Learning How To Be A Ninja

[Darkstride]

Here are some basics...

1. Keep Huton active at all times. Once you have Armor Crush, you no longer need to refresh it consistently with Ninjutsu

2. Keep your Slashing Debuff active at all times. Warrior is your friend here, as they can do this for you so that you can use Aeolian Edge for higher potency.

3. Shadow Fang and Mutilate should be maintained. Shadow Fang takes priority.

4. Hit your positionals. If an ability has a positional requirement, you need to hit it or you lose a large chunk of damage. Aeolian Edge needs to hit the back of an enemy, while Armor Crush needs to hit the flank. If you are unable to hit either of these positionals, then use Dancing Edge as it has the highest basic combo potency.

5. Weave Mug and Jugulate in between your weapon skills as often as they are available for the added DPS. There are very few instances where you'll need to save Jugulate for a Silence or Stun.

6. Use Shukuchi. For some reason people don't like to use it, but it's an incredible mobility asset. Since you're using a controller, you can macro it to R3 for quick and easy aiming. You can also macro it with a <t> if you want to dash to a specific target.

7. AoE. We have it, use it. Use Katon for short duration fights. Use Doton if the mobs will remain in the circle for its entire duration. Kassatsu will make all ticks of Doton crit, which can be very powerful under some circumstances. Death Blossom can be useful. If you have more than 3 mobs, buff yourself and spam Death Blossom, but keep Invigorate handy and watch your TP.

8. Goad. There's no excuse not to use it, especially now that we can see the team's TP bars. If someone is getting low or you know a situation will be using a lot of AoE, Goad someone to keep things moving.

9. Trick Attack. Generally, keep thus on cooldown, but be smart about it. Make sure the target won't be disappearing or becoming immune. Also try to coordinate your buffs so that you can get the most damage out of it, and take into consideration whether your party can make the most of it. Don't always use it as your first attack on a boss, allow a short amount of time for players to get their rotation started and buffs active for maximum effectiveness. If you're unable to be behind the mob (solo or whatever other reason), you can use Sneak Attack from the front. This shouldn't be happening often, if ever, but Sneak Attack hits like a truck from the front, so it does have potential uses. Generally, though, you don't want your group to miss out on the debuff that Trick Attack provides so always prioritize that and plan for proper positioning.

As for your cross hotbar setup, I would suggest taking movement into condiseration. You'll want to be able to cast Mudra/Ninjutsu while moving, which can be difficult if you have them assigned to a D-Pad. You'll want to be able to move with Death Blossom as well, since you'll be at Point Blank range and might be subjected to an array of AoE to dodge. I think the DPad is better suited for buffs and utility.