NIN: Huton spam vs Skill Speed

[Jim_Berry]

*SNIP*

I won't lie; I hardly use Huton. I've been paired with a NIN with Sasuke Zeta, and a combination of Dreadwyrm and Augmented Ironworks. I'm using Shiva Katanas, some Aug Ironworks, no Dreadwyrm, but I'm usually higher on the Hate List than he, even with his Huton spam.

I seem to play NIN better than my BRD, and had no complaints about my damage out, which is another factor in me dropping BRD. I'm still in the process of being 100% confident with NIN (healers need not worry about me as I dodge well), so I'm gathering info.

I would see NINs using Doton on a boss while I'm spamming Raiton (I think it's Raiton, the Thunder). It would make me think I should be using Doton as well. I usually keep Blood for Blood and Internal Release active, but I will admit that if Kassatsu (if I spelled it right) and Blood for Blood are close to being ready (by a second or two), I'll hold them until both are up. At this point, I'd probably do Suiton > Blood for Blood > Trick Attack > Kassatsu > Raiton. Again, I see other vet NINs do different and I need to see what I need to switch up.

[Ricdeau]

You will definitely see more damage by ensuring you keep Huton up. Obviously you don't just use it whenever, but you want to keep that buff active. Having increased attack frequency is going to increase your damage across the board by using more GCDs and having more auto attacks. Others can guide you on whether or not you want to seek anymore Skill Speed, but increased attack speed from a buff is invaluable since it also effects auto attacks which nothing else currently increases.

[Jim_Berry]

At least lets hope he's not really seeing people spam Huton and basically only Huton. As Callinon pointed out if that's happening then those ninjas are doing it very wrong.

Yes, I am correct. In battle, I watch other NINs to see what I should be doing. I see the spam every time, under 30 or so seconds.

[Ricdeau]

Yes, I am correct. In battle, I watch other NINs to see what I should be doing. I see the spam every time, under 30 or so seconds.

Definitely do not do that, or use Doton on a single target as you mention seeing other ninjas doing. However, try to keep Huton up and refresh when it's about to fall off or right as it's falling off. There's a thread called The Ninja Superthread which talks in greater detail about when you should fresh Huton ideally.

[Slappah]

20-24+ seconds on Huton and don't reapply it but once it goes under 20 seconds, ideally under 24 to be exact, you want to re-apply it

[Jim_Berry]

*SNIP*
But the OP said "I see many NINs spam Huton for obvious reasons" which, if what you're saying is true, I'd like to know what the obvious reason are lol.

When asked if there was a reason to keep using Huton rather than other abilities, one NIN told me faster hits I said, "Ohhh... For more damage over time?" He called me "Captain Obvious" lol...

[Songi]

When asked if there was a reason to keep using Huton rather than other abilities, one NIN told me faster hits I said, "Ohhh... For more damage over time?" He called me "Captain Obvious" lol...

Sounds like a someone who totally facerolls while dpsing. Not really the approach you want to take if you plan on playing a melee dps class seriously. Also that Zeta Nin you were outdpsing probably wasn't ensuring his auto-attacks were actually going off. This may be a tad off topic but I can ensure you, losing out of on auto-attacks will absolutely destroy your dps as a melee. Don't let it happen if you can avoid it. Huton makes auto-attack happen more frequently thus making it easier to lose out on them if you're having to move away from the boss for extended periods. Keep facing the boss like your life depended on it and you'll usually top the dps/threat charts in every encounter even with a few botched Mudras here and there.

[AniCelestine]

For NINS using Doton: If you happen to fail your mudra and end up with Doton, it's more dps to use Doton than not using it at all. True, some Ninja's use it always, but some might just had failed and ended up with Doton

[MrCookTM]

20-24+ seconds on Huton and don't reapply it but once it goes under 20 seconds, ideally under 24 to be exact, you want to re-apply it

Why should I reapply Huton when it falls below 24 seconds? If it's at let's say 22 seconds I'm going to use Raiton/TA/whatever, because by the time my mudra is back up, Huton will still have 2 seconds left.

Or maybe I just didn't understand your post correctly?

[SunnyHirose]

Ninja Superthread says 17 seconds, and while I've not seen the math behind this, it would make perfect sense if there is a point where letting Huton drop for a tiny bit to get an extra Raiton/TA is better even if it's not ideal. At 24 seconds, I would not intentionally Huton.