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Azan -> All you need to know about Ninja (10/11/2016 14:10:27)
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[image]http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g326/voldy27/NJPost.png[/image]
By Azan
Previously by voldy27
Please note that the owner (Azan) is not active on these forums anymore. Should you want to take over this guide, you are very welcome to do so by directly asking one of the DF Guides ArchKnights.
Table of contents
(browse using CTRL+F/ Command+F)
[ITN] Introduction
[ONC] Obtaining Ninja class
[MEQ] Matching equipment
[SBU] Stat builds
[CAB] Class abilities
[BST] Battle strategies
[ULR] Useful links and references
[CTH] Credits and thanks
Introduction[ITN]
Before going more in-depth about how to optimally use this class, there are two questions you may ask yourself.
1. What is Ninja?
Ninja was released in October 2007. This means it's an old, ooooold class. Fortunately, a former DragonFable coder, Ashendal, blew the dust off its skillset and completely revamped it to the new standards, which means it's a viable class now.
2. What is Ninja's playstyle?
It's a Tier 2, defensive class. This means that it's stronger than the base classes, but not as powerful as the Tier 3 classes (for a full breakdown of class tiers, see here). If you want lots of raw damage and big numbers on your screen, this is not the class to play with. However, it has very good defensive abilities, which means it is better at survivability than a lot of the other classes in this game.
Obtaining Ninja class[ONC]
The first step to obtaining the Ninja class is buying the Itchy Itchy Paradise item. It is obtainable in three different places: Jubei's Shop, Ayane's Masks and Phil's Funkies. It costs 3500 Gold, which may seem like a lot at lower levels - but it really becomes spare coins once you get at a certain level. (ask those of us who sit at 900+ million gold!) Once you give this item to Thyton in the Shadow of the Wind village, you've unlocked the Ninja class.
The next step is training your class. There are 14 skills that you can obtain by trading 1 Wind Scroll for each skill. There are five quests that reward these resources:
Stealing Back Stars
Thyton has asked that you recover a box of stolen shuriken from Okuchi No Okami and his Sneenja army. This quest is perhaps a bit long for farming, and has a full-fledged (although not that hard) boss at the end. It's not the fastest way to acquire Wind Scrolls.
Chart Captors
Thyton has asked you to invade a pirate ship and steal the navigational charts from the map room. This is a completely random quest: you might complete the room after one try, or after twelve, or after 11878623289... It is still pretty good for farming, because you'll usually complete it within 5 tries. My own favourite way to earn Wind Scrolls.
The Haunted Dojo
Thyton has asked you to clear the darkenss spirits, called kageijin, from one of the Shadow of the Wind Clan's training dojos. While being a random quest, it is perhaps one of the easiest and fastest quests out there for farming. The monsters are weak and can be easily one hit killed with a good silver or light weapon.
Ninja Pizza Delivery
Pi Mae has asked you to deliver pizzas to brave ninjas on the field, right in the bamboo forest. This is definitely not a trap... Okay, maybe it was a trap after all. Another quest that can be quite long; besides, the monsters are not all that easy to one-shot. Definitely not the best for farming Wind Scrolls.
Monkee Business
Clear your way through pirate monkeys for Pi Mae: his ninja monkeys have a dirty surprise for the Osprey Cove Innkeeper... This quests contains 13 scaled monsters, which means it can be a big long. Plus, it has a cutscene. Not the best either for farming Wind Scrolls.
In conclusion, the best quests for farming Wind Scrolls and unlocking Ninja's skills are Chart Captors and The Haunted Dojo.
Matching equipment[MEQ]
There are too many items in DragonFable to make an exhaustive list of what goes well with Ninja and what does not, but there are some items that just look beautiful with this class. It's all a matter of personal preference, but a Ninja's equipment and weapons are usually quite subtle, so oversized weapons, luminous wings and metal headgear can look a bit odd with this class. Katanas, masks, headbands and wraps FTW!
Weapons
Everything from the shops Ninja Items and Jubei's Shop.
Capes and Wings
Everything from the shop Ninja Items. For DA users, Show/Hide feature can also allow you to wear a cape with optimal stats and hide it so you don't walk around with a colourful cape while stalking in the shadows.
Helms
Everything from the shops Ninja Items and Ayane's Masks. For DA users, Show/Hide feature can also allow you to wear a helm with optimal stats and hide it so you don't walk around with a big, noisy metal helmet while stalking in the shadows.
Pets
Ninja's main source of damage is its DoTs. That means its new best friend is the ever-so-awesome Stan the ScanOrb. This pet will apply -15 All to your enemy. Most enemies don't have All resistance, and those who have a All resist higher than 14 are very rare. This means that Stan is almost certainly pulling your enemy's All resistance in the negative. And when you apply a DoT, if your enemy's resistance to the DoT's element is between -1 and -100, the DoT is doubled. If you use Stan with Ninja, instead of DoTs that do 200%, 280%, 300% and 400% damage, you'll have DoTs that deal 400%, 560%, 600% and 800 damage!
Trinkets
Along with Stan the ScanOrb, Ninja's other best friend is Summon Honda. This trinket was rewarded to players because the Ninjas won the 2015 Pirates vs Ninjas war. As a war reward, it's very, very powerful: you'll notice it deals 520% damage total (920% if your enemy has a weakness to Poison or to All!). Not only that: it lasts a very high amount of turns, meaning you can use Catalyst a total of 4 times while this is activated.
Stat builds[SBU]
What stats exactly does Ninja benefit the most from?
STR/DEX/INT: Ninjas will like those as all classes do. No matter what you use, it's always a good idea to put some points into these offensive stats.
END: A good investment for patient players. Ninja is meant to tank, absorb damage and block attacks, so the more damage you're able to take, the more efficient you'll be. It is to be noted that, as a class that does not have a health regeneration skill, Ninja will greatly benefit from more HP from the start.
CHA: Ninja can be a viable Beastmaster class, so if you're a patient player, consider putting some CHA in your stats. It'll allow your pet and guests to damage your enemy while you focus on surviving.
LUK: Probably one of the best thing you can invest in as a Ninja: it boosts your defenses, your hit chance, your critical rate and your damage. As a sneaky warrior of the shadows, of course you love everything that boosts your defenses!
WIS: Ninja has the potential to be a mana sink if you use it optimally, so you'll need quite a bit of this as well. It is to be noted that, as a class that does not have a mana regeneration skill, Ninja will greatly benefit from more MP from the start.
Stealthy Demolition
This build focuses on heavily damaging the enemy and maximizing the effects of the Catalyst combo.
Level 10
STR/INT/DEX: 20
LUK: 20
WIS: 5
Level 20
STR/INT/DEX: 40
LUK: 40
WIS: 15
Level 30
STR/INT/DEX: 60
LUK: 60
WIS: 25
Level 40
STR/INT/DEX: 80
LUK: 80
WIS: 35
Level 50
STR/INT/DEX: 100
LUK: 100
WIS: 45
Level 60
STR/INT/DEX: 150
LUK: 100
WIS: 45
Level 70
STR/INT/DEX: 170
LUK: 130
WIS: 45
Level 80
STR/INT/DEX: 200
LUK: 150
WIS: 45
Stealthy Survival
Focusing on END, LUK and WIS, this builds guarantees you evade as much attacks as you can and tank the rest while having enough mana to keep using your important skills.
Level 10
END: 15
LUK: 25
WIS: 5
Level 20
END: 35
LUK: 50
WIS: 10
Level 30
END: 45
LUK: 80
WIS: 20
Level 40
END: 75
LUK: 80
WIS: 40
Level 50
END: 75
LUK: 100
WIS: 70
Level 60
END: 95
LUK: 100
WIS: 100
Level 70
END: 95
LUK: 150
WIS: 100
Level 80
END: 95
LUK: 200
WIS: 100
Note: Feel free to swap LUK, END and WIS if you feel like having 200 END or 200 WIS instead of 200 LUK.
Stealthy Beastmaster
This uses a lot of END to keep you alive and CHA to boost your pet and guests's power. For patient players, but a very rewarding build.
Level 10
END: 25
CHA: 20
Level 20
END: 45
CHA: 50
Level 30
END: 75
CHA: 70
Level 40
END: 95
CHA: 100
Level 50
END: 105
CHA: 140
Level 60
END: 115
CHA: 180
Level 70
END: 145
CHA: 200
Level 80
END:145
CHA: 200
WIS: 50
Class abilities[CAB]
[image]http://i.imgur.com/mt2uE8m.png[/image]
Catalyst
More damage for each Poison
Effect: Performs 1 hit of 130% damage. Damage increases by 20% for each of Scorpion Venom, Blood of the Lotus, Viper Venom, and Summon Honda Trinket DoTs active on the target
Mana Cost: 27
Cooldown: 1
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: This is your go-to skill for damage dealing. It can deal up to 210% damage every 2 turns, which is great for a defensive tier 2 class! However, it does consume a lot of mana, so save this for longer fights. It's also not worth using if you don't have at least 1-2 poisons active: the mana cost is too high for a 130% damage move.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/JeSVxwY.png[/image]
Hidden Strike
Fade and hit all foes
Effect: You fade away and attack all enemies for 130% damage
Mana Cost: 15
Cooldown: 1
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: A nice multi with a nice cooldown and decent mana cost.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/XG8VhWP.png[/image]
Scorpion Venom
Poison your foe with scorpion venom
Effect: Performs 1 hit of 40% Poison damage and if it connects, it applies 'Scorpion Venom' Magic Poison DoT, dealing 40% Weapon Damage each turn, for a total of 280% Weapon Damage across 7 turns
Mana Cost: 22
Cooldown: 7
Element: Poison
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: Your second strongest poison, it's also the only one you can use if you are non-DA. As every other poison, it's loopable, so use this for longer fights and always loop all your poisons.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/IQBbHew.png[/image]
Massive Strike
Deal Critical damage!
Effect: Performs 1 hit of 165% damage with 100% chance to crit, for a total of 330% damage
Mana Cost: 25
Cooldown: 15
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: Your strongest attacking skill, it's a short and sweet Critical move that you should use whenever you can. When fighting low-HP mobs, this alone should do the trick.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/UsOkp03.png[/image]
Furious Assault
Stuns for three rounds!
Effect: Performs 3 hits of 42% damage for a total of 126% damage, and if at least one hit connects, the target is stunned for 3 turns
Mana Cost: 20
Cooldown: 12
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: Most stuns skills do one hit of damage, and if it misses, too bad. This one is like Galadriel and Gimli: I asked for one hit, it gave me three! This means a tripled chance to stun. Otherwise, standard mana cost and cooldown, so use this when you need it most.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/MEVHdef.png[/image]
Rapid Attack
Slash your foe!
Effect: Performs 2 hits of 75% damage, for a total of 150% damage
Mana Cost: 20
Cooldown: 1
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: Another of your go-to attacking skills, it makes a very good attacking combo with Massive Strike against weak mobs, the two of them dealing 480% damage in 2 turns. It's also a good combo with Catalyst: the two of them being semi-loopable, you can use a rotation of Catalyst-Rapid Attack-Catalyst-Rapid Attack-etc, resulting in an average of 180% damage per turn. However, watch out for your mana pool, as this does consume 20 mana per use!
[image]http://i.imgur.com/2evGH21.png[/image]
Fade into the Shadows
+150 Melee/Pierce for 2 turns
Effect: You fade away and return, raising your Melee/Pierce Def by 150 for 2 turns
Mana Cost: 15
Cooldown: 5
Element: N/A
Attack Type: N/A
Skill commentary: The awesomeness of a very strong shield with a low mana cost and a very low cooldown is compensated by two drawbacks: first, it only lasts 2 turns; second, it does not protect against Magic attacks. Common enemies like Bone Fire or Energizers will not be affected by this. Always double-check your enemy's attacking type before using Fade!
[image]http://i.imgur.com/MTcDrk1.png[/image]
Attack
Effect: Runs over to the target and performs 1 hit of 125% damage
Mana Cost: 0
Cooldown: 0
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: A decent attack. Not much to say about it.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/KVbKXY7.png[/image]
Walk Within Shadows (DA required)
Avoid part of the next few attacks
Effect: Throws a smoke bomb at the ground. Avoids 25-50% of each attack's damage for 4 turns. This randomly chooses on each hit. If you get hit once, it will lower it by between 20-50% of that hit's damage. If you get hit with 20 attacks in a turn it'll lower each hit by 25-50% of that damage.
Note: It doesn't actually "avoid" the damage. It heals you for the % damage of each hit that it randomly picks. If you watch your health bar, you'll see it drop and jump up a bit on every attack
Mana Cost: 28
Cooldown: 8
Element: N/A
Attack Type: N/A
Skill commentary: Despite its randomness, this thing can be quite efficient. Use this against monsters with high damage and high Bonus to hit, like Dr. When, or against monsters with nuke skills, like Aspar or ManaCrest. It's important to note that this works only with attacks, not DoTs, so don't use this against monsters whose main source of damage is DoTs, like Razen Al Ghul: if you expect the "Catharsis" effect to be cut in half, you're in for a nasty surprise. Its use is very situational, but it can come in handy when you need not to get killed while your defences are down.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/B5v2isi.png[/image]
Blood of the Lotus (DA required)
Long lasting Lotus poison
Effect: Performs 1 hit of 80% Poison damage, and, if it connects, it applies 'Lotus Poison' Magic Poison DoT, dealing 30% Weapon Damage each turn, for a total of 300% Weapon Damage across 10 turns
Mana Cost: 23
Cooldown: 10
Element: Poison
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: Your strongest poison. As every other poison, it's loopable, so use this for longer fights and always loop all your poisons.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/t0ZTc2Z.png[/image]
Blurred Vision (DA required)
Increase Dodge and limit enemy sight
Effect: You fade away, performing 1 hit of 130% damage and raise your Dodge by 80 for 4 turns. The enemy's Bonus is also lowered by 40 for 4 turns
Mana Cost: 26
Cooldown: 7
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: An interesting blind move. 80 Dodge means about +40% chance of blocking attacks, which is not much; however, combined with a -40 Bonus debuff, it becomes a +80% chance of blocking attacks, which is better! What this means is, this skill is strong against single enemies and weak against multiple enemies, because don't expect your +80 Dodge to block that many attacks from the other mobs who still have all their Bonus. That said, if you're in dire need of a decent shield against multiple enemies, combine Blurred Vision and Vanish to get +180 Dodge.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/7CwMpzt.png[/image]
Paralyzing Slash (DA required)
Slow your foe and limit movement
Effect: Performs 4 hit of 30% damage for a total of 120% damage, lowering the enemy's Melee/Pierce/Magic by 45 for 4 turns. The enemy is also given a 20% chance to be stunned each turn, for 4 turns. At least one hit has to connect for these effects to work
Mana Cost: 26
Cooldown: 9
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: A random and situational skill. Works especially well if your enemy has a shield up; else it won't be your most useful move, because the chance to be stunned is fairly low. Use this only after addressing a lengthy prayer to Our Lord and Saviour RNG.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/AFKy1ym.png[/image]
Viper Venom (DA required)
Poison foe with Viper venom
Effect: Performs 1 hit of 40% Poison damage, and, if it connects, it applies 'Viper Poison' Magic Poison DoT, dealing 40% Weapon Damage each turn, for a total of 200% Weapon Damage across 5 turns
Mana Cost: 17
Cooldown: 5
Element: Poison
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: Your weakest poison, it also happens to be your cheapest one. As every other poison, it's loopable, so use this for longer fights and always loop all your poisons.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/9CJK8Dz.png[/image]
Vanish (DA required)
Prepare to strike
Effect: You fade away and return, raising your Dodge by 100 for 2 turns, and Bonus by 30 for 4 turns. Unlocks Shadow Strike
Mana Cost: 22
Cooldown: 6
Element: N/A
Attack Type: N/A
Skill commentary: +100 Dodge means, in fact, a +50% chance to avoid attacks, which is not that great a shield. That said, if you're in dire need of a decent shield against multiple enemies, combine Blurred Vision and Vanish to get +180 Dodge. Vanish will also serve you well if you need to get a hit landed because of the Bonus buff. And, of course, it unlocks Shadow Strike. All in all, it's a Ninja's kind of "get ready for oblivion" move: both shielding yourself and aiming carefully to get all the hits landed.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/sd3KCaT.png[/image]
Shadow Strike (DA required)
Attack from the shadows
Effect: You fade away and perform 10 hits of 29% damage, for a total of 290% damage. Requires Vanish to be active.
Mana Cost: 35
Cooldown: 11
Element: As weapon
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: This is supposed to be the big nuke skill, but does not do as much damage as Massive Strike, so what's the use of it? First, it has the potential to do up to 580% damage if all hits crit (and there are guests, such as Niki, who can give you +100 to Crit). It's also a multiple-hitting attack while Massive Strike only has one hit, so if you have a weapon special (such as Blade of Awe's HP/MP regeneration, Ice Scythe's nerf to Ice, or Irismancer's Staff's boost to Bonus), it'll very likely trigger on that attack. Otherwise, the mana cost and cooldown are quite big and you need to use Vanish before using this, so don't use this for normal mobs: save it for lengthier battles.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/QWTf3KN.png[/image]
TRINKET: Summon Honda (DA required)
Summon a vision of Honda to poison foe
Effect: Your character kneels as a miniature version of Honda is summoned in front of him/her. Honda attacks the target for 3 hits of 40% Poison damage, for a total of 120% Poison damage. If at least one hit connects, the target is applied with 'Toxic Gas' Magic Poison DoT, dealing 50% Weapon Damage each turn, for a total of 400% Weapon Damage across 8 turns.
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: 14
Element: Poison
Attack Type: As weapon
Skill commentary: This trinket was rewarded to players because the Ninjas won the 2015 Pirates vs Ninjas war. As a war reward, it's very, very powerful: you'll notice it deals 520% damage total (920% if your enemy has a weakness to Poison or to All!). Not only that: it lasts a very high amount of turns, meaning you can use Catalyst a total of 4 times while this is activated. If you play Ninja and have a DA, this is your go-to trinket. It's available at Thyton's shop Ninja Items for a very reasonable 3500 Gold.
Battle strategies[BST]
Before taking a look at the optimal battle strategies, let's see in what situation you should or shouldn't use Ninja:
- Farming: Ninja is a slow class that builds up its damage over several turns. While farming, it's most certainly not the type of class you want to use: you'll prefer something that can deal big, instant damage, such as RiftWalker, Kathool Adept, Paladin, or DoomKnight.
- Very long quests: Those quests work best for classes who have skills to regenerate their HP/MP, such as DragonLord, Ancient Exosuit or Pyromancer. Ninja lacks both, and therefore is not recommended for very long quests, such as the Neverglades: you'll run out of mana, then you'll run out of health.
- Quests with tanky monsters: This is what Ninja excels at! In longer fights, you can apply some (or all of) your poisons, then Catalyst and Rapid Attack your enemies, using the other skills as needed.
- Quests with "glass cannon" type monsters: A glass cannon being something with very high attack power but low HP and defences, you'll find Ninja suited for the task, as it can avoid attacks then retaliate. However, the best way to fight glass cannon mobs is usually by being a glass cannon yourself: if you kill it first, it can't kill you! So while Ninja can hold its ground, there are classes better suited to fight this kind of regular mobs.
- Monsters or Bosses with a very high BtH: Practically speaking, Ninja relies on evading strikes to survive. It only has three means of defending against monster with a very high BtH (such as Dr. When): Walk Within Shadows (negate a random percentage of damage), Furious Assault (stun) and Paralyzing Slash (chance of stunning). There are classes better suited to survive against those types of monsters, such as Necromancer (who relies on healing, absorbing damage and paralyzing foes), DragonLord (an absolute tank full of HP), or Pyromancer (my personal go-to class because of the amazing number of heals and stuns it has).
- Bosses: Ninja is a very potent boss slayer. Of course, bosses differ a lot, but most of them have a good chunk of HP, so they'll allow Ninja to build up its power with poisons, then Catalyst, while shielding from attacks.
- Monsters by attack types: There are three attack types: Melee, Pierce and Magic. Ninja will have a hard time defending against Magic attacks, as its most efficient shield (Fade in the Shadows) only protects against Melee and Pierce. When facing an enemy that uses Melee and/or Pierce attacks, you'll have less trouble defending yourself. Fortunately, the vast majority of monsters in DragonFable use Melee attacks.
DA strategies
With a DA you can unlock the full skillset of the class, as well as the Summon Honda Trinket, which is going to be very useful in longer battles.
Single battle (low HP mob): Massive Strike --> Rapid Attack (by that point your enemy should be dead) --> Attack --> Rapid Attack (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed)
Single battle (high HP mob): Summon Honda --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Massive Strike --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed)
Multi battle (low HP mobs): Hidden Strike --> Massive Strike on the center mob --> Hidden Strike --> Attack on remaining mobs (if any) (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed)
Multi battle (high HP mobs - if you want to kill the center mob first, then take on the two others): Summon Honda on the center mob --> Scorpion Venom on the center mob --> Catalyst on the center mob --> Massive Strike on the center mob --> Catalyst on the center mob --> Rapid Attack on the center mob --> Catalyst on the center mob (by that point the center mob should be dead, if not reapply your poisons then keep rotating Catalyst --> Rapid Attack) --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack (repeat as needed until all enemies are dead) (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed, or any other defensive skill - if you're low on HP you may consider killing the center mob with Vanish --> Shadow Strike, because of the added defense Vanish will give you)
Multi battle (high HP mobs - if you want to attack all enemies at once): Hidden Strike --> Massive Strike on the center mob --> Hidden Strike --> Vanish --> Hidden Strike --> Shadow Strike on the center mob (by that point the center mob should be dead) --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack (repeat as needed until all enemies are dead)
Glass cannon mob (Melee or Pierce attack type): Fade into the Shadows --> Massive Strike --> Furious Assault --> Rapid Attack --> Attack --> Blurred Vision --> Rapid Attack --> Vanish --> Shadow Strike
Glass cannon mob (Magic attack type): Furious Assault --> Rapid Attack --> Massive Strike --> Rapid Attack --> Blurred Vision --> Vanish --> Shadow Strike
Tanky Boss: Summon Honda --> Blood of the Lotus --> Scorpion Venom --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Massive Strike --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Viper Venom --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Blood of the Lotus --> Catalyst --> Vanish --> Summon Honda --> Shadow Strike --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Massive Strike --> Blood of the Lotus --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Summon Honda --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack (by that point the boss should be dead, if not repeat as needed - don't forget to always apply your poisons whenever you can, they are your big source of damage)
Glass cannon Boss (Melee or Pierce attack type): Fade into the Shadows --> Massive Strike --> Furious Assault --> Summon Honda --> Blood of the Lotus --> Blurred Vision --> Catalyst --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Fade into the Shadows --> Catalyst --> Vanish --> Shadow Strike --> Blurred Vision --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Blood of the Lotus --> Fade into the Shadows --> Scorpion Venom --> Vanish --> Massive Strike --> Blurred Vision --> Summon Honda --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Fade into the Shadows --> Scorpion Venom --> Furious Assault --> Vanish --> Shadow Strike --> Blurred Vision --> Blood of the Lotus --> Viper Venom --> Catalyst --> Fade into the Shadows --> Massive Strike (by that point the boss should be dead, if not repeat as needed - don't forget to apply your poisons whenever you can, they are your big source of damage. If needed, insert Walk Within Shadows or Paralyzing Slash in this rotation as additional means of defense. Just don't forget those two work on RNG, so they may or may not save you.)
Glass cannon Boss (Magic attack type): Blurred Vision --> Massive Strike --> Summon Honda --> Blood of the Lotus --> Furious Assault --> Scorpion Venom --> Viper Venom --> Vanish --> Catalyst --> Shadow Strike --> Blurred Vision --> Catalyst --> Viper Venom --> Scorpion Venom --> Vanish --> Catalyst --> Blood of the Lotus --> Massive Strike --> Blurred Vision --> Summon Honda --> Viper Venom --> Scorpion Venom --> Furious Assault --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Vanish --> Catalyst --> Blurred Vision --> Shadow Strike --> Blood of the Lotus --> Scorpion Venom --> Paralyzing Slash --> Viper Venom --> Vanish --> Catalyst --> Blurred Vision --> Catalyst --> Summon Honda --> Catalyst --> Furious Assault --> Massive Strike (by that point the boss should be dead, if not repeat as needed - don't forget to apply your poisons whenever you can, they are your big source of damage. If needed, insert Walk Within Shadows or more of Paralyzing Slash in this rotation as additional means of defense. Just don't forget those two work on RNG, so they may or may not save you.)
Note: A boss with a nuke (such as Aspar, Faust or Manacrest) will more often than not require the same strategy than a Tanky Boss, because it'll have high HP and a normally low DPT (damage per turn) as means of balance. That means you won't always have to shield yourself like you should when facing a boss that has a very high DPT (a Glass Cannon Boss). Just be sure to use Fade into the Shadows (if boss uses Melee or Pierce attacks), Furious Assault or Blurred Vision when the boss is about to unleash its nuke. If none of these three is available (or if the boss has a very high ImmoRes), you can use Vanish, Walk Within Shadows or Paralyzing Slash instead, and then pray.
Non-DA strategies
As with every storyline Tier 2 class, Ninja is a bit trickier to play without a DA, because you can only access the left side of its skillset. This means you only have one poison, no blind nor can you access the Vanish --> Shadow Strike combo. You still have the core functionalities of the class though.
Single battle (low HP mob): Massive Strike --> Rapid Attack (by that point your enemy should be dead) --> Attack --> Rapid Attack (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed)
Single battle (high HP mob): Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Massive Strike --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed)
Multi battle (low HP mobs): Hidden Strike --> Massive Strike on the center mob --> Hidden Strike --> Attack on remaining mobs (if any) (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed)
Multi battle (high HP mobs - if you want to kill the center mob first, then take on the two others): Scorpion Venom on the center mob --> Catalyst on the center mob --> Massive Strike on the center mob --> Catalyst on the center mob --> Rapid Attack on the center mob --> Catalyst on the center mob (by that point the center mob should be dead, if not reapply your poisons then keep rotating Catalyst --> Rapid Attack) --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack (repeat as needed until all enemies are dead) (insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed)
Multi battle (high HP mobs - if you want to attack all enemies at once): Hidden Strike --> Massive Strike on the center mob --> Hidden Strike --> Vanish --> Hidden Strike --> Shadow Strike on the center mob (by that point the center mob should be dead) --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack --> Hidden Strike --> Rapid Attack (repeat as needed until all enemies are dead)
Glass cannon mob (Melee or Pierce attack type): Fade into the Shadows --> Massive Strike --> Furious Assault --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Fade into the Shadows --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst
Glass cannon mob (Magic attack type - okay, this one's going to be harder because the only defense you have is your stun move): Furious Assault --> Rapid Attack --> Massive Strike --> Attack --> Rapid Attack --> Attack --> Rapid Attack (I've chosen Attack for this rotation because your goal is to kill the mob as fast as possible, so you don't have the time to apply Scorpion Venom and let its damage grow to its full potential. That means you'll be alternating between a 125% and a 150% damage move, the latter one being Rapid Attack. Of course, you could use Catalyst or Hidden Strike instead of Attack to get 130% damage instead of 125%, but do you really want to pay 15 or 27 mana for the additional 5% damage?)
Tanky Boss: Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Massive Strike --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Massive Strike --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst (repeat as needed - don't forget to always use Scorpion Venom and Massive Strike whenever you can. Insert Fade into the Shadows or Furious Assault in this rotation if needed.)
Glass cannon Boss (Melee or Pierce attack type): Fade into the Shadows --> Massive Strike --> Furious Assault --> Scorpion Venom --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Fade into the Shadows --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Scorpion Venom --> Fade into the Shadows --> Catalyst --> Rapid Attack --> Furious Assault (repeat as needed - don't forget to always use Furious Assault, Fade into the Shadows, Scorpion Venom and Massive Strike whenever you can)
Glass cannon Boss (Magic attack type): Honestly? I advice you not even to try. There are a lot of non-DA classes way better suited for this task. With Ninja, all you have to protect yourself against that hard-hitting boss is a Stun move. After that, you're a punching bag.
Note: A boss with a nuke (such as Aspar, Faust or Manacrest) will more often than not require the same strategy than a Tanky Boss, because it'll have high HP and a normally low DPT (damage per turn) as means of balance. That means you won't always have to shield yourself like you should when facing a boss that has a very high DPT (a Glass Cannon Boss). Just be sure to use Fade into the Shadows (if boss uses Melee or Pierce attacks) or Furious Assault when the boss is about to unleash its nuke.
Useful links and references[ULR]
DragonFable Strategy Board - Should you have a question about strategies and how to defeat a specific boss or quest, here's the place to go!
Common Game/Forum/IRC Abbreviations and Acronyms (Dragonfable version) - If you don't understand one of the abbreviations/acronyms I used in this guide.
Ninja Armor (All Versions) - Pedia entry for Ninja.
Ninja Armor Discussion Thread on the DFGD - If you have any comment or question to ask about Ninja.
Summon Honda - Pedia entry for the Summon Honda Trinket.
Credits and thanks[CTH]
-- Ashendal for revamping the Ninja armor.
-- Gingkage for giving me the previous guide's coding.
-- Skullkyopi for corrections.
-- The DragonFable Pedia for entries.
-- DragonFable itself, of course, for the great game.
quote:
voldy27's credits
Thanks to:
PusatShrade for suggesting to bold the level numbers
Troy Darksword for help in coding
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