The Ninja Way: Waging Psychological War

A guide for those who embrace precision, speed, and stylish black clothing over brute force and fake bronze abs.

The Ninja Way

We ninja embody discipline, cunning, strategy, and efficiency. Non-ninja are timid bunnies who use thick armor or long-ranged weapons to protect their dull and simple brains from those who are intellectually superior. As masters of murder , it is our duty to cleanse the battlefield of their unsightly cranial-density. We strive to rid the chivalry world of the festering blight that is their existence. I, promising disciple, will be your sensei.

Weapon Loadout

As a master of stealth and silence, your number one priority as a ninja should be quick and efficient dispatchment of your foes. The intellectually inferior classes (being everyone who is not a ninja), will learn to fear you and your kama of death and dismemberment. Though a true ninja can weaponize any object, this will be the best choice for dealing with the cowards who hide beneath their armor like frightened city-children. Use this weapon to get around the shields of the sexually inadequate spartans, or through the armor of the physically insecure knights by horizontally hooking their unenlightened heads from their muscle-bound bodies. We'll discuss in detail the fighting strategies for this in a moment.

Though our stylish black clothing is indeed way cooler than the pathetic, frightened garb of our opponents, it is sadly much less durable. Us ninja hem the very shadows into armor, binding them with skill and wrapping them in a veil of silence. Shadows and silence, however, are surprisingly flimsy when it comes to stopping bullets or arrows. For these the accomplished ninja must use a fourth weapon: confusion. This is why we always choose the smoke bomb of fear and disorientation to cloud the vision and weaken the resolve of the intellectually deficient degenerates who oppose us. We'll discuss in detail the fighting strategies for this in a moment.

One-on-one combat

Though engaging an opposing heavily-armored coward may seem like a daunting task initially, it is important to master. Eventually, however, what you once referred to as "one-on-one combat" will simply be called "assassination". To reach this level of skill, a ninja must master his arsenal. Let us begin with the kama of death and dismemberment. Though other ninja weapons are indeed deadly, this is the best choice for armored opponents (which make up the vast majority of the enemy ranks). The most annoying of all cowardly instincts is the tendency to hide behind an enormous shield. Enemies who do this are all the more satisfying to destroy. This would be tricky for a foolish young ward or squire, but the razor-sharp intellect of even an initiate ninja is capable of besting these lesser impulses. Thankfully, your kama of death and dismemberment is as sharp as your mind. Its hook-shape makes it ideal for bypassing enemy shields and plunging straight into their bulky necks and shoulders. Be sure to get as close as possible, strafing slightly to the right of your opponent to make the horizontal strike or overhead swing the most likely to connect. When fighting someone with a short-range weapon and a shield, the ninja must either parry or roll backwards to avoid damage(bind roll to an easily-accessible key, as double-tapping takes too much time). Once in a while, however, the ninja will be confronted by a sexually inadequate pseudo-male who overcompensates for his tiny katana with a large, overbearing spear and fake metal muscles. In these cases, getting close enough to strike at him leaves the ninja blind to the exact position of the tip of said spear. NEVER TRY TO PARRY THESE SPEARS. Though you may get lucky and be able to manage a successful parry, it is too risky and luck-based to attempt. A much more fruitful method of evading damage in this case is to roll sideways. These spears have narrow attack zones and the deft and nimble ninja can easily evade attacks by rolling to the right (never the left. If there is a wall to your right stopping you from rolling there then roll backwards and parry).


The other thing a successful ninja must realize is that the fact his steps are silent. Even when sprinting, the ninja is nearly completely inaudible. This is a remarkable advantage that most people disregard. It makes sneaking up on archers or pirates who use guns childsplay. Assassinate these brain-dead drifters with a double-overhead combo to the head/neck.


N----I-----N----J-----A---K----I----C---K-----The last aspect of one-on-one combat a ninja must be familiar with is the rare necessity of running away. If the odds are against you, use your inhuman speed to your advantage. Roll behind a large object such as a pillar or wall, toss down a smoke bomb, and sprint in a random direction outside of the enemy's field of vision. This makes it easy to bait them into an area in which a quick assassination is easy (closed passageways or narrow halls make swinging most class' weapons difficult. Luckily your kama is small enough to still be functional here.) But sometimes you just need to get the hell out and pick a different prey.

The art of escape and alacrity

When confronted up close by a particularly aggressive armored beast, escape can be quite difficult. Luckily, however, a resourceful ninja still has access to several methods of escape and elusion. For instance, when throwing your smoke bomb of fear and disorientation, make sure it is at a location in which there are many possible ways you could go, forcing them to choose one at random. If the enemy is right behind you and that is not possible, you can throw it directly at them. If it hits one and they are sprinting, it will force them into a walk. This can buy you a few seconds and will be enough for you to gain a distance advantage so that their large weapons can't reach you. If there are multiple knights, dont be afraid to long-kick (hold down F) one of them, run, and toss your smoke bomb of fear and disorientation at the other. This is a method found to work when running from two. Failing these, you must also realize that they are not much slower than you, but they are certainly not faster. If you see them from a distance and dont feel confident engaging them, running will be much more fruitful as they will not be able to catch up to you. A ninja aspires to always be aware of the location of his enemy, so try to look around and take in as much information as possible at all times. In this way you are effectively armed with the most deadly of all ninja tools: knowledge. If you are cornered and escape is impossible, use the pigs as parry and roll practice and see how much you can evade them before perishing. Pretty soon youll be able to dance around them with the ease of a master ninja.

Joint-assassinations

In many cases, the ninja will have other ninja allies to aid him. Remember, these men are your brothers and comrades in the endeavor to cleanse the battlefield. Always treat them with the respect and dignity a ninja deserves. One must realize that it is not about which ninja culls the most cowards. The enemy need only be dispatched in any manner possible. When fighting alongside your fellow masters of murder, NEVER horizontally swing. This causes it to be very likely for you to damage your brothers. Either alt-slash (if there is no ally to your left, that is), overhead, or stab.This will ensure that quick work is made of anyone foolish enough to stand in defiance of the ninja way. If there is a particularly aggressive armored foe who seems to be overwhelming an ally, mix in swift kicks to interrupt and daze them. Step in immediately and take over for him if you can. If not, try to land as many double-overhead combos as you can to the person's back as he is distracted with the other ninja.

A chaos tamed

The most skilled ninja can use the calamity of a chaotic battlefield to his advantage. When there are many people fighting in the open, use your smoke bomb of fear and disorientation to your advantage. Toss it into the middle of the melee fighters, use your godlike speed and silence to maneuver around the back of the rangers, and begin culling. The smoke will either drive the lesser beasts to kill each other in their ensuing sub-human panic or drive them out. Either way, your goals are furthered. The rangers will often be distracted or excited by this visually obscured landscape, rendering them mere prey before your mighty kama of death and dismemberment. Enjoy the ecstacy-inducing killing spree that will inevitably follow.

Commencement

Well, my student, you now have a basic understanding of The Ninja Way. Use your newfound knowledge to fulfill the ultimate goal of Ninjutsu: the extermination of lesser men. Most of your skill will be gotten through experience, but fear not! Your adherence to the tenets above will bring you victory and satisfaction. As the ninja world evolves and changes, I will constantly be present to update my methods and guide you further. Now onwards, ninja! Emerge from the shadows and reap the lives of all other subhuman swine!

[Ruggiero_H]

Good

[vybz kartel]

"metal fake muscles"
made my FUCKING DAY.
nice guide btw.

[InFlamE]

I always play the evergraceful killingmachine that is the ninja, I dispatched 3 spartans at once, you heard me right! three! At the same time almost. The barbaric manpuddings hit eachother as I rolled around and the fruit was there for me to take. And the only weapon I have is my trustful katana. Stay strong brothers!

[FallDown]

Haven't met a spartann that can take me on yet. But I have done 50-50 against a few samurais and knights.

[CannibalSnax]

I do have to agree that ninja aren't as well implemented as other classes. For example, ninja can do well in the hands of a few talented players against most spartans, but it only takes a slightly decent spartan to drop a very talented ninja. There is community uproar on the TB forums about this, but TB seems reluctant to respond. I would be incredibly satisfied with just the addition of backstab bonuses. Additionally, ninja combos aren't faster than most other class' one-handers, it's just the reposte (the attack directly following a parry) that's faster. Ninja with kama have the exact same swing speed as a spartan with a gladius, but spartans get shields and high armor to boot. I'm hoping that either the roll is elongated or the run speed is increased to help ninja with evasion if TB doesn't want to give us faster swings.

[pariza]

Thanks for the tips! I'll see what I can do to assassinate those brutes!

---OFF-TOPIC---

(Still thinking Ninjas should get backstab bonus and ability to see through smoke because other classes have as many as 3-4 passive abilities including high armor, high reach, and long-range weapons; Samurai get all 3 of those as well as attack when drawing weapon, Spartans get all 3 of those as well as having the hardest hitting secondary weapons in the game, Knights get all 3 of those, Vikings somewhat get 2 of those, and possibly 3 if they choose two handers instead of one handers and can also throw their weapons and dual wield, Pirates have the strongest long-range weapons as well as rum to heal themselves without having to crouch behind cover and wait fofr a while, Ninjas only seem to have silent footsteps and somewhat ridiculously fast combos that are hard to block if you use dodge accordingly and limited uses of smoke meant to be used for distraction)

Hope I made my point with that.

[CannibalSnax]

(part 2). As for specific strategies regarding the spartan and viking spear, your strafe speed and ninjato damage arc makes face-hugging very effective. Ever noticed how when stabbing, players can't turn their character models nearly as quickly? The window of time this gives you to standard horizontal is crucial. Learning to manipulate exact timings and attack executions will come with experience.

As for LTS, my gut tells me to stick with the smoke bomb. The aoe vision obscure and stamina drain seems attractive when fighting multiple people. HOWEVER, fighting 1v3 or more as a ninja is NEVER a good idea. Seeing as how pirates and ninjas can be dropped with 1 shuriken to the head and 1 more anywhere else, I say go shuriken. Evening the odds should be your main priority in LTS when outnumbered.
Hope this helps
-T

[CannibalSnax]

(part1) Greetings, disciple rel00p! Due to recent mechanic changes, ninja have been given an extra +5% strafe speed. This makes evading the narrow attack zones of the spartan spear and viking spear slightly less frustrating when rolling to the right (their weapons are obviously striking from your left). As for the halberd whose attack is sweeping and wide ranged, there are a few things you should keep in mind. 1: your freakishly fast ninjato stab reposte will be any 2-handers worst nightmare. Right after a successful parry from a sweeping attack, execute a stab. If they continue to parry, that means you're in control and free to feint-fake out at any time you'd like (roll right into an alternate horizontal from any stabs you encounter). 2: the halberd's long windup time makes ninjato overheads the perfect speed for interrupting if executed at the same time. This means you shouldn't be afraid to trade, you'll always interrupt with no damage to yourself (unless they stab, of course...)

[pariza]

Any tips against Halberd, Viking Spear, and Spartan's longest spears? This is in regards to the skilled users of such weapons, not amateurs. I haven't had the luck of being able to beat someone using Halberd or the Viking Spear alone; it took 4 ninjas to take down one Halberd-wielding Knight on average and 3 ninjas on average to take down a Spear-wielding Viking.

Also, what would you say is the best secondary? Stars, Metsubushi, or Smoke? This question is in particular to LTS, and you're the only one alive on your team, against another full team, or almost full anyway.

This lists pretty much all of the problems I've had to try and overcome as a ninja. Some, I still haven't been able to get past, which I hope you can help me out with ^.^

(PS: My primary weapon of choice is the Ninjato)

[CannibalSnax]

Disciple Peller, it is unfortunate but as of this moment, the speed difference between ninja and knight is negligible. It is unclear whether TB intends to fix this obvious bug soon. Many fellow ninja have expressed their outrage at this obvious injustice. Luckily, however, a resourceful ninja still has access to several methods of escape and elusion. My concern for this one crucial ninja mechanic has driven me to add an additional section to my guide regarding the art of evasiveness. I'll update it as soon as we are given the rightly-deserved speed advantage.
hope this helps
-T