POL News: Ninja Booty!

Looks like NIN is the first job to get adjustments for the July Update. There is a lot coming for them too, two new job abilities and a readjustment for Mijin Gakure to make it not suck so much are in the works. Lets take a closer look at what is coming, what SE has said about them and what it might mean for us. Will NIN become viable for more game events again? Can these JA's balance out the strengths of PLD? What are the additional job adjustments and magic they are going to add?

There are two new abilities for NIN and both are going to be 5 minute abilities with 5 minute recasts on the same recast timer. So you will not be able to use Yonin and Innin at the same time and you won't even be able to overwrite one with the other. Once you use one, you are stuck with it for 5 minutes.

The first ability, Yonin, looks like a straight-up tanking ability. For a reduction in accuracy a NIN will gain increased enmity and enhanced "Ninja tool expertise". It also increases evasion and increased crit hit rate while in front of the target. This is kind of a weird balance of bonuses and negatives. The increases enmity is what end-game tanks are going to really like, but I have to question if it was really what they needed. NIN/DRK is able to pretty easily gain hate like a PLD/NIN but they just can't take the hits that a PLD can when shadows are down. Maybe the increased evasion will help, but I highly doubt it. Evasion against end-game mobs just isn't really viable. What NIN really needs is new way to decrease damage. Apparently, that may be what they are getting though, because the other language versions seem to indicate that the bonus for this is actually decreased enemy crit hit rate. Now that is something worth mentioning. There is a positioning component of this and the other JA that I will cover below.

Innin is the second ability, and it quite the opposite of Yonin. It is a NIN "style" DD ability. It decreases enmity and evasion, but in return it increases accuracy, crit hit rate and ninjutsu damage. This is definitely a decent set of bonuses for NIN. The accuracy helps for NIN which has a harder time reaching the highest levels of accuracy not just for TP build but also for Jin, and it also will help out Jin crit hit damage. I am hesitant to give my credibility to the ninjutsu damage, there is not much strength to it on most things once you get to 75.

Positioning seems to be a rather important issue for both of these abilities. For the secondary bonuses to take effect you have to be in front of the target for Yonin and you have to behind for Innin. I can see the logical reason for this to be the case, but the game play issues make it a little more difficult to understand the reasoning for doing this. Often times hate is shared front to back on mobs and this can hurt Yonin's benefits. And even now NIN is still asked to tank in XP parties and that can make things difficult to use Innin where those bonuses would be most appreciated. Even with these positioning issues, the critical bonuses from these JA's will be available from any position.

Many will say that the Mijin Gakure adjustment has been needed for years, and I can't really disagree. The new adjustment will allow the NIN to be at full strength with 50% health when raised after using Mijin Gakure. This will let people use MG as a hate dump, for real damage and even as a decent sacing tool. It's going to make SE have to update the Nagi mythic, but it's probably going to be beneficial for Nagi users anyway.

In the end, like everything else in the game we are going to have to see how this all plays out in game once we can test the strengths of the benefits. The update is still a couple of weeks away and SE has indicated that this is only the beginning of the job and spell additions.

Here are the complete update notes:

A host of job adjustments and additions are in the pipes for the upcoming version update, including formidable new abilities for ninjas. Other jobs, too, are scheduled to benefit from myriad adjustments to magic and abilities. In this, the first part in the job adjustment series of articles, we cast the spotlight on ninjas, Vana'diel's agents of stealth and deception.

New Job Abilities

Accomplished in both offense and defense, the art of ninjutsu has over the years proven to be a favorite among adventurers across the land. Now, with the addition of the following two new abilities, ninjas can further enhance either their efficiency in offense or aptitude in defense as befits the situation.

- Yonin (Lv.40 Ability Delay: 5 min. Duration: 5 min.)
Increases enmity and enhances "ninja tool expertise" effect, but impairs accuracy. Grants a bonus to evasion and critical hit rate when in front of target.

- Innin (Lv.40 Ability Delay: 5 min. Duration: 5 min.)
Reduces enmity and impairs evasion. Grants a bonus to accuracy, critical hit rate, and ninjutsu damage when striking target from behind.

- Yonin
Strengthens one's ability to fend off blows from the enemy.
While in effect, Yonin increases enmity and enhances the effect of "ninja tool expertise" in exchange for reduced accuracy. Further bonuses are granted to evasion and critical hit rate when engaging your target from the front.
The potency of the above effects gradually decreases over time.

- Innin
Strengthens one's ability to deal damage to the enemy.
While in effect, Innin lowers enmity in exchange for reduced evasion. Further bonuses are granted to accuracy, critical hit rate, and ninjutsu damage when striking your target from behind.
As with Yonin, the potency of the above effects gradually decreases over time.

*Notes
The effects of both Yonin and Innin are mutually exclusive. Activating one while the other is in effect will result in the nullification of the one originally in effect.
Yonin and Innin have a shared ability delay. For example, a ninja who uses Yonin must wait for five minutes to elapse before either ability becomes usable again.

In implementing these new abilities, the development team has taken into consideration character positioning during party play and many other factors. To ensure a smooth gaming experience for all, testing and adjustments will be carried out to the fullest extent that time permits.

Mijin Gakure

Up until now, ninjas who were revived after using the job ability "Mijin Gakure" would find themselves alive and standing, but in a weakened state. The July version update will see self-sacrificing ninjas restored to battle-ready fitness with a generous 50% of HP in the tank.

In light of the above changes, the latent effect granted by the ninja mythic weapon will also be adjusted. In place of the effect whereby users of Mijin Gakure are spared being revived in a weakened state, a special new effect will be introduced that will activate after using Mijin Gakure.

Other magic and job abilities scheduled to be on the receiving end of improvements will be introduced in the very near future, so stay tuned!