Fans of melee DPS jobs in Final Fantasy XIV have long lamented attacks, mechanics, and strategies that force them away from their target and leave them unable to inflict damage. A well-prepared Ninja, however, is able to continue their assault from a distance, excelling in situations no other melee job can.
Shedding its reputation from the Stormblood expansion as a low-damage master of party utilities, Ninja’s rework in Shadowbringers sees it now competing for the top of the DPS charts while still providing job-defining offensive support.
While Ninja’s core rotation is simple and easy for beginners to pick up, it still retains a high skill ceiling thanks to its unique systems and mechanics. Experts eager for opportunities to optimize their damage and express their skill will feel right at home. Whether you’re just starting out, or ready to take your Ninja game to the next level, this guide will take you through the level 90 rotation and provide some tips and tricks to improve.
For an overview of Ninja before hitting level 90, check out the full Ninja job guide linked below.
The basics of the Ninja job
The core of Ninja’s rotation alternates between a filler phase and powerful burst windows to pump out damage. While managing multiple job gauges and cooldowns at the same time may sound daunting, Ninja’s rotation is simplified from having only a single melee combo with two possible finishers.
Contrasting their simple melee combo, Ninja’s arsenal contains three Mudra which can be combined in different sequences to activate nine distinct Ninjutsu, powerful GCD abilities that encompass their hardest-hitting attacks, as well as a powerful attack speed buff. Achieving Ninja fluency will require learning these Mudra sequences and understanding which situations call for which Ninjutsu.
While the cooldown-reliant nature of Ninja’s burst windows may make the rotation feel rigid considering downtime, the short cooldown and two charges of Mudra provide Ninja enthusiasts ample opportunity for optimization. Experts keen on planning out their Ninjutsu ahead of time will find themselves squeezing out extra Ninjutsu casts and turning an apparent weakness into a unique strength.
Mudra and Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu is the defining ability of the Ninja, evolving into one of nine different abilities based on the sequence of Mudra used. Mudra’s 20 second cooldown means three Ninjutsu can be used every minute, and its two charges allow the timing of Ninjutsu casts to be held for burst windows without drifting their cooldown. Abilities like Kassatsu and Ten Chi Jin grant additional opportunities to use Ninjutsu, further boosting your damage during buffs. As the potency of Ninjutsu abilities are significantly higher than Ninja’s other attacks, learning your Mudra sequences is essential to playing the job well.
The three free Ninjutsu casts granted by Ten Chi Jin activate automatically with each Mudra used. The two main Mudra sequences for Ten Chi Jin are Ten → Chi → Jin (Fuma Shuriken, Raiton, Suiton) for single target situations, or Jin → Ten → Chi (Fuma Shuriken, Katon, Doton) for AoE situations.
Ninjutsu | Mudra Sequence | Use |
|---|---|---|
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| Light single-target damage, do not use outside of Ten Chi Jin. |
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or
| Go-to Ninjutsu for single-target damage. Grants access to Forked Raiju or Fleeting Raiju for further single target damage on use. |
 |
or
| Go-to Ninjutsu for AoE damage when fighting three or more targets. |
 |
or
| Upgraded version of Katon. |
 |
or
| Light single-target damage and bind, do not use unless paired with Kassatsu. |
 |
or
| Upgraded version of Hyoton, most damaging single-target ability the Ninja has. |
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or
| Medium-potency single-target damage and grants the Suiton buff, allowing Trick Attack and Meisui to be used. |
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or
| An AoE DoT puddle placed on the ground under you. Use when fighting three or more targets. |
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or
| Applies a 60 second buff that speeds up your GCD and auto-attacks by 15%. Keep this active at all times. |
 | Any unlisted combination
| Dunce cap. Punishment for messing up your Mudra. |
or 
or 
+Ninja Rotation
In addition to your Mudra and Ninjutsu, the Ninja rotation will have you managing a variety of different resources, including your Huton, a buff increasing the speed of your GCD and auto-attacks by 15%, your Ninki, a gauge used to activate a variety of attacks and buffs, and a plethora of critical cooldowns. Among these cooldowns are Trick Attack, which buffs your own damage, and Mug, which buffs the entire party’s damage to a target. Understanding how to manage these resources to correctly set up your burst windows is critical to playing Ninja effectively.
Filler Phase
While Ninja’s major abilities are waiting to come off cooldown, they’ll utilize their melee combo, finishing with Armor Crush to extend Huton when it has less than 30 seconds remaining, or Aeolian Crush to deal extra damage while Huton’s duration is healthy. Both of these have positional requirements, so be sure to keep track of where you are when using them.
During the execution of the filler phase, mind the cooldowns of your key abilities. One of these abilities is Bunshin, a 90-second cooldown buffing the potency of your next five weaponskills, and enabling one use of Phantom Kamaitachi for the next 45 seconds. As Bunshin costs 50 Ninki to cast, careful attention should be paid to ensure enough Ninki will be available to cast Bunshin as soon as it comes off cooldown. Like your Mudra and Ninki, the Phantom Kamaitachi granted by Bunshin should be saved for burst windows wherever possible.
Besides Bunshin, the cooldowns of Trick Attack and Mudra should also be tracked carefully, as they signify the end of the filler phase and the transition into the burst window. When Trick Attack’s cooldown reaches 20 seconds or less, Suiton should be used to ensure Trick Attack is available off-cooldown.
Odd-Minute Burst Window
The odd-minute burst window begins once your odd-minute Trick Attack is cast (one minute, three minutes, etc.). This burst window is defined by the absence of the raid-wide damage buff, Mug. The primary goal of the this window is to fit the following abilities inside Trick Attack, in order of importance:
- 1 Hyosho Ranryu (Kassatsu + Ten → Jin or Chi → Jin)
- 2 Raiton
- 2 Forked Raiju or Fleeting Raiju
- 1 Dream Within a Dream
- 1 to 2 Bhavacakra
- 1 Phantom Kamaitachi, if available
Using all these abilities should only take about 11-13 seconds out of the 15-second duration of Trick Attack, giving some flexibility in the order of execution.
Even-Minute Burst Window
The even-minute burst window begins when Mug is cast, and is defined by the presence of all major cooldowns, including Trick Attack, Kassatsu, Ten Chi Jin, and Meisui. To fit all these attacks in the 15-second duration of Trick Attack, the order and execution of abilities is stricter than the odd-minute burst window and should look something like this:
- Mug
- Bunshin
- Phantom Kamaitachi
- Trick Attack
- Hyosho Ranryu
- Dream Within a Dream
- Raiton
- Ten Chi Jin
- Fuma Shuriken
- Raiton
- Suiton
- Meisui
- Raiton
- Forked Raiju
- Bhavacakra
- Forked Raiju
- Bhavacakra
- Forked Raiju
Ninja opener
Ninja’s opener is nearly identical to their even-minute burst phase, since both have all major abilities available to use. While variations such as using Trick Attack after Aeolian Edge exist, the following opener simplifies execution without significantly sacrificing damage and is recommended as a one-size-fits-all solution.
- Pre-fight Huton (eight seconds before pulling)
- Hide
- Pre-fight Ten → Chi → Jin (six seconds before pulling)
- Suiton (one second before pulling, just before your Mudra buff falls off)
- Kassatsu
- Spinning Edge
- Gust Slash
- Mug
- Bunshin
- Phantom Kamaitachi
- Trick Attack
- Aeolian Edge
- Dream Within a Dream
- Hyosho Ranryu
- Raiton
- Ten Chi Jin
- Fuma Shuriken (Ten)
- Raiton (Chi)
- Suiton (Jin)
- Meisui
- Forked Raiju or Fleeting Raiju
- Bhavacakra
- Forked Raiju or Fleeting Raiju
- Bhavacakra
- Forked Raiju
After the opener, players should proceed to the filler phase, using their melee combo to deal damage and refresh Huton while minding their Trick Attack and Mudra cooldowns. As Trick Attack can only be cast while Hidden or under the effects of Suiton, one of your three Ninjutsu used every minute will be dedicated to using Suiton to set up Trick Attack, while the remaining two will be cast inside Trick Attack itself.
Managing the Huton and Ninki Gauges
The Huton gauge is the first of Ninja’s unique job resources, tracking the duration of the Huton buff. As a major contributor to their damage, an eye will need to be kept on this gauge to ensure it is refreshed before the buff expires. This can be achieved in a couple ways:
- Armor Crush: Your go-to option for refreshing Huton. A combo finisher that extends Huton by 30 seconds when executed.
- Huraijin: A low-potency weaponskill granting the Huton buff. Due to its low potency, this option should be reserved for emergencies, such as accidentally letting Huton expire.
- Huton: A Ninjutsu granting the Huton buff. As this option consumes a Mudra charge, it should be reserved for experts who have mapped out their cooldowns for a specific fight.
The Ninki gauge is Ninja’s second job gauge, passively generating with each successful weaponskill, as well as major cooldowns like Mug, and Meisui. 50 Ninki is spent to activate a variety of oGCD abilities:
- Hellfrog Medium: An AoE Ninki spender with no cooldown. Use when fighting four or more targets (or five or more targets with the Meisui buff).
- Bhavacakra: A single-target Ninki spender with no cooldown. Use when fighting three or fewer targets (or four or fewer targets with the Meisui buff).
- Bunshin: A Ninki spender on a 90-second cooldown increasing the potency of your next 5 weaponskills and granting one use of Phantom Kamaitachi for 45 seconds.
Ninja tips
- Both Phantom Kamaitachi and Ninjutsu can be used to continue attacking targets in situations where you are forced out of melee range due to AoEs or other mechanics. However, be careful when using Ninjutsu this way to avoid delaying Trick Attack.
- Shukuchi is incredibly versatile thanks to its ground-targeted nature and cooldown-resetting trait. Don’t be afraid to use it in situations where precise positioning is required, such as tight AoE dodges or mechanics.
- Pay attention to your Mudra cooldown and charges during periods of downtime. If they ever reach full, consider where an extra Ninjutsu could be used next time to prevent it from overcapping during this idle period.
