Being a Ninja is cool and all, but what is a good ninja without their mudra? Is it truly important for a Ninja to master their mudra over mastering the more taboo practices of a shinobi like stealth and assassination? Mastering the art of Mudra is actually THE most important thing a Ninja can focus on. Even Oboro sensei reinforces this sentiment: Oboro "Chunin is our word for a shinobi who has attained full mastery of two-mudra techniques. In our tradition, when a student is deemed by his master to show such potential, she is led to a waterfall outside the village to conduct intense training." This would have us believe that a Genin is a master of 1 mudra, while a Jonin is a master of all 3 mudra. So put on those headbands and let's get down to business in Mudra mastery. WHAT ARE MUDRA?To understand the mechanics of mudra we first must know where it comes from and how it works. Taking a minor history lesson from Doma we can learn that the concept of ninjutsu itself was around before Shinobi were firmly established and in fact did not originate in Doma itself. Though some details are obscured in time, what has held in tradition is that the mudra system is the manipulation of aether manifested in physical form. The handsigns themselves serve as a "shortcut" in allowing the wielder to manipulate aether into a given ninjutus. Let's take a quick look at what the lore has established regarding mudra: "Known as "mudra," the ritual hand gestures that allow a ninja to harness mystical energies can be considered the simplified components of more complicated incantations. By manipulating the aether present in heaven (ten), earth (chi), and man (jin), and further combincane phenomena." Oboro "We draw power from the world around us─the heaven, the earth, and the hearts of man─and channel this power into physical form. I am told that this is similar to your concept of...ay-ther, was it? I must confess that Eorzean words and ways remain unfamiliar to me." Oboro "How does one channel this power, you ask? Through the use of mudra, hand gestures that call forth each of the three forms of energy of which I spoke. The first mudra I will teach you will call power from the heavens. In Doma, we call this Ten." NINJUTSU FUNDAMENTALSNinjutsu, in it's simplest terms, is Mudra that has been manipulated into physical form. In terms of offensive Mudra there are 6 that are available once the Ninja storyline for A Realm Reborn is completed: Fuma Shuriken, Katon, Raiton, Hyoton, Huton, Doton, and Suiton. Once a Mudra is ready it will have an uptime of 30 seconds until it's reset, or until another attack is cast. Failed Mudra casts will summon the bunny of shame for the whole world to see (trust me it's embarrassing in duty finder). There are a couple more offensive Mudra that is learned at level 76, but that is beyond the scope of this guide. A non-offensive Mudra are available as well, but do not interact with the Mudra casting system. To further harness the power of Ninjutsu a Jonin is taught Kassatsu, which increases cast times along with providing one additional mudra that has a 30% power increase to it. Kassatsu should be used strategically though, as it's use is limited: Oboro "Body or mind─by any measure, you are every bit my equal as a shinobi. Save for one final technique which I will now impart to you: Kassatsu." Oboro "Use it to rearrange the energies channeled into your body, and unleash powerful ninjutsu techniques one after the next. But be warned. In our tongue, it means quite literally “life and death.” Which one it means for you will depend entirely on your presence of mind." FUMA SHURIKENThe very first mudra we learn from Oboro sensei as a Genin is Fuma Shuriken, or Fuma for short. It's a single target attack with a potency of 450 and can be used within any range of oy-25y. Mudra Combination: Any one of the Ten, Chi, or Jin mudra. It is the second ranged attack that is added to your arsenal, and is a nice edition indeed. But since it is limited in use to the Mudra system it's best to save Fuma for low health enemies. This ability will eventually be overshadowed by Raiton, but Fuma can still have its uses. KATONThe first AOE Mudra you gain access to at level 35 (I realize I wrote LV. 45 by mistake in my graphic). This is simultaneously the for AOE ability that you unlock from level 1. Why it takes this long for Ninja to get an AOE ability is beyond me. Mudra Combination: Chi→Ten or Jin→Ten Katon can only be used as a ranged attack at 5y-25y, and will hit all targets within the blast at a potency of 350. Be mindful that the max potency will only affect the target, while nearby enemies will take reduced damage. Sadly there is no burning DOT associated with Katon, though it's nice to hope for this addition sometime in the future. RAITONThe DPS powerhouse that is Raiton is going to be your most powerful single target ability in your kit for a while. Striking at 650 potency with a range of 0y-20y this is going to be your go to boss killer. Mudra Combination: Ten→Chi or Jin→Chi. Raiton is arguably one of the highest single target damage abilities in non-savage grade content so your party is going to be looking for you to use this to take out a boss, or other low health health bar sponges, quickly. HYOTONChill out some of that aggro with Hyoton and get ready for the snow to fall. Landing on enemies with a cool potency of 350 all while binding them in place for a short while! Mudra Combination: Ten→Jin or Chi→Jin. Keep note that the binding effect doesn't work on all enemies and bosses, but the range of 0y-25y is 100% effective. Great for needing to hold down enemies that tend to move a lot that need some DPS love. The bind effect does work on some bosses and that can be helpful if the tank loses aggro for any reason. Trust me the Healer will thank you! HUTONLet's switch things up with Huton, a self-cast ability that buffs the user with a reduced cast time for weaponskills and auto attacks by 15%. Mudra Combination: Jin→Chi→Ten or Chi→Jin→Ten You will have Huton up all the time, let me repeat, ALL THE TIME! I don't care what you're doing, if you're in duty finder or doing a story instance you better have Huton up at all times. You'll eventually gain abilities that will help with the up time for Huton, but until then you have 60 seconds for a full duration. Use that time wisely. DOTONA more reliable AOE Mudra Doton does equal damage to any enemy within the circle for a potency of 80 with every tick. The duration lasts for 18 seconds with a respectable radius stretching 5 yards. Mudra Combination: Ten→Jin→Chi or Jin→Ten→Chi This is great for group damage, especially if the group becomes a party, they all will take the same damage. If there is more than one Ninja in the group your Doton should be able to stack on each other. Not recommended to use on single targe bosses, unless it's a boss that moves around the arena in a pattern that you can time the Doton right for maximum effect, but Raiton would still be more advised to use. SUITONThe only other Mudra that is more important than even Huton is Suiton. Mudra Combination: Ten→Chi→Jin or Chi→Ten→Jin. This is where the pre 6.2 Ninja are going to feel a bit bitter and here's why. Suiton not only does 500 potency on a single target in a 0y-20y range, but it's secondary effect allows you to use abilities that you can only use while Hidden. Trick Attack used to carry both a self and party damage buff, but could only be cast while Hidden...and you can't use Hide while in combat. Suiton made Ninja DPS simple and spicy, but 6.2 changed that. The group buff was moved to Mug, while the self dps buff was kept on Suiton. So now you have a more busy rotation because Ninja is one of the few Jobs that can grand a group DPS buff, and you have to buff the group. Hopefully we'll see the self dps buff move from Trick Attack to something more sensible.
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AuthorThe Sin City Demon that's Hellbent on becoming your favorite FF14 Content Creator. Archives
May 2024
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