The Ninja is a DPS class in Final Fantasy 14, a melee fighter who uses daggers and quick movements to assassinate foes from the shadows. They have an interesting playstyle that focuses more on party damage rather than personal damage.
Ninjas don’t dish out a huge amount of damage on their own, but in raids with other players, their potent debuffs can melt enemies like a hot knife through butter. This alone makes them one of the most requested jobs in raids.
If you fancy the way of the assassin, here are the basics of the Ninja job in Final Fantasy 14 so you can be the sneakiest and deadliest dagger for hire.
Final Fantasy 14 Ninja Job Basics
The Ninja job is accessible after leveling up a Rogue to level 30. They are a Disciple of War, which means they use weaponskills as their main offensive abilities.
Ninjas are melee fighters who excel in the art of assassination, capable of inflicting potent debuffs on foes. They wear leather armor and use daggers as their main weapons, allowing them to execute swift and deadly combos on enemies, even more so with the use of ninjutsu abilities.
As a Ninja, you’ll want to prioritize dexterity as your main attribute as this increases your attack power. Useful secondary attributes for the job include critical hit, skill speed, direct hit, and determination.
Similarly to the Bards, Ninjas don’t output a huge amount of personal damage as their main strength lies in their utility. In raids, Ninjas are extremely useful as they increase the party’s damage output thanks to their various debuff abilities.
They’re so beneficial, in fact, that they are highly sought after by parties doing raids.
How to Become a Ninja in Final Fantasy 14
Similarly to many jobs in Final Fantasy 14, including the Bard and Monk, the Ninja class is not available straight away. You’ll first need to level up a Rogue to 30.
Interestingly, the Rogue class is also unavailable to you when you first start the game. To unlock the Rogue class, simply go to the Rogue’s Guild in Limsa Lominsa and search for either the “So You Want to Be a Rogue” or “Way of the Rogue” quest.
Once you’ve got your Rogue leveled up, complete the L30 ROG class quest, “Cloying Victory”. Upon finishing the quest, you’ll unlock the quest that allows you to become a Ninja, “Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night”.
This quest is issued by Jacke at the Rogue’s Guild in Limsa Lominsa – Upper Decks. Make sure you’ve finished up the L20 MSQ “Sylph-management” quest too.
After you’re done with the quest, equip the “Soul of the Ninja” to officially become a Ninja.
Final Fantasy 14 Ninja Actions
Here’s the full list of PVE actions available to the Ninja job in Final Fantasy 14.
Spinning Edge
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 230.
Shade Shift
Produces shadows that nullify damage up to 20% of your maximum HP.
Gust Slash
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 100.
Hide
Allows you to blend into your surroundings, making it impossible for the majority of enemies to detect you. However, your movement speed is reduced by 50%. Hide doesn’t work on enemies 10 levels higher than your own, as well as foes with special sight.
Throwing Dagger
Unleashes a ranged attack with a potency of 120.
Mug
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 150.
Trick Attack
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 350 or 500 when performed at a target’s rear.
Aeolian Edge
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 100 or 160 when performed at a target’s rear.
Shadow Fang
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 200.
Ten
Make the ritual mudra hand gesture for “heaven”.
Ninjutsu
Performs a specific ninjutsu action coinciding with the combination of mudra created immediately beforehand.
Chi
Make the ritual mudra hand gesture for “earth”.
Death Blossom
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 120 to all close-by enemies.
Shukuchi
Move swiftly to a specified location.
Jin
Make the ritual mudra hand gesture for “man”.
Kassatsu
Allows you to perform a single ninjutsu without consuming mudra charges.
Hakke Mujinsatsu
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 100 to all close by enemies.
Armor Crush
Unleashes an attack with a potency of 100 or 160 when performed from a target’s flank.
Dream Within a Dream
Unleashes a threefold attack, with each hit having a potency of 200.
Assassinate
Unleashes a critical direct hit with a potency of 200.
Hellfrog Medium
Deals fire damage to a target and all enemies close to it with a potency of 200.
Bhavacakra
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 300.
Ten Chi Jin
Temporarily turns each of the 3 mudras into a ninjutsu action. Performing one of these actions will turn the leftover mudra into different ninjutsu actions until all 3 have been performed or the Ten Chi Jin effect expires.
Meisui
Dispel Suiton, increasing the Ninki Gauge by 50.
Bunshin
Grants 5 stacks of Bunshin, with each stack allowing your shadow to attack enemies each time you perform a weaponskill. Shadow attack potency differs depending on the attack performed but is not affected by combo bonuses.
Final Fantasy 14 Ninjutsu Abilities
Ninjas in Final Fantasy 14 have ninjutsu abilities which are available to them after they’ve performed a specific sequence of mudras. These are pretty powerful actions when executed correctly, capable of dealing a hefty amount of damage.
If you fail to execute a valid mudra combination, it will lead to a humorous action called Rabbit Medium that causes a rabbit to appear on your head. There are no negative consequences to Rabbit Medium other than it highlighting your misfortune to other players.
Fuma Shuriken
Unleashes a ranged ninjutsu attack with a potency of 500.
Katon
Unleashes fire damage with a potency of 500 to a target and all enemies close to it.
Raiton
Unleashes lightning damage with a potency of 800.
Hyoton
Unleashes ice damage with a potency of 400.
Huton
Decreases weaponskill recast time, as well as auto-attack delay by 15%.
Doton
Produces a patch of corrupted earth which deals damages with a potency of 100 to any enemies who enter it.
Suiton
Unleashes water damage with a potency of 600.
Goka Mekkyaku
Unleashes fire damage with a potency of 750 to target and all enemies close to it.
Hyosho Ranryu
Unleashes ice damage with a potency of 1200.
Final Fantasy 14 Ninja Playstyle
The Ninja’s playstyle in Final Fantasy 14 involves quick movements and attacks, with much of their power coming from their ninjutsu abilities.
The job is extremely fast-paced and is extremely hard to pull off on high ping, more so than other jobs in Final Fantasy 14. Ninjas are one of the most difficult jobs to master for new players due to the sheer number of complex combos you need to memorize.
In addition, the Ninja doesn’t output a huge amount of damage, which can seem quite underwhelming, to a greater extent if played incorrectly.
What the Ninja job lacks in damage, it makes up for in utility. The class is equipped with a range of powerful debuffs such as Trick Attack that can be applied to foes, turning them from fierce opponents to squishy targets that can be melted down with ease.
Encounters go a lot smoother and quicker with a Ninja on your side, which is why they are extremely sought after by parties doing high-end raid content.
Final Fantasy 14 Ninja Tips
The Ninja job can seem a little unfriendly to new players due to its complexity, which coupled with its lack of flashy, heavy-hitting damage, can make it seem pretty daunting.
If you’re struggling to get to grips with the Ninja, here are a few tips to help you learn the basics.
Trick Attack is your best friend
Trick Attack is one of the most useful abilities Ninjas have in their repertoire. It performs an attack with a potency of 350, increased to 500 when executed at a target’s rear.
If that wasn’t enough, it increases the target’s damage taken by 5% for 15 seconds, which is invaluable in raids for bringing down bosses. The ninjutsu ability Suiton also allows you to constantly cast Trick Attack too.
Keep Huton up whenever possible
Huton is another anchor of the Ninja’s playstyle, which can be cast with Chi – Jin – Ten or Jin – Chi – Ten. It lasts for a considerable amount of time, even more so if you use Hakke Munjinsatsu or Armor Crush.
What makes Huton so good is its ability to both reduce your weaponskill and auto-attack recast timer by 15 seconds, allowing you to maintain speed and mobility.
Memorize those ninjutsu combos
Ninjustsu combos look incredibly complicated at first glance, but all you really need to remember is how many symbols (mudras) make up the combo, as well as the final symbol. For instance, Suiton can be performed using Ten – Chi – Jin or Chi – Ten – Jin.
Final Fantasy 14 is available on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
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