Ninja Equipment Sets (April 2015)

Certainly a manageable aspect of NIN DD'ing these days. Killing T1's in Ru'Aun, dropping simple 15k to spiking up to 34k with malaise after darkness SC.

My setup is by no means great. But I could certainly see hitting 50k with a good effort on gearing for damage.

ItemSet 341524

body={ name="Samnuha Coat", augments={'Mag. Acc.+15','"Mag.Atk.Bns."+15','"Fast Cast"+5','"Dual Wield"+5',}},
hands={ name="Leyline Gloves", augments={'Accuracy+15','Mag. Acc.+15','"Mag.Atk.Bns."+15','"Fast Cast"+3',}},
legs={ name="Herculean Trousers", augments={'Mag. Acc.+18 "Mag.Atk.Bns."+18','INT+8','Mag. Acc.+10','"Mag.Atk.Bns."+14',}},
feet={ name="Herculean Boots", augments={'Mag. Acc.+20 "Mag.Atk.Bns."+20','Crit.hit rate+4','STR+4','Mag. Acc.+11','"Mag.Atk.Bns."+12',}},

nin/rdm belt switched out for eschan stone if no sch for weather

also "i DONT NEED NO BLM TO ROCK(salt) a monsters world" ^.^/

Edit:the neck will be changed once i have enough jp to hit 475 nin skill to an matt one

Is the Mochizuki Head only adding another 15 MAB to nukes (and 5% to the multiplicative calc per merit to sans?) I can't find a hardline answer...

how is 119 Kannagi is it worth doing durring this current campain ? when update hits might be best weapon from what i can tell

are the 119 empy hands not as good as 30MAB(leyline)?

Nagi will always be ninja's best weapon. Come Feb update, Nagi/Aeonic off hand will be beast with blade ten spam :O

The TP bonus reportedly doesn't work offhand.

So it's kinda like the +attack from relic.
I guess Empys are the only exception then, with their stat+ working offhand. Well, at least so far, things might change with the new updated version... that would be quite the *** move though.

Nagi is the uncontested winner when you can put and keep AM3 up I guess, altough I find the +enmity annoying when you don't want to tank.
Think Kannagi might prove to be quite nice as well though.

Granted that it's arguably easier/faster to get a Nagi than a 99+ Kannagi... especially if you have to start from scratch.

Ah well, Byrth assumed that the tp bonus did work offhand, but thats sad news D:

AM3 isn't hard to keep up really, even faster with Sange. The enmity isn't an issue with Innin and Yain on with a trust npc tanking something that doesn't reset enmity.

Yes and no.
If we get practical I agree 100%. Looking at the current situations where you can realistically use NIN to DD with someone else tanking, it's not a problem at all.

If we get theoretical though, it could be a (small) issue.
In such a, currently not realistic, scenario one of the huge pros NIN can offer over other arguably better DDs (DNC, BLU, etc) is the combination of Innin+Yain. It offers a boost to Accuracy, a huge boost to Crit rate, and a huge Enmity-50 if I'm not wrong.
It becomes much more manageable to have the NIN go all out and having the tank keep the monster on him without fail. Can't say the same for DNC and BLU, when I tried to tank I've been having some issues keeping hate on me if they go all out, especially from the start. Not as bad as it used to be with the enmity patch they did a long time ago, but not as good as right after the patch either.

Having +30 enmity constantly on your MH kinda counterbalances the -30 from Innin. You still get -20 from Yain which is good, but I dunno, it's a shame. Just wish the +30 enmity from Nagi were a boost active during Yonin instead that something permanently up.

NIN is definately a better DD than BLU, but not better than DNC.

Would be nice if SE added yonin/innin enhancements to Nagi so it has some JA purpose, like all the other mythics, but since NIN had no JAs in the 75 era besides blowing yourself up. . .

Would be awesome! Alas I don't see that coming.


I think the big pro BLU can offer are his self buffs, and I think BLU can still attain more accuracy than NIN can even when you factor Innin's acc bonus, right?
They can offer utility (light based dispel, stun for mobs that can be affected by it), they have nice WS for dealing with every situation (magic damage, physical damage) and open/close both Light and Darkness. Also I think sword WSs are in theory better damage than Hi and Shun?
Last but not least, the ability to be less reliant on buffs, which means if you have limited amount of buffers, they can for instance focus on giving you other stats instead of, say, Haste2, marches, indihaste etc.
This results in having more acc/att/whatever buffs.
All of this while having defensive shadows not as good as Utsu:San but somewhat similar, and additional incredible defense stats (Cocoon, Mighty Guard, etc). Berserk kills your defense, for instance, but it's not quite the case for BLU.
Yes NIN can hit attack delay cap without haste as well by stacking DW I guess, but that comes at a cost in performance/stats.

I think nowadays NIN is greatly underestimated, especially the potential brought by Innin, the nuke MBs etc.
But at the same time I'm not sure it's ahead of a BLU and DNC (who can pack more damage over a short time thanks to its JAs I guess)
For instance if you cannot benefit from Innin (which requires someone to tank and you to stay behind) then a lot of NIN's potential is lost, imho.



Or do you see some mistakes in my way of reasoning? Something I forgot?
Didn't mean to say NIN is ***, quite the other way around if anything, but at the same time I don't think it currently is the same as BLU/DNC, but it's likely the closest DD to them compared to all other DDs currently in game.

Nah I just like to go on about my beloved job. I also play that card where I haven't played against any good (insert job here) then it must be ***right? :P

I'm pretty sure most people don't get to play with a competent NIN so it would be likely to rank them low, but imo its one of the best :O
And nah its definately not in the same league as DNC. I see it enough from Byrth at everything we do D:

I love Nin, really love Nin but:-

Can you really make a statement saying Nin is a better DD then Blu? A good Blu will B2B CDC's which geared correctly is a higher damaging ws than an equally gearead Nin spamming B2B Hi's annd they don't have poisitioning to worry about (Sayiong that I think its about time SE removed the need to be behind or infront of the mob for Yonnin/Innin to work. If we could use Innin from any position we would shine in all manner of CP parties and solo-ing. But yeah, I do know how much better Blu is than Nin
both at 1200 JP+

I don't wantto start a Blu vs Nin war - it would be better on the General forum and i will concede here that Nin is better then blu is that is the case ^^


Back on Topic - why is no-one mentioning Kikoku? I the trial issn't something reiculous the weapon costs only costs 60M and it will get the same +DMG, skill, +60att, annnnd +186? MD, and +28? MAB oh and 13%? Triple DMG. Not Sure its worth mentioning enparalyse. For value for gil and how it will change the job it will be right up there with the best of them unless I'm missing something?

It's 1/3 the cost of Nagi and doesn't have all the additional Mythic little things to do. I only say it because FFXI is at the fastest pace its ever been in aquiring gil and gear. I also don't want to have to use Ochu's for DD and I think its unfair SE don't put the MD & MAB stats on Eschan katana's because I don't see much point in doing MB's w/o MD katana's unless your high up on JP's.

EDIT: I think I just wrote out w/o thinking about it how Nin can out DD any job in most Apex/NM mob's...

The positioning thing I dunno. It's not an issue at all for Yonin. If they want to remove something from Yonin remove the -acc plz.
For Innin it used to be an issue when it was impossible to tank stuff (mob would constantly turn around to every DD, taking turns), but now it's perfectly useable.
The only situation where it's not useable is when you don't have a tank, but I can accept Innin being that way, it's kinda like Sneak Attack or Trick Attack, I can accept that.

What they should REALLY change is the Decay over time and the Dispellable thing.
Yonin/Innin should be two styles you choose to play NIN as. There should be pros and cons in each and you should choose wisely.
Innin sorta works with the reduced evasion and the "works only from behind" thing.
Yonin would need some serious work though, and through that it could allow NIN to become a viable tank not for all but at least a large part of the content.
Don't think SE is interested in that though, especially now that there's a second viable tank in the game (RUN).




Back on Kikoku: I love the model, hate the enparalyze, but if the final trial is not HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE it might be a pretty nice weapon for NIN. Out of the RME it's probably the worst of the 4, but still much much better than anything else and, in theory, much easier to obtain.
That's supposing RME remain the only weapons with 269 skill. If more weapons start to appear with base +269 then... it's gonna be kinda pointless I'm afraid.

I'd like to see why anybody thinks NIN is ahead of BLU in regards to raw DPS. Not trying to turn this into a flame war or anything, I'm just not seeing it. CDC seems like it's much better than Blade: Hi, not to mention all of the other things BLU has going for it (high damage weapons, equivalent melee gear, suprior nuking gear, like bajillion job traits).

From a pure damage standpoint, that's probably right. Mainly because CdC is beastly, and Hi/Shun aren't at that level. Also can't ignore that BLU is much more self-sufficient than other DDs (e.g. Mighty Guard which also helps every other party DD, self Haste II) so can be used without great buffs, and NIN (and everybody else) relies on getting magical haste from others.

However, getting buffs NIN can hang pretty well. Ninjutsu MB is getting pretty strong and requires no MP (and no physical DD sacrifice like BLU would need to make by setting nuking spells/traits), and NIN still has some great defensive utility in super low cast time Utsusemi: San (when Utsu shadows absorb whatever is dangerous).

And while BLU has a lot of traits, you're basically gearing (i.e. setting spells) for either nuke or melee to do either of them really well. Comparing BLU melee to NIN melee, NIN already gets DW5 natively so either job can cap delay pretty easily, SC Bonus II, and the huge TP generation boost of Daken (~40% proc). So the really significant differences for BLU traits are stuff like Crit Damage, additional Acc bonuses (which Innin partly makes up for), Triple Attack (great trait, though 5% isn't a huge amount), higher level SC Bonus, some Store TP, etc.

NIN gets advantages of its own though by Innin crit rate/acc if it's viable to get behind a mob, and Daken's superior TP generation.

Anyway, net of it is that NIN is certainly a viable DD, better than the overall community is probably giving it credit for right now. While it might not get mentioned as much as BLU DNC it's in a pretty damn good spot compared to basically every other DD.


1) SECOND viable tank? We use PUP over Burt+Aegis PLD (or RUN) for most stuff, basically anything but supertank style PLD-centric things or stuff that uses a lot of doom. No need for a separate healer (can use less people for lowman on HP scaling mobs), damn near invincible, ingores stuff like charm and stripping gear, etc. RUN has its niche too with helping nukers via Rayke/Gambit. NIN is well behind any of the three for tanking.

2) Re: Kikoku, they also mentioned changing some relic aftermaths, and Kikoku sounds like it's a prime candidate for that. Maybe it'll get something good! Metsu is a good WS too, for more SC flexibility. Depending on what the changes look like, not inconveivable that it could be better than Kannagi (and any non-RMEA). And who knows how the raw damage would compare to Aeonic, which would be comparatively less useful when you aren't using lv4 SCs.

I experience blinking when my character changes ammo to WS. Is there any way to stop this from happening in game aside from using certain add-ons? I have a lockstyle on and this doesn't occur on other jobs; I'm assuming it's related to the shuriken being a weapon and the yetshila not.

Lockstyle doesn't work with shuriken swapping into another piece of ammo like yetshila, so you're going to have to use dressup for that.

Blu can and usually does set a spell that can MB well, but the lost TP generation and swing damage makes MBing as a melee not too important. Sometimes it's worth, sometimes it isn't but both jobs have no issue doing it.

Personally I played both and there was a huge difference in damage between the two, and I would say I'm more of a bandwagon Blu while I've played Nin since I started so I definitly prefer Nin of the two. It does mainly come down to CDC demolishing Hi or Shun though.

Comparing NIN vs other DDs all comes down to one thing. Are thier JAs and Traits compatible? Just like SAM needs Overwhelm NIN relies on Innin and any job that negates Innin will easily out parse a NIN. Like a THF using TA or SAM standing beside the NIN for Overwhelm 100%. In a parse I don't think any job that is compatible with Innin can destroy a NIN. I parsed vs Mythic BLU a lot and never lost cuz he always stood across from me and not beside me. Beyond that everyone knows SAM self SC potential and even DNC now too SCD.

I would say without Innin BLU might be a better DD than NIN but even then. I probly tanked around 70% of the fight along side BLUs so Innin never does work 100%. Sadly.

Kikoku is a win imo for a Solid Katana 119(III). Set Offhanded by perhap's an Ochu?

Kanagi is win as 119(III) will have occ deals Triple Dmg, Magic Damage, and +40-50AGL.

I'm very happy I chose to make a Kikoku as my first relic anyway, its only ~10 Mont pieces of completion and the Aftermath also has Att+10%. I don't think there would be a Single player that can thrown on bringing a Nin with an REM/Ochu. With MB's playing such an important role intoday's game and NIN being able to make very succesful MB build's along with Self Skill chain.

Personally if I could chose a completed REM it would be the Kanagi, but I am going to be very happy with a finalised Kikoku. For Raw DD then making a good Kanaria is an option but perfect Ochu is for me.

Anybody did some math on the threshold for Kanaria to beat other non-RME options?

Also I'm curious, where do you guys use Hetairoi Ring and Apate Ring? If you use them at all.

According to my spreadsheet I have my Kanaria(DMG+16,ATT/ACC+12,STR+2,Crit Dmg+5%) beating max Ochu and Izuna (DMG/ATT/ACC/Crit). I don't have any of those rings, so I can't really say where I would put them.

Reforged Shigi isn't a bad offhand at all, when you can take advantage of the Accuracy (or if it allows you to swap out some Acc elsewhere in TP set, eat meat, whatever). Acc+77 is a pretty huge chunk that affects both hands, plus Racc+50 for Daken. DT-5% is... I guess it's fine, even if an offensive stat might have fit the weapon better.

Shigi: DMG:98 Delay:190 Accuracy+27 Evasion+27 Katana skill +228 Parrying skill +228 Magic Accuracy skill +215 Ninjutsu skill +10 Enmity-10 Ninjutsu recast delay -3 "Ninja Tool Expertise"+5

R15 augments (300 of either plut/beit/boulder):
Accuracy +50
Ranged Accuracy +50
Damage Taken -5%

I'm kinda thinking when I'm going for physical DD I might play with Kanaria/Shigi for a bit while I work on RME upgrades...

I got DMG+17, STR+3, Acc+24, Att+10, Crit+1% on my Kanaria and when acc matters (maybe even when it doesn't?) I got it slightly above of my perf Ochu mainhand.

What surprised me is that when I put Kanaria MH, I get Raicho+1 as a better Offhand over perf Ochu and I can't understand how that can be...


As for Apate ring, it kinda depends on the items in your other slots, on your target etc, but I get it as a better option than NQ garuda and worse than HQ garuda for Blade: Hi.
Hetairoi better than Epona for Blade: Hi but arguably an HQ garuda might be even better, didn't test.

TP wise Epona + Hetairoi proved to be the best option for me, with some attention to STP though, Rajas can still prove nice if those STP+5 push you ahead on an Xhit build, I'm not botherin with Xhit builds on NIN though, for now.


Anybody have more accurate data on this? I just did some short tests with the spreadsheet.

What kind of numbers can Metsu pull? I'm trying to figure out which weapon I want to work towards first, but right now I'm leaning to Kannagi.

Metsu sucks. Stick to blade shun or hi when innin is up. Kamu would be your go to ws today if SE ever decided to give it the damage buff it missed in December 2014.

Shun/Hi are generally better for damage, but Metsu isn't BAD. The main draw is that in addition to being pretty consistent in damage just a bit lower than Shun, it has very nice SC attributes - Darkness and Fusion (which makes Light opening or closing a Fragementation WS, of which there are several useful ones like Last Stand, Jishnu, Mandalic Stab, Ukko's, Dimidiation...) All three WS have a place for Kikoku users.

Now, Kannagi should outperform Kikoku due to ODT aftermath, but Kikoku did get a pretty nice buff and is clearly better than any non-RMEA. Remember that Atk matters more now due to new pDIF changes, so Kikoku's Atk+60 and newly added AM: Atk+10% are pretty substantial.

If you were making one from scratch now, yeah, go for Kannagi. But if you have a Kikoku already and no Kannagi, it's not a bad move to upgrade the Kikoku.

Kannagi is also quite a load more of work compared to how easy/fast you can complete a Kikoku.
Not sure if this is an important factor for anybody, but it's something to consider at least.