Noob @ Ninja & Melee

Hi everyone,

I apologize for the length of the post, if it's too long just don't read it :)


I am not only new to playing NIN but also new to playing melee. I haven't even played XI for the past 2-3 years so I am missing a ***ton of things in general like Rajas Ring, Brutal Earring and other stuff like that. So I don't need anyone to come in here and tell me how shitty or gimp I am, I know this. I'm doing the best I can. When I moved to this server in 2007 my friend and I rushed through things so I didn't do CoP or ZM or ToAU back then. Then I took a break and I missed out on a lot of end game stuff.

Well, I am working on getting my WAR up because I am a lolabyssea NIN right now and hadn't really planned on leeching like that and ended up being all *** backwards. A month ago I didn't even plan on having anything other than my WHM above 50 but I think I really like the idea of being able to efficiently solo or low man stuff coming from a WHM main where I couldn't tie my own shoes without someone helping me.

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me for my NIN not to be uber gimp and I'm going to work on it as I can. I'm also planning on taking DNC up to 42 to help lowman/solo. Pretty much the only thing I want my NIN for eventually is for lowman with friends or to solo.

this is my current gear




I traded in a Mamushito +1 and Kogitsunemaru for the 2 Fudos, I'm not sure if that was a good idea but it seemed like it to me. Obviously I don't have both the boomerang and bomb core equiped at the same time but thats what I got for those options.

before I switched to the lolpink (i hate this ***) gear I had:
Haubergeon/Scorpion Harness
Hanzo Tekko
Fuma Sune-ate
walmart turban

I have a Nifty Mantle (I saw about 300 people talk ***about this so I know now that it's trash, I'll need to save up for a Cerberus Mantle.


Ok so now actual questions: (please keep in mind I'm 100% new to melee type jobs)

1) I do not own a PCC I have friends who let me borrow them @ times but I plan on doing a few runs with the seals I got to try and get it within a week or so. Unless... I should use a Chivalrous Chain or Tiercel Necklace instead? Where does the Iga Erimaki stack up against all of this? Is the 3 less ACC made up for by +7 EVA? My initial thought is yes but I dunno how crucial 3 ACC is so I ask.

2) I have a lot to learn about melee in general with STR, Haste, using ACC for multi-hit WS etc. Anyone know of a guide that kind of breaks ***down like this for me to learn?

I think I know a little, basically haste is going to help when building TP, gear swap to a STR depending on the WS mods, gear swap to ACC+ gear with STR for multi-hit WS like Jin. STR and doing DMG is going to help me keep and build ENM when tanking as NIN.

3) Do people bother with EVA at all? Remember I mostly plan on either doing solo or lowman so I am not trying to hold hate over a ton of DDs. I bought the Corse Cape but hope it wasn't a total waste of money. I planned on also getting the evasion torque and Ninjutsu Torque once I get my Ninjutsu skills up.

4) Should I use any other gear over the pink ***? Should I still try to get O. Kote for WS only? Not sure I'll be able to easily get the B. Kote. Am I better off TPing in Dusk gloves over pink?

5) When do I need to start worrying about Haste/STR/Attack caps etc? I don't even know if they all have caps maybe just some cap out for certain WS? Where can I find this information

6) When it comes to melee for a NIN what's the "most valuable" stat given any slot? Haste always except for WS? STR? Double Attack?

Example: Cure Potency %+ is obviously always most important for WHM.

7) Most of what I know about NIN is from guides I have read that were written back in like 2008, I know a ton of ***changes with new expansions, level caps moving etc. It's difficult to find information on gear above 75 and what old equip has been replaced (other than AF3 which is obvious) I don't want to spend all this time working/money on something like a PCC (just an example) if no one even uses PCC on NIN @ 85.

In addition to not being able to find newer guides and only really finding beginners guides. What's the basic break down for different gear sets? Such as basic: TP with Haste Gear, Cast Ninjustu in Ninjustu/INT gear, WS in STR gear, WS Jin in ACC/STR gear. Do I have those right? Am I way off?

I am working 1st on 1 decent gear set for full time and then can look at picking and choosing pieces for needed gear swaps.

8) Main and Sub. I know Senji/Perdu was the ***for a while. But with Magian trials out I plan on getting some katanas from there.

from what I can tell I got 2 real choices:



or



Is that kind of the ones everyone goes with? Should I just double up on the first one? (my initial thoughts) Should I do 1 of each? Am I better going with the 2nd one?

Unless I am way off base and Blade: Hi is needed if so lemme know.


8a) Can you do 2 of the same weapon at the same time some how? Do you get credit for both weapons with each kill when using DW?


tl;dr I am a noob *** noob *** at melee and NIN and want to get better so people don't need to tell me urdoinitrong

I appreciate any feedback I can get, I really never thought I would be interested in melee since I've always loved mage jobs so much on this server and my old server.

Chiv chain. Brutal earring. Suppa.
Turban/af3 hat. Dusk gloves. Acc ring and Rajas.
Amemet+1/foragers. Haste belt. Af3 legs. Fumas/af3 feet.
Body is ok, but af body is better when you cap acc.

As for solo you cant be wrong with dual Evasion katana

It'll take you time till you get the 2 eva katana done to know if you need a STR katana.

this is what you should be working towards if you want to dd on nin

as for katanas you can have multiple depending on what you are doing

Thanks Kvazz & others

so use my walmart turban with 1% haste > 1% less haste but DEX4 AGI4? (Until I upgrade my NIN head)


Oh wow I didn't know about the Amemet Mantle +1, much cheaper than the foragers/cerb for now, I'll try to get my hands on it. For the belt I was going to lowman Ovni and try to get my hands on a bullwhip belt soon, I got some friends who still need the abyssite anyway.


Ok so I dunno why I thought this but I thought ACC was like Healing Skill is to MND. I just saw how ACC was calculated, I was way off. It seem's ACC is very important I take it as well as Haste is super important while TPing is what I am gathering.

Also if you are going to be in Abyssea alot. Atma of the Razed ruins is a must for ninja.

That was a lot of questions.

You can't do 2 weapons of the same trial at the same time, unfortunatly.

In my opinion having 2 sekka +1 (the eva ones) is a must for a solid eva setup. Which bring me to my other point. There's no reason to have an eva katana in 1 hand and a dd katana in the other (unless you're looking in to some kind of semi eva setup)

At this point I have 6 katana's for my ninja, and I'm still not done.

I'd say make a sekka +1 (str + attack), or Uzura +1 (ws dmg +10%) for main hand, and maybe the kamome or enchu +1 in off hand.

Yes, people bother with EVA. Especiall if you want to solo/low man stuff, having a solid eva setup is nessesary.


only pink you should wear at this point is the pants, and only if you dont have AF3 +1(+2) or byakko. Fuma feets, dusk gloves and walmart turban is way better than the pink stuff. These things dont really cost anything these days. Oh and Af1 body for the 5% DW.

B kote isnt really good ws hands for nin tbh. your pink hands are better ws hands.

If you cant afford cerberus mantle, maybe amemet +1 is in your price range? Or foragers?


I dont think you ever need to worry about attack/str cap when it comes to nin. Haste cap you can start thinking about when you start getting AF 3 +2, pretty much.


Haste > DW > ACC > STR/DEX imo. (unless you are eva tanking ofcourse)


ok, this really didnt come in any order, I hope that answers something for you though.

yep im working on it >< I feel like reading ffxiah.com every single person who plays XI has it, but then in game it seems like there are a ***ton of people who don't have it yet.

Actually mob in abyssea, you need a very solid eva setup because, almost 70%+ of NM have a double attack (or nasty AoE spell/TPmove) that put your shadow off really fast.

dont forget to get evasion merits if you are serious about solo on nin and boxers mantle when you can get your hands on

you will want to use haste and evasion gear when getting shadows back up and switch to appropriate gear afterwards, depending on what you are doing

I'm making a thread similar to this soon, but about MNK lol.

you came back?

I'm no nin or anything, but I think he doesnt have cop done (not 100% sure).The gear set is a bit hardcore lol.

Im agreeing with kvazz, but if you dont have access to brutal/raja you still can go for STR rings and the current earring you have. Also swift belt is pretty easy to get now (since no lvl cap).Amenet +1 is pretty cheap now too.About the pink set (lol we all love it <.<) walahra turban (thill af3) + af1 body or aurore + dusk gloves + aurore brais (thill af3) + fuma (thill af3). I am no nin but its personally what I would do as a nub melee person. I might be wrong plz dont destruck my post >.<

EDIT: Oh right for the katana question, if you plan soloing alot and want to do a bunch of trial I would do 2x eva & 1x str.I personally would just do 1 of each and go with it.There is 2 other nice katana you can get in abyssea too.

Coming back. I'm going to have 3 MMO's on the go simultaneously

that is what he should be aiming for...

I know <.< just saying its hardcore lol

it is the best tp gear that one can get now, unless the new update comes and ruins it again <.<

but yeah I dont expect him to have that gear right away. just letting him/her see what is out there

Very helpful thanks Zanno.


So it sounds like only bother with EVA if I'm going full EVA setup like solo or duo with someone throwing me a cure and some Bio's or something (which I plan on doing a lot of once I'm not super gimp)

EDIT: I just read Nexus post n/m ><

The Ninja Chainmail +1 besides looking awesome is still one of the best bodies out there for us it seems. When I was gone from the game I basically missed a ton of end game things like dynamis, sky, limbus, sea. Kind of sucks I missed it because I feel like an idiot when it comes to knowledge about endgame but it is what it is.. would I need to join an LS just for this or can getting the Plaited Cord & Ebony Lacquer be low-manned now @ 85?

I guess the only thing I'm afraid of is if it's going to take a lot of time I'm betting the AF3 that comes out in the next abyssea expansion will be body and will trump this pretty hard.

nin was able to solo some limbus before the level cap increase and now it should be easier..

Just get some friends that need some af+1 gear or coins and farm limbus

My current TP set (nvm the katanas as I use different ones depending on what I'm doing)



And the current EVA set (I know there's more eva stuff out there, but so far this have worked great for me)



Since you have mage jobs lv (see you only have whm, was hoping for rdm or blm). The seals arent that bad really to get for the AF3 +1, atleast not if you have lots of stones. Was gonna suggest you solo NM's, but that might be a bit hard as whm. You can always try and team up with other people though that needs other seals from same NM's as you. I'm sure you'll be more than welcome as WHM =P

I got full merits on EVA did it when I made the decision to take NIN up. Even when I was just full time WHM I did 2 STR / 3 DEX because I felt like STR and DEX were so much more valuable than 5 MND given my MND gear sets. Should I change this up any or is the 2/3 aight?


As for Brutal/Suppanomimi and Rajas, I definitely know I need them. I think I am going to solo as much of CoP as I can and my LS doesn't mind helping with the fights I need help with so this is doable.

Didn't see it mentioned in here...

Don't neglect shinobi ring. It's really easy to proc in Abyssea with the proper abyssites and will allow you to make more efficient swaps elsewhere. Obviously not always a good idea to use but when you can use it I strongly recommend doing so.

I have started my eva katanas but they are not finished. I currently use Hochomasamune and kamome(both drop from NMs in abyssea).

full str merits. so, might have to change your dex merits to str

I'm no NIN but the general idea for melee is this;

2 phases, which means at least 2 gear sets, TP and WS

TP - You want for the most part Haste and Acc (Dex = .5 acc). Remember to adjust in food when calculating accuracy as it can make a big difference. Other then that haste is your #1 priority (along with Store TP+ but I don't really know how that applies to NIN). After maxing out haste and capping acc you want to go for pieces with STR and attack. What you definitely don't want is pieces with stuff like evasion, AGI, VIT, CHR, etc. which are all next to worthless during this phase.

WS - Obviously this is for Weapon skills. I'm not going to pretend to know NIN ws's but most ws's have unique builds. Multi-hit weapon skills for example generally require more accuracy whereas single hit weapon skills you don't generally need as much accuracy. Each WS is different and will have certain weakness and advantages you'll need to take in to consideration.

You can add other gear sets for certain situations too. For example if you wanted an evasion set, you could make a gear set which maxes out your evasion. Whatever you do, don't make hybrid gear sets! What I mean by this is don't mix your gear sets. If you want an evasion set, don't throw on STR rings because it will help you TP better. If you want a TP set, don't throw in evasion rings or other things which won't help with that particular set. Finally, there isn't always an exact answer when asking about how to build your sets. Everything is situational.

As far as your TP set




Brutal earring might cost a bit of money (I haven't played in a couple of months) but is definitely attainable since COP is pretty much soloable now. As far as Suppa, I'm not so sure. It requires a tough(maybe not anymore?) fight which it might be hard to get people for idk. If not suppa get an earring that haste acc or atk+. Turban definitely is super easy. Chiv chain until you get PCC/PCA. Dusk gloves are super cheap now, get em. Again COP is soloable so go get a Rajas and then throw an Acc ring on the other finger. Amemet +1 for your back is good. Swift belt is pretty easy to obtain now so if you don't have it go get it and whenever you get a better belt you can upgrade. Byakko's Haidate or AF3 legs if you can. Your legs aren't horrible but theres definitely much better, easy to obtain options out there. Fumas or af3 feet.

Maxing DEX isn't the worst idea for NIN tbh. Jin has equal STR and DEX mods, and inside Abyssea you'll be fSTR capped fulltime (outside you should be at least on WS) so the only additional benefit from STR is 2.5 attack which is pretty marginal. Outside Abyssea, the DEX may contribute to critrate~ Just something to keep in mind.

yea I got my legs for WHM+1'd. I had 2 LSs for AF3 seals that kind of fell apart so it kind of sucks. The last one I helped a ton of my friends get leg seals for about 30 runs straight where I didn't get any seals cause I already had my legs done. When we were about to switch zones things kind of fell apart.

I plan on starting an LS for AF3 on my own here in a little bit but want to get my NIN out of a super gimpy state first. First order of the AF3 LS will be to get my DDs Voracious Violet, maybe Stout Arm and get Razed ruins so we won't be playing on hard mode in Abyssea like the first 2 LSs.



Anyway I REALLY appreciate everyone's feedback and input it helps me wrap my head around this new concept of whacking the mob with a weapon :)

he is a taru and might level other dd jobs in the future

no real plan to level a DD to be honest, I'm gimp enough right now on ***I need to fix so my hands are full. (still have old school /BLM for my WHM that I need to fix with /SCH)


lol, the truth is I only even started leveling NIN so I could more easily do my WHM Magian trial with /NIN without help from people. This whole thing kind of side railed all the plans I had. Turned out I can't really kill the High Priests consistently even with /NIN on my WHM unless I use a kclub which I can only borrow from my friend for short periods at a time.

So..... then it turned into: *** I'm tired of being weak *** WHM that can't kill ***, I'll take NIN up and I can actually solo ***without having to always beg for help :)