The Sealed Dagger: A Ninja Guide

Fudo is recast, Kikoku is casting.

Edit: beat by Nariont it seems.

The casting time is a non issue for ninja. Capped JP gives 20 already, and it should be very easy to make up that 60%. Also, both San and Ni cast very quickly on their own, so it hardly gets interrupted unless you're unlucky. I Was more concerned about being able to string together successive shadows without getting hit, as the San downtime hurts a little when you've got 4 monsters stripping shadows in two rounds. Fudo did an amazing job, better than I realized

I misread \(' -')/

Am I the only one that still uses Ichi?

The strength of su5 path c is the recast time but not because you need it to cap recast times, nin can already do that you just need to be hasted with 72 fast cast gear in midcast the recast on su5 c makes it so you only need 22 fc so you can stack far more enmity or if the situation calls for it use a sird set. Fast cast differs from casting time reduction in that it also lowers recast times when worn in the midcast and nin gets a lot of casting time reduction so you actually need more fast cast in midcast than precast most of the time without su5 path c.

There were also comparisons between path b and the mythic because they both provide forms of multi attack but they are very different. Follow up attacks stack with other forms of multi attack so path b is still great when you use kenda while mythic doesnt stack so they get much less out of multi attack gear. Also going from 50 to 75 subtle blow is huge especially solo or low man and the huge attack boost of su5 is very helpful.

I see path a and b both as viable dps options, Path a usually slightly higher max dps but b has greatly reduced tp feed. Path c is what you use if you want to tank for groups. The price tag is actually less than most rema options especially if you can augment for free in dynamis and if you plan to r15 your remas. I personally have su5 b and c and the aeonic and they all get decent amount of use, its just hard to come nin over my rdm or drg unless the fight really just calls for a nin which isn't all that often.

I remember calculating path B vs mythic for RDM with 33%+ Triple Attack and AM3 and 50% follow up attack were about even at that point. I dont think NIN can actually beat that multi-attack rate of RDM, especially that there is no point to actually gimp AM3 that much with 5/5 Kenda when you can also use few Malignance pieces, which has even better defensive values. Also Follow up attack doesnt proc on WS, while AM3 does. Attack in low man is also kinda controversial as advantage of Su5, because if you are attack starved Kamu with Mythic will offer way more, than any other WS with path B by far, so practical advantage in low attack scenario is on Mythic side here. The biggest and ONLY real advantage of path B is 25%SBII imo. That being said, that SBII alone can still be a factor to actually use path B over mythic or any other Katana.

If we're talking about situations where you're THAT starved, I think Kannagi is gonna win. In those scenarios Empy AM3 makes quite a big difference, at least judging from the spreadsheet.
Well I guess in this scenario Fudo Masamune Path A should have a similar spot.
After all what is Path A if not a weaker version of Empyrean Aftermath, that doesn't require you to activate and mantain an AM up?
Of course Path A has other advantages (more Acc/Racc, more base damage, better delay, and an awesome STP+25)


To a certain extent we could say the same thing on Path B with Mythic.
What is Path B follow up attack if not a "weaker" version of Mythic AM3 that doesn't require you to activate and mantain an aftermath?




I think Fudo has potential as a weapon, but is ultimately limited by the fact that NIN as a job has serious issues at the moment, period.
Fudo C is fantastic for tanking, but tanking on NIN is more of a challenge for bored players who want to express the full potential of NIN, rather than something very efficient over the other options for the same role that the game currently offers.

Path B is fantastic for capping Subtle Blow, but why should you do that when you can just invite a MNK or many other jobs who can do the same while also bringing more cool stuff that NIN doesn't bring and, most than everything, bring way more DPS?

Path A is a mini-kannagi of sorts, we could call it an alternative version of Kannagi with similar logic/effects but different pros/cons. You pay 100m and have the full weapon whereas for Kannagi you have to spend days/weeks/months doing trials and getting the mats to upgrade it.



So yeah, I stand by my point that Fudo Masamune is not bad at all in general, but cannot express its full potential because NIN has other, generic issues as a job. The things Fudo Masamune offer do not change this sadly, aside from a couple of very nichey situations.

Aaaaaaand... KANNAGI DONE!
Capuchin are you proud of me yet?!


Well not really "done", I need to R15 it pffff, but just gimme a lil more time :-P

I really should just make an R15 a nagi to complete my set...

No, it's about the principle of the matter.

Just for the lols.

Kannagi Rank 10!
Now that I think about it, pretty ironic I went Rank10 on my lolKannagi which I'm never gonna use, when my Heishi Shorinken is still R1 lmao

Someone stop me!

You've gone this far, no one can help you. :D

Kannagi should be very useful for next months Ambuscade. Ninja's best weapon.

What is next ambu?

Qutrub

Metsu?

Well yeah, reason why I sped up the process of completing Kannagi.

Altough I wonder how things are gonna be now that other jobs have been buffed so much since the last time this ambu was around, whereas NIN is pretty much still the same, other than some new gear here and there.

Most of those buffs were to weapon skill output. I wouldn't imagine the hierarchy changing too much.

I dunno, I figure for instance a MNK with Verethragna R15 would do pretty *** well in this fight, with its huge white damage.
When everyone hits for 99k on WS, that white damage surely is gonna make a big difference.

Going with MNKs the complex thing would be bouncing hate, of course you need the Qutrub to bounce between multiple targets in a sorta even way, if it stays on the same target (and it's not a NIN) no way you're gonna keep up with the shadows, and you will end up dying from the Endeath.



Aaaah, dunno, but pretty curious to see how things turn out. Loved being on NIN last time this was around.

then just go nin?

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssssss! Congratulations! In my eyes, Kannagi will always be Best GirlKatana.

Nagi is picking up steam though, I *thought* I'd just make it to collect em all as sort of a joke, but I actually like that little sickle more than I expected! Langly, you know what you must do (Logical if you're reading this, I'm looking at you too)! It's NAGI TIME.

NAGI BABY!

Nagi time is best time.

This is months late but I switched over to To > Teki > Shun to wrap up the last 100~ job points for NIN and my god I wish I had done that sooner. A decent set with frailty/fury from a 900geo alt and To hits like a god damn truck.

Heishi/Gokotai


sets.precast.WS['Blade: To'] =
{
ammo={ name="Seeth. Bomblet +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
head={ name="Mochi. Hatsuburi +3", augments={'Enhances "Yonin" and "Innin" effect',}},
body="Gyve Doublet",
hands={ name="Herculean Gloves", augments={'STR+7','CHR+7','Weapon skill damage +8%','Mag. Acc.+13 "Mag.Atk.Bns."+13',}},
legs={ name="Mochi. Hakama +3", augments={'Enhances "Mijin Gakure" effect',}},
feet="Hachiya Kyahan +2",
neck="Fotia Gorget",
waist="Fotia Belt",
left_ear="Friomisi Earring",
right_ear={ name="Moonshade Earring", augments={'Accuracy+4','TP Bonus +250',}},
left_ring="Epona's Ring",
right_ring="Gere Ring",
back={ name="Andartia's Mantle", augments={'STR+20','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Weapon skill damage +10%',}},
}

Was hitting 50k+ consistently and spikes into the 90k's on Poxhounds in Inner Rakaz/crabs pugils in Dho.

V. important update and unfortunately it's bad news:

got Pamama Peel from moogle sacoche- it doesn't have a skin, I was hopping I could stylelock and daken throw banana peels :(

also obviously doesn't work w/normal daken, but had to try because that would've fun daken throwing for tp w/delay @ 800.

As a diehard lockstyler, that is terrible news.

Ehh i use metsu its ok i find heishi / bonus better in most situations

B-BUT METSU BESTU!

The joke is old but I have not found one scenario where Metsu is better than Shun, comparing both at R15. I use all offhand combinations and buff scenarios, so I'm trying to be fair. The damage is just okay, it falls behind aeonic by a lot, if we're counting the radiance damage from Shun.

It's a bit of a stretch, but Metsu sometimes has a bit of an edge in ease of SCs due to its nice Darkness/Fragmentation properties. Depending on your party setup and other WS being used, you could run into cases where Metsu will open or close light OR darkness. So, if you're in a single party with a few DD just WSing freely, Metsu can make it fairly easy to just sneak some extra light/darkness in there. That being said, there's a good chance you could put together a better SC if you're making a concerted effort for the party to be disciplined about using a specific multi-step SC.

Metsu is also likely a NIN's best DPS WS option if they only have Kikoku or non-RMEA katanas available (I'll conveniently ignore Naegling/Savage likely being a better option though). But yeah, as arguably the easiest/cheapest RMEA to obtain (depending on how much trouble Aeonics are for you), it does make for a viable endgame weapon. Metsu is a better raw damage WS than anything else while using a Kikoku, better than Gokotai/Ku, better than other non-RMEAs using Hi or Shun.

Although we've lovingly adopted the slogan for the forum, Metsu is generally not bestu for raw WS damage if you have access to other RMEAs:

Heishi - Shun, Ten, Hybrids should all beat Kikoku/Metsu
Kannagi - Hi
Nagi - Kamu, Shun, or Ten (particularly with TP Bonus offhand)
Fudo Masamune - I suspect Fudo/Shun beats Kikoku/Metsu
Naegling - Savage Blade

But yeah Kikoku needs something more. Even giving the AM a Subtle Blow II effect would be something. Hoping we get some legit relic WS buffs in the coming year though.

You mean overall DPS?
Pretty possible for both Path A and B.
If you're talking about WS damage though I'm not so sure about it.

It is true though that they're comparable at low buffs in one aspect.
Kikoku gives a fixed +att bonus, but so does Fudo provided you manage to mantain your shadows up.

While it would certainly be nice if the (probably gonna happen, though they've not said anything) "dark relics" were "+1s" for the base relics...
And thusly allowing for a Kikoku buff like changing the AM... since they prefer to force an upgrade instead of just adjusting the current... *coughApocalypsecough*

I'm more inclined to expect that they'll be alternate versions given to us instead of unlocking Relic WSs. (Though without that +40%~68% damage boost... most of them kinda suck stand alone compared to the other "big guns" WSs.)
And likely that the gun, greatsword, dagger, sword, H2H, and club will have the ToAU, WotG, and SoA jobs on them.

At least that's what I'm suspecting... which can also open up the possibility that the "dark" versions full on dunk on the originals... all depends on if they're "121" (which I think would be likely) and how much they resemble their originals... or how much they resemble what we wish the originals looked like.