The main crux of Final Fantasy XIV’s endgame content is the grind for the best gear. Thankfully, it’s not necessarily a tedious endeavor since you have multiple ways to get most gear and don’t have to answer to as many RNG gods. But with each major patch, the question of which gear pieces are best-in-slot (BiS) changes. Here, we’re going to dive into Ninja BiS and Materia melds so you can get the most out of this wild melee DPS Job.
This guide covers two different types of Ninja BiS setups: one for casual players who do not engage with Savage/Ultimate level content or want to prepare for first-time clears, and one for hardcore players who want true BiS setups through grinding the most difficult content. This way, we can help all types of FFXIV players regardless of their playstyle.
Casual players who just want to clear normal-level content and pass on the super-difficult stuff can still benefit from having the best weapon and armor pieces for their Job. They’ll be more effective (in instances without ILVL sync) and be better prepared for the next wave of content in the upcoming patch.
Additionally, those who are trying to progress in the latest Savage raid tier will get slight improvements from the right gear and stats; this can be the difference between a party wipe from an enrage or clearing just in the nick of time. And if you’re in the process of grinding for true BiS, the pre-Savage BiS will help you get there.
It’s also best to know what exactly to work towards so your time and effort ends up well-spent. Grinding efficiently is always a smart move, and this guide will help you do that. We also include the optimal Materia melds for each gear piece so you can maximize your potential, essentially spec’ing into the right stats.
Before We Start: Ninja Stat Priorities
Before delving into BiS gear, it’s important to understand stat priorities. While there are various gear sets at the highest Item Levels with seemingly similar properties, their specific stats / attributes determine which gear piece is actually best.
Those familiar with endgame gear will know that each gear piece contains specific stats (Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, etc). Note that the dominant stat to worry about is Item Level; higher is always better (and always get the HQ version if it exists). But when dealing with gear at the same Item Level, you will need to look into how each piece distributes Critical Hit, Direct Hit, Determination, and Skill/Spell Speed; these stats will vary between gear pieces and affect your DPS output in different ways.
For Ninja, you will want to prioritize Critical Hit over everything else. The battle for second priority is between Direct Hit (DH) and Determination (Det). As of now, Det has the slight edge over DH; this will matter when melding Materia and picking out true BiS gear. For Ninja, Skill Speed does not matter. Any Ninja should always have Huton active, which makes your GCD 2.12 seconds at base SkS. A faster GCD will mess up oGCD weaving and attack rotation timing.
There’s a lot of math that goes on in the background when it comes to how each stat scales and affects your DPS output; we’ll save you the headache here, though (Note that the way some stats work will change when Patch 6.2 rolls out and we will provide updates as we learn more.)
Best-in-Slot Ninja Gear for Non-Savage
As stated above, we have two reasons to include the Ninja BiS outside of gear rewarded in Savage raids. One, not every FFXIV player is willing to grind out the latest Savage tier raids; as a matter of fact, most players do not engage with that content. Two, there will always be players working their way through the latest Savage tier and want to be best prepared for those challenging battles.
With that in mind, the following is the best gear you can earn for Ninja without having to do Savage raids:
- Main Hand: Augmented Radiant’s Sword Breakers
- Head: Augmented Radiant’s Visor of Scouting
- Body: Augmented Radiant’s Mail of Scouting
- Hands: Augmented Radiant’s Gloves of Scouting
- Legs: Augmented Radiant’s Hose of Scouting
- Feet: Augmented Radiant’s Greaves of Scouting
- Earrings: Augmented Radiant’s Earrings of Aiming
- Neck: Augmented Radiant’s Choker of Aiming
- Wrists: Augmented Radiant’s Bracelet of Aiming
- Ring #1: Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Aiming
- Ring #2: Augmented Classical Ring of Aiming
Basically, this is a full Augmented Radiant gear set. Since these pieces are at Item Level 600 (with the exception of the second Ring), they’re the best you can earn by grinding out normal content. If you’re not already familiar with the process of getting Augmented Radiant gear, we outline it in detail with our FFXIV endgame gear guide. But here, we’ll give you the quick version of it.
How to Get Augmented Radiant Gear
First, you need to get the standard Radiant gear, which you purchase with Tomestones of Astronomy. This is the endgame currency you earn fastest by completing daily roulettes and the level 90 dungeons. You can only earn 450 Tomestones of Astronomy per week, however. (This cap resets every Tuesday.) You’ll then purchase Radiant gear from Cihanti in Radz-at-Han (X: 10.8, Y:10.3).
Next, you need to get the materials necessary to upgrade normal Radiant gear to Augmented Radiant gear; Radiant Twine, Radiant Coating, and Radiant Roborant. While these can be obtained from the different Asphodelos Savage instances, the easiest way to get them is with Aglaia Coins. You earn one (1) Aglaia Coin for clearing the latest 24-player alliance raid, Aglaia. (Unfortunately, you can only earn one per week.) Exchange Aglaia Coins with Nesvaaz in Radz-at-Han (X: 10.6, Y: 10.0) for the Radiant materials you need to upgrade your Radiant gear. Then go to Khaldeen in Radz-at-Han (X: 10.6, Y: 10.0) when you have the gear piece and material to upgrade for your Augmented Radiant gear piece.
For your Augmented Radiant weapon, you will also need one (1) Discal Tomestone in addition to Radiant Roborant. To get it, you will need four (4) Unsung Blades of Asphodelos, which is a guaranteed drop from clearing the normal version of Asphodelos: The Fourth Circle.
Lastly, to get an Augmented Classical Ring, you need to talk to Rashti in Radz-at-Han (X: 10.8, Y: 9.9) — she offers the materials necessary and sells the Augmented Classical gear pieces. The two materials you need are Crucible Rain and Hannish Certificate of Grade 1 Import. You can acquire one (1) Crucible Rain for the price of 100 Tomestones of Aphorism each. You get Hannish Certificates by trading in standard Classical gear (ILVL 580). The Augmented Classical Ring costs seven (7) Hannish Certificates and two (2) Crucible Rain.
Best-in-Slot Ninja Materia Melds (Non-Savage)
The next step after obtaining the best gear possible is to meld the right Materia to maximize your effectiveness. After all, having BiS gear without the best melds is futile. If you understand how gear stats and Materia melding works, then it’s a fairly simple endeavor. Just fill the gaps in your gear’s stats with the corresponding Materia. If there’s room to improve Crit, do that. If Crit is maxed, meld for Det, then DH.
- Main Hand: Augmented Radiant’s Sword Breakers
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Head: Augmented Radiant’s Visor of Scouting
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Body: Augmented Radiant’s Mail of Scouting
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Hands: Augmented Radiant’s Gloves of Scouting
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Legs: Augmented Radiant’s Hose of Scouting
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Feet: Augmented Radiant’s Greaves of Scouting
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Earrings: Augmented Radiant’s Earrings of Aiming
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Neck: Augmented Radiant’s Choker of Aiming
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Heavens’ Eye Materia X (+36 Direct Hit)
- Wrists: Augmented Radiant’s Bracelet of Aiming
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Heavens’ Eye Materia X (+36 Direct Hit)
- Ring #1: Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Aiming
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Ring #2: Augmented Classical Ring of Aiming
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Heavens’ Eye Materia X (+36 Direct Hit)
How to Get Materia
The challenging part is actually getting Materia X pieces. The easiest way to do this is by earning Cracked Anthroclusters from doing your daily Leveling and/or Alliance Raid Roulette with a level 90 character, then trading them in for whichever Materia you want. There are several Materia vendor NPCs across all major city-states in FFXIV, such as Khuzhal in Radz-at-Han (X: 11.4 Y: 8.6) or Auacyn in Old Sharlayan (X: 12.7 Y: 10.1). You can also purchase Materia X with Sacks of Nuts you get from Hunts, Faux Leaves and Khloe’s Silver Certificates of Commendation, or Arkasodara Pana you earn from Arkasodara Tribe Quests.
Best-in Slot Ninja Gear for True BiS
When it comes to true BiS for Ninja, you’ll have to start mixing in Asphodelos gear pieces you earn from various stages of the Asphodelos Savage raids. The big upgrade is in your weapon. Currently, the only Item Level 605 gear pieces are the Asphodelos and Ultimate Heavens weapons. Either way, the BiS weapon should be your first priority since it’ll yield the biggest benefit.
While they’re still Item Level 600 gear pieces, Asphodelos gear substats differ from their Augmented Radiant counterparts. Essentially, the Asphodelos pieces we substitute into this gear set are ones that prioritize Critical Hit, letting you maximize your Crit potential.
The following is the current Ninja BiS as of FFXIV Patch 6.18:
- Main Hand: Asphodelos Daggers / Ultimate Daggers of the Heavens
- Head: Augmented Radiant’s Visor of Scouting
- Body: Asphodelos Himation of Scouting
- Hands: Asphodelos Gloves of Scouting
- Legs: Asphodelos Hose of Scouting
- Feet: Augmented Radiant’s Greaves of Scouting
- Earrings: Asphodelos Earrings of Aiming
- Neck: Augmented Radiant’s Choker of Aiming
- Wrists: Augmented Radiant’s Bracelet of Aiming
- Ring #1: Asphodelos Ring of Aiming
- Ring #2: Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Aiming
We already went over how to obtain Augmented Radiant gear above, so please refer to the previous BiS section if you need the details.
How to Get Asphodelos Gear
While there are a few ways to get your Asphodelos weapon, they all revolve around clearing Asphodelos: The Fourth Circle (Savage). Individual weapons and a Weapon Coffer will drop upon clearing the raid. You either need to hope your specific Job’s weapon is in the loot pool or win the roll for the Weapon Coffer; you should sort this out with your raid party.
You can also get an Asphodelos weapon by trading in eight (8) Asphodelos Mythos IV tokens to Djole in Radz-at-Han (X: 10.3, Y: 9.6) for the weapon you want. These tokens are guaranteed drops from clearing The Fourth Circle (Savage). You may also have leftover Mythos IV tokens from previous clears, which can make the process easier.
To get an Ultimate Heavens weapon, you need to clear Dragonsong’s Reprise (Ultimate). It’s one of the best pieces of content so far but it is extremely difficult and time consuming, so good luck. Upon completion, you’ll get one (1) Dragonsong Token which you can turn in to Nesvaaz in Radz-at-Han (X: 10.6, Y: 10.0).
The rest of the Ninja BiS gear are the Asphodelos Himation (body), Gloves (hands), Hose (legs), Earrings, and Ring. They are obtained from coffers dropped in the loot pool upon clearing various Asphodelos Savage raids or with different tokens. Below is an outline of how to get each gear piece.
- Asphodelos Himation: Coffer in loot from The Fourth Circle (Savage) or purchased with eight (8) Asphodelos Mythos IV
- Asphodelos Gloves: Coffer in loot from The Second/Third Circle (Savage) or purchased with six (6) Asphodelos Mythos II
- Asphodelos Hose: Coffer in loot from The Third Circle (Savage) or purchased with eight (8) Asphodelos Mythos III
- Asphodelos Earrings and/or Ring: Coffer in loot from The First Circle (Savage) or purchased with four (4) Asphodelos Mythos I
If you need further details, please refer to our FFXIV endgame gear guide.
Best-in-Slot Ninja Materia Melds
Again, having the best gear won’t mean much if you don’t meld the right Materia. Since most of the Ninja BiS gear already reaches the maximum for Critical Hit stat, you’ll want to swoop up more Det-based Materia.
The total Materia count ends up being: 13 Savage Might Materia X (Det), 7 Savage Aim Materia X (Crit), 2 Heavens’ Eye Materia X (DH). Below is an outline of how to configure your Materia.
- Main Hand: Asphodelos Daggers / Ultimate Daggers of the Heavens
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Head: Augmented Radiant’s Visor of Scouting
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Body: Asphodelos Himation of Scouting
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Hands: Asphodelos Gloves of Scouting
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Legs: Asphodelos Hose of Scouting
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Feet: Augmented Radiant’s Greaves of Scouting
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Earrings: Asphodelos Earrings of Aiming
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Neck: Augmented Radiant’s Choker of Aiming
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Heavens’ Eye Materia X (+36 Direct Hit)
- Wrists: Augmented Radiant’s Bracelet of Aiming
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Heavens’ Eye Materia X (+36 Direct Hit)
- Ring #1: Asphodelos Ring of Aiming
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Savage Might Materia X (+36 Determination)
- Ring #2: Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Aiming
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
- Savage Aim Materia X (+36 Critical Hit)
We have pointers on how to farm Materia above, please refer to the previous section on Materia for Ninja BiS gear.
