Returning Player trying to improve NIN

So returning player might be a little harsh, I never actually stopped playing, I just haven't had much time to play as of late, but I will in the near future, and I really want to hammer out NIN as a dps class.

I know the rotation, the openers, and what is expected of a NIN in a party. I've played this game plenty. But I want to know what other NIN's do to push their ability to the next level.

Disclaimer: I am an all content save for the latest savage player, so I have not yet played the newest savage Midas.

Specifically: 1- How do you treat AOE situations? Keep going single target? Drop dots on multiple targets? Anything fancier than Katon - Kassastu - Doton?

2- Is it really bad in using Duality on Armor Crush rather than Aeolian Edge if your Huton is low when Duality comes off cooldown?

3- What can a NIN do specifically to speed up dungeon runs in terms of killing speed with adds?

4- What other masteries of the job have you come across you'd like to share?

First and foremost, welcome back! Like yourself, I'm also a Ninja enthusiast and look forward to improve my own performance day by day. So here goes my personal input in the points you mentioned:

1 - Doton is a DPS gain as long the number of targets are 3 or more and they get the full damage timer from it, if not, then Raiton is the better alternative (or Suiton > TA if it's a troublesome target and the boss is nowhere close). The best AOE rotation imo would be:

Katon > (Kassatsu) > Doton > Death Blossom > (Blood for Blood) > DB > (Internal Releases) > DB... then weave OGCD's in between DB's and don't forget to refresh Huton with Armor Crush.

2 - I don't think it's worth it to wait if your Huton timer is below 10s and "Duality" is up or nearly up. It's a very negligible potency loss and Duality is usually synced with "Dream within a Dream" and "Mug" in terms of cooldown and usage so it's nice to have them all lined up for the next burst combo.

3 - As the melee DPS with arguably the poorest AOE capabilities out of the 3 melees, we should focus on what we do best, and that is single target burst but like I said in the previous point, use the AOE rotation if the encounter asks for that, it will always be better than single target damage and will speed up the encounter from your part.

4. Use your utility as best as you can, Ninja has a lot of interesting and powerful tools like Shadewalker and Smoke Screen, although they are more situational and cattered towards end game challenges, it's always good to use them in more casual content like roulettes to create the habit of using them and that will strike you as a proficient Ninja in the eyes of your groupies. :cool:

Slashing debuff appliance is our job if a WAR is (very rarely) missing, you'll buff your own damage aswell as the Tank(s), so that's another important 'utility' in our set.

1- How do you treat AOE situations? Keep going single target? Drop dots on multiple targets? Anything fancier than Katon - Kassastu - Doton?
For AoE, I personally rely on Doton if we're camped, otherwise, I'm spamming Katon due to the tank constantly moving the mobs off the Doton puddle. If there's three or so mobs, I Mutilate and Shadowfang each mob, then work my or each mob individually.

2- Is it really bad in using Duality on Armor Crush rather than Aeolian Edge if your Huton is low when Duality comes off cooldown?
There's no rule to say that you CAN'T use Duality on Armor Crush, but I'm against it unless I popped Duality after realizing Huton is under 5 seconds. You won't get 60 seconds of Huton, though; only a harder-hitting Armor Crush, and that's IF you did it from the mob's side.

3- What can a NIN do specifically to speed up dungeon runs in terms of killing speed with adds?
Refer to my comment for Number 1. I use that just like I do it on my BRD. On BRD, I use both "Bites" on each mob, then apply Iron Jaws to each mob, then begin burning down the mobs. So for NIN, again, see my comment for Number 1.

4- What other masteries of the job have you come across you'd like to share?
I'm NIN main, but am no master. My NIN doesn't even parse high, but she's definitely not a handicap within a group. To be honest, I'm considering moving away from NIN, as she causes fatigue. I'm pressing my buttons harder and faster with the mentality that I will push more dps that way; it wears me out eventually. If I miss the chance to reapply Armor Crush because I'm trying to push damage, I just lost damage, because I'm now attacking slow, and that Mudra could have been used for Raiton or Suiton instead of Huton. Also, I play solo. People I know all play with their groups, so I have to rely on Duty Finder. With that, I'm not able to enter content at a decent rate since DPS queues are long. I'm slow transitioning over to be a tank main, notably DRK.