Ask a Ninja

[The Chronicler]

:::INTRODUCTION:::

Hi everybody. I am the Chronicler and I will be your guide on an exploration of one of ragnarok online's classes that I think is typically under-used, under-played, and under-rated... The Ninja

The ninja is my favorite RO class, and in my opinion, the best class.

He is a tool-box full of answers to basically anything other characters can throw.

I think the ninja is a unique character in this game because it is so well equipped to handle various problems with various builds, and as such it is essentially the only character that everyone at the party can play at the same time, and yet still have different jobs/roles when it comes to strategy be it PvE or PvP.

a group of ninjas, with good coordination, should have no problem dealing with an equally large or slightly larger party.

As far as writing a guide goes I am just going to specify key basics and guideline an end-game character.

I don't really approve of copying builds and to be honest I never do it exactly the same way twice.

Also note that I am use to playing with much lower rates and level limits so I won't even be able to give direct builds with more points in the equation.

So with all that said, lets take a look at the...

:::Types of Ninjas:::

There are essentially 9 kinds of ninja in RO, with 3 super-types. It breaks down like this

[MAGIC] Fire, Ice, and Wind

The ninjas magic skills are actually pretty solid. He has 3 skills of each element. They sort of follow a pattern. the first skill is a single targeting, multi hit move, the second one is some sort of AoE effect, and the third is a massive splash damage attack. All trees are worth trying just to see if it fits your style of play, but fire and ice should really get the job done. As you might expect, damage is based on your INT while cast time is based on your DEX

[THROWING] Shuriken, Kunai, Fuuma, and Zenny

A throwing ninja is just that, a ninja that uses ranged attacks by throwing objects. Ninjas can throw shuriken, kunai, fuuma, or money, but 3 are obviously more practical. throwing damage is still based of your normal attack stats(except throwing money because it is based on how much money you throw) shuriken are simple and hit once. kunai are heavier, hit 3 times, and have a bit of a cool down, and fuuma are more like a regular weapon than a ranged one because they return to you and deal heavier damage. shuriken are my favorite here because I love spamming them.

[FIGHTING] Shadow Slasher and Final Striker

fighting ninjas are by far my favorite type because of how much of an "IN YOUR FACE" threat one is. Final strikers us a move called final strike. it deals damage based on your attack stats but gets a variable damage bonus based on how many hit points you have remaining. it is often a one hit KO and it leaves you with only 1 hp left. Shadow Slashers use the Shadow Slash move. It is a more that default critical hits and is very effective. it requires you to be invisible to use this can be achieved by landing a hit with mist slash, but many players just opt to use a smokey card(more on this later, or any other gear that allows you to vanish. I usually play a mix of these 2 types. it allows you to make relatively quick work of most ranged, melee, and magic classes. Since my move to this server i have been working on what i want to play here with the current environment and I think these two types with maybe a little throwing mixed in could be the best stand alone ninja build as far as skills go.

Now it is time to go ahead and get to...

:::Leveling your ninja:::

Before your build even matters, first, you have to level up your ninja. By far the easiest way to level a ninja, regardless of what the rates are, is to use the fire magic. the skills you want are: throw shuriken, crimson fire formation, dragon fire formation, and cicada skin. leveling should go as follows...

1.) Mob up a bunch of enemies, use shurikens to aggro them.

2.) Once you have a suitable bunch, cast cicada skin on yourself and lead them away

3.) Begin casting Crimson fire formation

4.) An enemy should hit you, cicada skin will trigger and pull you back a few cells

5.) Now the group should be trapped in the huge rage of inferno you just unleashed

6.) Finish them off with dragon fire formation it will deal splash damage to all of them and you should be able to cast it more than enough times before your foes are free from your burning death trap.

7.) Lather, Rinse, Repeat

after your character is leveled up you are ready to consider your...

:::Overall Strategy:::

no matter what your build is your strategy is still going to need a few ninja basics like...

[Tatami flip]

This is a skill and AoE skill with a radial knock back. while that may sound cool enough as it is. it also makes ninjas impervious to any ranged physical attacks as long as they stand still. things of with a special kinds of damage will still hit you how ever so be wary. this move is really a must have for any ninja and is required for...

[Cicada Skin]

This move makes your character dodge a set number of attacks while this skill is active, whenever something non-magic would damge your character, you dodge it instead, and cicada skin moves you back a few cells. this is a extremely useful move when coupled with tatami flip, the best part about it is, you can recast it before its effect even wears off. this skill can also be substituted with illusionary shadow. it is a skill that does essentially the same effect but it does not cause the knockback that cicada skin causes and can be very useful if you are not ranged/magic and want to charge your opponent with out them attacking you to trigger your dodge and pushing you away,this being the point, there are very few attacks left in the game that you even have an excuse to get hit with(as a comparison with other classes) with the exception of magic. this knowledge is even more useful if you have a smokey card or some way of vanishing, which reminds me, I need to talk about

[Vanishing]

"As a Ninja, your domain is the shadow. stray from it reluctantly,For when you do, you must strike hard and fade away, Without a trace."

Once you have some sort of vanishing gear equipped, you are prepared with the ninjas final line of defense, that is, simply hiding when ever something is going to damage you, namely magic, or other skills that can't be stopped by using one of the above mentioned defenses. vanishing is a great way to set yourself up for an attack either on the enemy you retreated from, or on another enemy that didn't see you hide there. with everything that you have learned thus far, now it is time to...

:::Go on the Offensive:::

when you are building your ninja it is a good idea to choose 1 - 3 of the types of ninjas to blend together as you like. fighters are going to be good at killing mages and other characters with low hp. throwers are good at keeping melee characters at bay as well as trading fire with other ranged characters and magic is good at doing a few different things. ice hinders your opponent with status effects and deals damage with alot of small hits, Fire is pretty much opposite in that it deals tons of damage with just a few hits, and wind is a mix in between. So once you have developed your defense and chosen a way in which you killing your opponents most. the only thing you have left to work on is your...

:::Team Strategies:::

here are some good ideas for how to play with ninjas in a party.(PvP)

vanishing becomes way more important just as it is a lot harder to kill you when they cant see you, other players will have a hard time wining if they cant focus and prioritize targets. this is hard for them to do when you and your teammates are constantly moving, vanishing, reappearing, attacking from different directions etc. all of this is made possible with good group vanish management, and becomes a mind game that must be won, far before they can win the fight.

some types apply a direct advantage to certain other types. for example, water ninjas, when they cast their AoE skill, cause all non-ninjas in the area to move significantly slower than usual, during all of this they can also cast ice spear to freeze enemies in place, making them more ceceptable to any shadow slashers that are lying in wait, or any fire ninjas in range of casting dragon fire formation. Ice spear itself is spammable enough to put most characters into a stunlock either until you kill them, a teammate comes along and kills them while you have them locked down, or you run out of mp and are forced to retreat. fire ninjas should stay away from the level up tactic in PvP. Many times, human players simply do not fall for it, or they escape to quickly. just focus on hitting them with dragon fire.

throwers should focus really on just pissing every enemy player off. throw damage at every enemy when ever you can. make him disengage whoever he is fighting because if he doesn't deal with you he is going to die. then while he is pursuing you, another teammate can play a similar game with him while you run. as soon as he stops fighting you start throwing at him again. keeping enemies unable to fight one on one battles is very important to a ninja group strategy. all and all, a tussle with you should leave an enemy lacking knowledge and the tactics you use as a ninja are important for disguising your true goals and coming out victorious.

:::In Closing:::

I hope this guide encourages people to play ninjas(especially in all-ninja parties/guilds) and helps people that already play with ninjas, to play a less predicable character with answers to whatever problems the environment throws at it. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

[Millenia]

lolnvm

[Rayray]

I just got to say that throw type ninjas(kunai or Fumma) are really annoying if played well.

[Terroryst]

Throw Fuuma would be beast if they could wear a shield or have some reducts.

[twelve02]

what's the stat build 4 ninja?

[Adum*]

what's the stat build 4 ninja?

lol play with the stats..if you want spam have aspd(well i was told :3 [thanks to ~ <3 ~ and that other dude..sorry cant remember your name] not i be spamming!)

***i still hate maya and gtb Q_Q***

[n i k k o]

Personally.

if you want full damage in exchange of defence. Fumma is the best call.

Kunai is for defence with little damage.

Magic Pure rape age if the enemy doesnt have gtb.

all else fail.

FS and Fumma there ass.

Ninja rule if possesing the right skills.

[Meido Zangetsuha]

Personally.

if you want full damage in exchange of defence. Fumma is the best call.

Kunai is for defence with little damage.

Magic Pure rape age if the enemy doesnt have gtb.

all else fail.

FS and Fumma there ass.

Ninja rule if possesing the right skills.

for fs type us fuuma shuriken cuz stalkers can sword reject if u use some crappy weapon.

[Danny]

I seen my friend totally pwnt everyone during one of the WoE from before, by using a crazy FS type Ninja. Lol but I seen Ninja getting owned by Stalker's Sword Reject. Definitely LOL at that one.

[XoXoGiNA]

After reading this, I had to make a ninja.Now I am maining it /lv . It's so amazing being a ninja ;D. /heh