Two Suggested Ninjutsu Changes for NIN

[RyuuZero]

Honestly, might be in the minority, but I think Ninja is perfect as-is. Kassatsu makes it so Hyoton is relevant after 76 and having to cast fuma would disrupt the already busy 2m/6m burst (we can't fit Phantom, Raiju/Raiton, and Bunshin AE+Bhava all in our opener already). Quite a couple jobs have a "solo-play" utility that's useless in most other content (Sleep, Shield Bash, etc), but I think NIN is able to use abilities that become "obsolete" in a vacuum by coupling them into other abilities like TCJ and Kassatsu.

The issue with just giving things a higher potency is that gamers are going to optimize it out. If Hyoton just automatically did Hyosho Ranryu, it'd be a matter of "does raiju + raiton do more damage or does Hyosho?" and one would actually be obsolete over the other, and that would simply not solve anything while not really adding anything in the way of complexity.

Yes! it would be awesome to get Hyosho Ranryu with lvl50 alongside Kassatsu! give Hyosho Ranryu a Damage Boost at lvl76 and it's all Good ^^

[T-Owl]

Huraijin is almost entirely useless, and Huton is the way to regain it back the huge majority of times. I'd rather not see that gone. If anything should go, it's Huraijin.
As for Hyoton - it being a barrier wouldn't net it much more usage that right now, unless the shield was ridiculous.

Isn't Huraijin predominantly a recovery tool to gain back Huton when you died without wasting a Mudra charge?

[Writer]

Honestly speaking, the only way to really save Fuma is to synergize some skills here.

Like making it so you go Fuma -> Grants Lightning Rod guaranteeing the next Raiton is a critical hit -> Raiton (critical hit bonus: Grants Raiju Ready).

[Gemina]

I'm a big fan of NIN generally and of Ninjutsu in particular. However, I am here offering a couple of ideas for Ninjutsu that don't really work. I'm not demanding that SQEnix make these changes, nor do I think that any devs will ever see this. (In fairness, these aren't revolutionary ideas.) It's just something to discuss.

Last year, I posted a little review of all the Ninjutsu for fun.

Fuma Shuriken

• Problem: The problem is simple - Fuma Shuriken is completely replaced by Raiton at level 35.
• Proposal: Add a trait at level 35 that upgrades Fuma Shuriken to have a 60-second DOT such that the total potency of the initial hit + DOT is greater than Raiton after a long time (30 or 45 seconds). Bonus Idea: you could even add something like Hollow Nozuchi that would give Raiton and Forked/Fleeting Raiju a little extra damage to a target with with the DOT - call it Lightning Fuma Shuriken.
• Discussion: The basic idea would be for Fuma Shuriken to be to Raiton what Doton is to Katon. With the potencies right, you'd replace one Raiton per Trick Attack window with Fuma Shuriken on bosses, but you wouldn't use two Fuma Shuriken as the DOT would not stack. Like Doton, it isn't always superior (some mob pulls die too fast for Doton to be better than Katon, though the recent reduction in Doton duration helped with that). One complication is the Fuma Shuriken in the single-target Ten Chi Jin window, and I don't have a simple solution for that beyond 'deal with it.'

Hyoton

• Problem: Hyoton—poor, tragic Hyoton. The bind could theoretically be useful somewhere, but as a practical matter, this is only something that gets used when you try to use Hyosho Ranryu from muscle memory only to remember that you’re synced.
• Proposal: The proposal is simple—replace Hyoton with a Raise effect. Thinking off the top of my head, call it Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei.
• Discussion: The bottom line is that Hyoton cannot be saved. Ninjutsu already covers single- and multi-target well, so there’s nothing to gain from another Ninjutsu competing with those. At that point, you need an effect that can compete with damage—a Raise is one of the few things that could. While NIN doesn’t use mana, using a Mudra charge on a raise is a sufficiently high opportunity cost. It also leverages the flexibility of the Ninjutsu system to sprinkle a little utility into the kit.

In a proposed mudra changes thread I made a little ways back, I suggested something similar to Fuma Shuriken. Your idea with having it debuff the mob to Lightning style jutsu is really good. I think you could have either the DoT, or the vuln to Lightning, but not both. I favor the latter.

In terms of Hyoton, my proposed changes actually deletes TCJ, and the NIN just gains mudra charges as they level up from 1 to eventually 3. Furthermore, mudras put the NIN in a 'style' that gives them access to 2-3 ninjutsu depending on the style, and the ninjitsu button just combos off of itself. Iirc, the idea I had with Hyoton was it was the style you use over Raiton while under the effect of Kassastsu, and Kassatsu is no longer a skill you activate, but a buff that is granted under certain conditions. It gave access to two skills: Hyosho Ranryu; and Hissatsu Hyoso which would become NIN's hardest hitting ST attack. The current Hyoton and Bind effect was removed under these changes to the mudra system.