Any way to level NIN without tanking?

[Bajaratt]

I have a level 20 Ninja, and I'd like it at 37 for a sub. The thing is, I suck at tanking; I've never cared for it, and can't seem to do the job as well as I'd like.

I realize that at lower levels they aren't effective tanks, so I'm wondering if there's a way to level ninja without having to play a tank. Would Nin/blm be a decent combo for low levels, or would /drg, /rng, /drk or /mnk be good for purely a DD role until 30(assuming /war for berserk then)? Would anyone let a Nin/war in if they were taking up a DD/back-up tanking role?

I'm prepared to just suck it up and try leveling as a tank, but I just don't feel that I'd be very effective. Is it possible to break the cookie cutter, or is this just a pipe dream?

 

[Tagrineth]

/drg will probably give you the most benefit 20-30 from a pure DD standpoint.

 

[chrono fantasy]

Yeah, if I ever do lvl nin, which I rather not care to lvl even if I should lvl it for my rdm, I wouldn't really want to lvl it as a tank job, but more of a DD. Maybe if your pty gets a pld or another nin then you won't have to worry about having to tank.

 

[Bajaratt]

/drg will probably give you the most benefit 20-30 from a pure DD standpoint.

That's what I figured, but I'd have to level drg a bit too since it's only 7 right now. I planned on leveling drg to 37 at some point anyways, so leveling it won't be a big deal.

 

[Bigboy]

Save others the grief and duo with your NPC while subbing WHM.

 

[Rayebee]

im Sure Nin/Blm would suck do to the lack of Ni spells

 

[Bajaratt]

Save others the grief and duo with your NPC while subbing WHM.

Yeah, that's not helpful. I could solo but parties would let me level far faster.

Edit: Obviously I'm talking about in a party setting, otherwise no one would care in the slightest what I sub or what I do.

 

[Elemmire]

/DRG is actually a nice DD sub. Especially at those low levels. Give it a shot

 

[Jagster]

Nin/rng

Shurkienns aren't that expensive at those levels, rangers do not yet have a large advantage on you, and you can pump out good DoT.

 

[Euphacent]

Tried getting into parties with /thf when I was leveling mine, and I never got invites.

There's really no way around this. You will have to tank if you want to reach 37 within the year.

 

[Everlasting]

Do all the weekly exp scroll quests you can and throw em at your NIN.

Pre-37 isn't bad if you have a competent partner for vokes when your shadows are down and vice versa, can even use a WAR/NIN instead of another NIN.

 

[Elemmire]

if I can find a level WAR/MNK around my level I'll take a NIN for DDing WAR/MNK = best tank 1-37

 

[Kat]

Do all the weekly exp scroll quests you can and throw em at your NIN.

Pre-37 isn't bad if you have a competent partner for vokes when your shadows are down and vice versa, can even use a WAR/NIN instead of another NIN.

Nice idea Ever. I'm in to do these with you also Baj, if you need me. I already have Eldieme tripped as a matter of fact.

Another idea, if you want, is when you get to lvl 26 or 27, I'll level with you on my drg or rdm and mebbe we can duo stuff. Just an idea.

 

[Kenyan]

If your leveling ninja to 37 to sub for any job your doing it so your main can effectively blink tank. You might as well learn to do it now or the sub won't be much use later. Plus up to 37 nin rarely tanks alone. You will usually have a tanking partner since you only have 3 shadows. I found tanking with nin actually easier than tanking with my warrior since since I nin I was often sharing hate with someone else.

 

[Bajaratt]

Do all the weekly exp scroll quests you can and throw em at your NIN.

Pre-37 isn't bad if you have a competent partner for vokes when your shadows are down and vice versa, can even use a WAR/NIN instead of another NIN.

I'd thought about that, but even doing them all every week it'd amount to 1 level every few weeks. I'll probably do them to supplement my partying.

 

[Rappa]

I did nin/bst solo from 20-30 then started pting. You might not want to pursue that route though unless you have a lot of spare time.

 

[Lavi]

Do exp scroll quests. There are actually quite a lot of them to do if you have access to certain of areas in CoP. First there is the EFH(Escort for Hire) quest, another in Southern Sandy which requires you to find a ??? spot in Riverne Site #B, and a quest in Tavnaziana(sp?) Safehold which takes you to Sacrarium for another ??? spot. Each will get you an exp scroll worth a random value of 500-1500 exp. I am sure there is more that I have not done, but these are the ones I have usually do and know about. But at the rate of ~3k exp a week, your NIN will take a year to reach 37.

The thing is tho, you need to really suck it up and play NIN. It's actually a fun job and since you are a mithra, it's really easy with our high AGI at early and later levels to evade quite often. On the right exp mobs and provided you can get all your enfeebles to stick, you might be able to continuously tank without the need for Uts:Ni. With all the added +evasion and +AGI gear, evasion is pretty good for such low level jobs. It's not even an exceptionally hard job at low levels, you provoke, wait till the 2nd or 3rd (depends on how well you can evade) shadow is down and cast Utsusemi again for another 3 shadows. Make sure to provoke as soon as it is available and use the enfeebles as you get them. Kurayami (blind) is really important and Hojo (slow) is also helpful to keep hate and make your shadows last that much longer. Once you begin to take damage, have a back up voker help tank until recast is back. Utsusemi: Ni (level 37) is when tanking becomes a lot more difficult as you will need to keep continuous hate without very many hate tools (Elemental Ni spells are not until 40) so if you really hate tanking then, quit when you get to level 36 and get to 37 via exp scrolls or find a close friend to PL you to 37 (I did the latter for a close friend since she did not have WAR leveled).

Really in my opinion without making your own parties or partying with good friends, this is the only reasonable choice. Most people know the NIN is a great tanking job since they take no damage and will invite you solely for that purpose. Not many people realize NIN is good for a lot more, they have great ranged attacks with shurikens (in my opinion if you do Promyvs NIN/WAR > WAR/NIN due to the damage of their shurikens and 2hr) and very good enfeebling abilities. If they see you seeking as NIN/??? where ??? is anything other than WAR, 90% of them will ask you to get that WAR sub.

 

[Lavi]

Above all, find party with a good friend. When I hate partying as a job I dislike, but have no choice to level, a party with friends make the time go by soooooooo much faster. If you are lucky, you can find a semi-static with a friend with similar level NIN to make things easier.

 

[Rorschach]

Dont forget to do the Chocobo quest as well, if you are lucky you can win the one for the Dragon Chronical Page or if you are really lucky you can get another page from Meritets Memoires.

 

[Lyrai]

Here's more good advice: Make your own parties. It'll save you from a lot of hassle if you don't want to tank. Hell, invite a PLD. I really haven't tried other subs for my NIN much (Now Lv64) though I do have THF and WAR fully leveled, I want to try out RNG.