent glancing crits. Shadow Fade is a more standard 2 turn MPM shield. Vanish is a 1-turn shield with lower MPM values, but is generally saved to unlock Shadow Strike during burst rotations.

While Ninja's initial burst is impressive, its long cooldowns mean that there will be a significant downtime where it will have to focus on defense, with somewhat middling damage. Fortunately, Ninja's defenses are quite good, with 3 shields and various strong debuffs. Once Catalytic Flow and other important skills are close to coming off cooldown, the 3-step venom effects should be reapplied. Be careful not to use a venom skill if the icon is still on Viper Venom, as it will prematurely put the skill on its 7 turn cooldown.

Due to Ninja's lackluster damage after its initial burst and lack of good crowd control, it can struggle in fights that have more than two enemies, or against duo fights where both bosses have high HP. Ideally, one or two Catalytic Flow burst cycles should be enough to take out the weaker boss. Ninja also has a strong niche against fights that utilize some form of direct damage reduction (whether through Damage Resistance or healing back a portion of damage dealt), as a large portion of its damage comes from its DoTs, which bypass direct damage reduction.

DEX/END is recommended for bossing due to its multiple long-lasting DoT effects. DEX/INT can be used for farming and/or questing due to Massive Strike being a decently strong turn 1 autocrit.