Hail.

[Kuroku]

I'm a returning player, tried the game about five years ago ((May as well be fresh, since I only got level 26 the first time around. (RL friend rarely wanted to play so the game got boring.)) After careful deliberation (JK, if ninja class available = definitely picking it lol.) I chose to level NIN/WAR after reading about it.

I'm aware that this role is that of a tank. (From what I read) I'm also aware that ninja's can be pricy, and I assume it will be tedious to level as my main job.

Anyone have some tips as to what I should be working on while leveling? (I plan on just taking it slow after/if I am able to do my NIN quest at 30, exploring and learning about the land.) I read somewhere that I need high fame with a certain village/clan or something to buy gear for my ninja? Is there a guide on how to obtain this fame?

[Mirage]

It's not really that pricy. You expend tools with each cast, but the money needed to get these tools isn't hard to earn. Additionally, ninja mains get ninja tools expertise, which occasionally lets you cast spells without expending tools.

Ninja is a tank, but it is also a pretty versatile job. Its survivability is great, so you can succeed in soloing a lot of things with the right subjob and gear. You have access to a decent selection of debuffs to weaken your targets, and you'll be able to easily azure things in abyssea without having to bring a real mage with you.
Azuring is something you do in abyssea to raise a certain temporary value that lets you obtain chests with certain beneficial effects. You'll see when you get there.

The damage output isn't all that bad either, at least not for a non-twohander. Your attack speed will be very high, and your damage over time will be very good on mid and low defence targets, but lag behind compared to two handed weapons on things that are high level with a sizable chunk of defence.

[Kuroku]

Well that sounds like fun. If I'm able to tank, while dealing a moderate amount of damage, that's awesome.

What are some ways to make a little bit of gil while leveling? Do quests yield anything of value? I understand that rushing to max level is obviously the way to make money, but I like to take my time leveling, learning the ins and outs of the combat system.

Another question, when I use a spell/ability, will that reset the timer on my auto attack? I've gone under the assumption that yes, it is resetting my attack delay, so I try to use special abilities as soon as my auto attack lands.

[Mirage]

While leveling, you'll generally target mobs that are a bit below your own level. Because of that, level correction formulas will keep your evasion rate up, so you won't need a lot of tools to help you. Skilling up your ninjutsu skill will take a while though, but this is definitely best to do when you're level 99, because then you have access to nin tool expertise, to save tools, and money won't be as much of an issue anymore. While you level, I'd say you should only bother with Utsusemi, and then only if you bump into decent challenges, or several of them at the same time. Or if you're low on health and don't have a way to heal yourself.

As for the fame requirements, you need a certain level of fame to quest certain ninja scrolls, which are used to teach you the spells which you later need to spend tools to cast. These scrolls can also be bought from other players, but because the game only lets you quest them once per character, they cost a lot. It will take a while, but you only need to do it once, and it is used for a lot of other quests too later in the game.

For an overview, try http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Reputation for the reputation levels in various areas, and http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Quick_Reputation for tips on methods to grind up reputation. Keep in mind that repeatable quests often just gives a little bit reputation per repetition, while non-repeatable quests often give a bit more, but you can't do them as mindlessly as repeatable ones. You might actually risk having to explore the world!

[Arcon]

Another question, when I use a spell/ability, will that reset the timer on my auto attack? I've gone under the assumption that yes, it is resetting my attack delay, so I try to use special abilities as soon as my auto attack lands.

It won't reset it, but it will add a two-second delay to it. That's why it's best to use more abilities at once if you can, to save time, because you can use another ability after one second. You won't be able to attack for another, but you can already use new abilities and spells in that time.

[Mirage]

Maybe it's just the lag fooling me, but in my experience, you can start casting a spell as soon as half a second after a JA.

In either case, I usually make use of this by performing my prestos and steps right before WSing, but that's for dancer, not ninja . Although /dnc is a useful sub for nin when you need to do things alone.

[Kuroku]

I will definitely be leveling DNC after WAR.

[Babekeke]

The fame that you'll need mainly, is for the town of Norg. It can be a bit of a pain to get there initially as you need to get 3 keys together to obtain an airship pass to travel to that continent. The 3 keys are in the beastmen areas near each of the 3 starting towns. See Kazham Airship Pass. You actually need this to unlock the ninja job anyway, so at least you'll know where you're going.

If you're interested, you may find it useful to level woodworking a little so that you can make your own tools for ninja. Shihei is lvl 29 woodworking and is slightly cheaper to craft than buy from the Auction House. Once you reach lvl 60 woodworking you will start to see 'HQ' synths more often (you craft 66 instead of 33) making them even cheaper again.

Oh, you'll obtain items called 'Beastmen's Seals' as you level up. Save them as you'll probably want to do the fight for the scroll of Utsusemi: Ni once you reach level 40. You need 40 for each fight, and the drop rate isn't brilliant I'm afraid.

[Kuroku]

The fame that you'll need mainly, is for the town of Norg. It can be a bit of a pain to get there initially as you need to get 3 keys together to obtain an airship pass to travel to that continent. The 3 keys are in the beastmen areas near each of the 3 starting towns. See Kazham Airship Pass. You actually need this to unlock the ninja job anyway, so at least you'll know where you're going.

If you're interested, you may find it useful to level woodworking a little so that you can make your own tools for ninja. Shihei is lvl 29 woodworking and is slightly cheaper to craft than buy from the Auction House. Once you reach lvl 60 woodworking you will start to see 'HQ' synths more often (you craft 66 instead of 33) making them even cheaper again.

Oh, you'll obtain items called 'Beastmen's Seals' as you level up. Save them as you'll probably want to do the fight for the scroll of Utsusemi: Ni once you reach level 40. You need 40 for each fight, and the drop rate isn't brilliant I'm afraid.

I've finished my ninja starter quest finally! What a fun adventure that was lol. I have some beastmen seals from leveling to 30 as WAR. What is a good way to go about gaining rep with Norg?

[Babekeke]

The info's all here in the thread that Mirage linked to earlier.

You may wish to do some Gobbie Bag quests before you set out to do them too. The more inv space you have the faster you can gain the fame.

And setup a Mog Satchel and buy a Mog Sack.