I know this thread is WAAAYYY outdated and I'm about to answer a question from around 4 years ago, but what the heck. Forums been a bit inactive for quite awhile...its a shame, but thats to be expected when a bunch of freeshards come out with their own websites, rules, and game changes. They can't all be discussed equally on these forums. (example: ABCUO does NOT allow poisoning of darts and shuriken for ninjas. This is because the player is already overpowered with absolutely no skill cap. The shuriken and darts, however can still interrupt spells). Anyways, the following shares my thoughts on ninjas as a whole as well as touch the topic of healing for them. My idea of a Ninja possess these skills with any number of skillpoints you desire:
*Ninjitsu
*Hiding
*Stealth
Tracking
Poisoning
*Melee Weapon Skill (Fencing is the Norm)
Tactics
Resisting Spells
*These four skills are a must in any build however the top 4 on the list are all ninjitsu-related.
First of all, let me say that looking at the ninja first hand, there is no AoE attacks the ninja possess. If they do possess such, its in the weapon as either a hit area affect or weapon ability like whirlwind strike. PvM is NOT a ninjas strong suit. As it may be easy to sneak around monsters and fight pvm, other templates such as necromancer and chivalry templates are far better at pvm than a ninja. Ninjas deal direct damage to one target in excessive amounts and quickly. That is the soul purpose of a ninja and most other games treat ninjas and rogues in this manner. With this said, I would focus on PvP and one-on-one battles.
[I
](NOTE: there is one ability that the ninja has that CAN work well in pvm and that is the Toad Form. In this form ALL creatures/players that attack you, become inflicted by low level poisons because the infliction is caused by the target and not yourself, it does not matter if they are immune to poison. they wills till be inflicted. Toad Form is very powerful indeed.)[/I]
Healing for a ninja is very complex. But to understand the healing, you first need to understand the concepts of the ninja. First, is the really good ninja - and I mean REALLY good ninja player - can surprise their opponent, damage them to near 5% - 10% health (if enemy has 100 health, the victim would have 5 to 10 health) and do so really quickly, then either Shadowstrike or Smoke bomb back into hiding and stealth away with some minor wounds (say 20 - 25 damage inflicted on the ninja...not bad really). This is, ofcourse, the pro ninja way. The other escape move to use is to have animal form set to a form with increased speed. If your running when casting animal form, it transforms you to the last form you were. So you will auto-form into, say, a llama, and get away from the enemy quickly rather than stealthily. This should be used when the enemy has GM detect hidden. Because stealth is useless when they can auto-detect you just by walking nearby.
Remember this...
Detect hidden is the BANE of ninjas. The one and only skill that can render a ninja almost completely useless and often makes your surprise attacks more difficult as they expect your arrival. If your position is compromise, even if you get away unscathed and hidden, they will expect a return. It is wise to pass up this fight if not equipped well for a longer battle (which ninjas aren't unless you have chivalry or magery or something non-ninja-like and disappointing the a ninja template <----nah just playing. I prefer pure ninjas not those hybrids. but they can get you out of some pinches in heated battles.)
The real healing source of ninjas are Health Regeneration and Hit Point Increase. If you use a potion, spell, or bandage, you will always become unhidden to apply said bandage, drink said potion, or cast said spell. Attacking with life leach or parrying attacks using bushido's confidence ability for health both requires you to be unhidden. With Health Regeneration as high as possible, you will regain health quickly. The Cat Form and the Dog Form both add health regeneration bonuses according to your ninjitsu in 30.0 increments. at 120 ninjitsu, you will benefit from a bonus of 4 health regeneration points. Bake Kitsunes and Wolf Form will grant +20 Hit Point Increase regardless of ninjitsu skill but still require skill to activate these forms. As I said before, the pro ninjas get in and out so quickly that they suffer very little damage, so they wait less for health regeneration. However, it is also good to note that ninjas must be patient. Prey on your target and choose the best moment to attack. One very good lesson to learn is "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Bards know this best because Provocation allows for its application. Finish enemies that have been beaten down, weakened, and wounded.
Now since most people aren't pro ninjas....or I haven't seen any because they are that good (stealthy sons of b****es...lol), The best thing to do is have Hit Life Leech on your weapon. This falls more closely under a necromantic lifestyle for a ninja but if your battles are prolonged, you will need this. But remember that your most important item property is Hit Chance Increase (HPI). Focus Attack will grant added damage and HPI for a single attack. Furthermore, the
THIS SITE from UO Stratics proclaims that Focus attack affects all "Hit" properties on your weapon and not just Hit Chance Increase.
What about curses, Silver Krilon? Without my chivalry, how am I to remove curses without my Remove Curse Spell???? Ahh fine question. These days, cooking has become much more useful. Not just with egg bombs but with
Enchanted Apples. They are made from 1 apple and 1 Greater Heal Potion. They don't stack, just like old school potion bottles. Eat one and it removes all the necromancer curses, magery debuffs, and character status' like Mortal Wound. Why waste skill points into chivalry when you have almost everything they have?
- Remove Curse (Enchanted Apples)
- Close Wounds (bandages, potions, leech, etc.)
- Cleanse by Fire (same as above, Unicorn Form, resist spells)
- Divine Fury (Just like Focus Attack w/o increased SSI and reduced DCI)
- Holy Light (Toad Form [read above], Hit Area Weapon Property)
- Enemy of One (a 50% DI weapon closely resembles this)
- Consecrate Weapon (Death Strike and Backstab resembles this)
- Dispel Evil (Hit Dispel Weapon Property)
- Noble Sacrifice (+80 Anatomy/Healing; Bandages - Not Needed)
- Sacred Journey (Runebook Charges; For small distances, Shadowjump)
--1-->Now that I have health and healing down, what about defenses? Glad you asked. Mirror Image is like your guardian angel. If you stand within 4 tiles of your mirror image and you are attacked, there is a chance the attack is absorbed and redirected onto one of your images. Forget about taming or your own steed, those five slots are invaluable to your defense! Whatever form you are currently in (from animal form abilities to what you wear as a human/elf) will be the image that your followers will imitate.
Another great defense, especially under the affects of poison, is Unicorn Form. You are immune to low levels of poison (up to level 3; Greater Poison). This is half-n-half useful. Mages who cast poison on you will find that you are immune...unless they have GM poisoning in which they have deadly level 4 poison at their fingertips. Also most dexxers use deadly charges and nothing less. If someone has lower, its probably lesser poison to interrupt spells. PvM on the other hand has a little more use. Just beware of silver serpents and acid elementals. If you happen to come across anything above level 3 poisons, you can chagne forms or keep your distance with the thankful movement speed unicorns possess
--2-->Another defensive measure a ninja has are the extra weapon abilities granted to skilled ninjitsu or bushido artists. Block is the heavily recommended ability, adding a bonus to defense chance temporarily. This will also reduce your Hit Chance momentarily but its totally worth it if the enemy misses a blow. Defense Mastery would also be a good choice however it is weaker without parrying skill. Feint is another good choice. It roughly cuts all incoming damage in half for 4 to 5 seconds. Nunchaku and Tessen both have Feint and Block and ideally are used as defensive weapons. However they are both two-handed mace fighting weapons. Fortunately, "
Use Best Weapon Skill" allows us to use special moves. Find a either weapon with this ability if you do not plan to use mace fighting weapons. Otherwise, for fencers, the Leafblade has feint and the Sai has block.
--3-->Finally, the last and most common defensive mechanism for a ninja is the smoke bomb. Hiding and stealth are key to a ninjas concept. The smoke bomb allows for hiding and insta-stealthing in mid-combat. If your stocked up on these, you should never have to worry about dying unless the enemy gets a lucky reveal spell on you or has the bane of all ninjas....GM detect hidden... remember that if you find that your being detected and unhidden easily, you are vulnerable. A ninja is always vulnerable in the open and should Never EVER take the first blow. If this happens to you, cast Animal Form and run like hell! If you've set your animal form to an increased speed form, perform an auto-form cast by running as you cast. Once in a safe place, return to hiding and track your pursuer. With them tracked, you can start to move away slowly or move around to the other side of where they are looking. Chances are, if they can detect, they can track. Shadowjump can confuse enemy trackers. just keep your distance and jump from their left to their right, etc. etc. and they won't know which way to go! then leap far away enough and dash to lose their quarry! Escaping is a fun aspect of the game too!
Note, a ninjas weapon is everything. But the delivery of the attack is also everything. For the most part you should NEVER own a mount mainly for your access to mounted movement through your Animal Form. However, Ki Attack is a 2-second timed, distance ability and cannot be used while in a form. If your on a steed of any sort, Ki Attack becomes your main weapon. Especially since you cannot stealth.
Note: Ki Attack is good for jousting. A lance is a fencing weapon, which is the normal weapon skill for stealthy, quick rogues, whether ninja or not. You'll find yourself beating all your friends at jousting because you get added bonus damage for the quick distance traveled on a mount with Ki Attack and your trusty lance. Best part is, there is no words of power for ninja because your abilities are not spells. Some people will wonder how you hit so hard with simple lances and be amazed!
Your personal Arsenal
<> Your main MELEE weapon (Archery is not compatible with many of your ninjitsu abilities) You will definitely need HCI, DI, and some SSI. Other good choices are HLD decreasing enemy DCI, HLA decreasing enemy HCI, HD for summons, Hit Areas for mobs, and leeches for health/stam/mana.
<> A Secondary blade (the point of this is to have more than 2 weapon abilities. Recommended choices are Mortal Wound, Shadowstrike, & Infectious Strike. Try to mix your item properties to benefit the weapon's abilities. I.E. Hit Area affects on Whirlwind weapons)
<> Sai/Nunchaku (Use Best Weapon Skill may be needed; point of this is for Block ability, though hard to master flipping and activating accordingly. This is optional; Note NEVER use Defense Mastery. That ability scaled with Parrying as well as Bushido/Ninjitsu. Unless you want to puts some points into parrying, I would steer clear of this ability)
<> Ninja belt w/ shuriken (a poison of choice)
<> Fukiya blowpipe w/ fukiya darts (a different poison of choice)
<> Explosion Potions (no one suspects fire damage from a ninja)
Your Equipment
[x] Smoke Bombs/Egg Bombs (Here! Throw this in their eyes!)
[x] Bolas (you will be on foot most of the time....I hope. Get your enemies on an even footing)
[x] Enchanted Apples (Remove Curse affects)
[x] Potions (Heal, Cure, Agility, Strength, Refresh, etc.)
[o] Bandages (IF you have healing; Not Recommended unless you decide to have the Talisman of the Fey [Cu Sidhe Form])
Talismans of the Fey
A Talisman of the Fey are Ninjitsu items introduced as an 8th anniversary gift. If your shard supports these, then you have 4 potential new "forms" that you can acquire, all with new abilities to compliment them, in exception to the squirrel form.
{-} Talisman of the Fey [Squirrel Form]: 20 Ninjitsu required. No Abilities.
{-} Talisman of the Fey [Ferret Form]: 40 Ninjitsu required. +10 Stealing
{-} Talisman of the Fey [Cu Sidhe Form]: 60 Ninjitsu required. Auto-self Healing using Bandages in your Backpack. Works well with Enhanced Bandages dipped in the Fountain of Life.
{-} Talisman of the Fey [Reptalon Form]: 90 Ninjitsu required. All your melee attacks have added Fire Breath attacks
By now your thinking....HOLY SH**!! Ninjas got a lot on their plate. Well yes they do. Even without a secondary weapon and block weapon, they have a lot of utilities. If you decide not to use all of this, you could be actually weakening your character. You are given the right to exercise shuriken throwing and dart blowing at 50.0 ninjitsu. Use it. You are also given the right to utilize ninjitsu/bushido abilities at the same skill. Utilize it.