[AtreyuCerberus]

My character name is Atreyu and I am currently on Cerberus. Because I am going to be leaving the game indefinitely, so I thought I should write this guide to share my experiences with ninja doing the following:

Soloing - Duoing

Disclaimer: I do not claim to know everything about this game nor do I claim to be the best at anything related to the end game. I however can claim that I spend 90% of my time doing Three things; Crafting, Soloing, and Duoing.

Credibility: I have been playing ninja religiously for the past two and a half years so the majority of what I will talk about relates to my direct experience and not crap I read online. I also have accomplished the majority of triumphs using common gear equips with casual players as well as never using Windower or any third party tool to assist me. Meaning in no way do I claim to be a elitist nor can one claim my triumphs are based on cheat programs.

I would also like to add that I have had the opportunity to fight and play with equips unavailable to my main character using my girlfriends and bros account. With that being said, collectively I have access to: 3 100 crafts, 75 NIN, 75 SMN, 75 THF, 75 BLM, 75 BRD, and 70 RDM.

Please take note, these are my opinions based on my experiences. This gives me the right to be arrogant in regards to strategies that work for me. Feel free to give your input and ask questions, but don’t be a cock smoking shit in the mouth lover blessed by a fat kid with hemorrhoids who thinks he is a vampire.

Successful Solos: (Excluding NM’s below level 65 and AF NM’s)
Alkyoneus - Abyss Sahagin - Adaman Quadav - Amemet - Aquarius - Bloodsucker - Blackbeard - Coral Sahagin - Count Bifrons - Cwn Cyrff - Denn The Orvavoiced -Diamond Daig - Dirtyhanded Gochakzuk - Drexerion The Condemned - Awd Godie - Duke Haborym - Ellyllon - Forseer Oramix - Manes - Marquis Allocen - Marquis Amon - Mountain Worm - Mouu The Waverider - Mysticmaker Profblix - Novv The Whitehearted - Orcish Warlord - Phanduron The Condemned - Sewer Syrup - Phantom Worm - Silver Hook - Tonberry Decapitator - Tonberry Pntifex - Tyrannic Tunnok - Voll The Sharkfinned - Western Shadow - Wyvernpoacher Drachlox - Yagudo High Priest - Yagudo Templar - Zuug The Shoreleaper - Cemetery Cherry

Successful Duos:
Amikiri - Bune - Charybis - Guivre - King Arthro (Was solo until around 25% HP left) - Narasimha - Ose - Ocean Sahagin - Pelican - Ruby Quadav - Ancient Goobbue - Lord Of Onzozo

Successful Trio:
Fenrir - Kreutzet

Allmost Successful Solo:
Genbu

Before We Start
Allmost every notorious monster I have listed has at one point beat the shit out of me once or multiple times. Sometimes the beatings were so bad I would file a rape case to the Windurst council pleading for help and sympathy. And because I owned the NM once does not mean I would own him every time. The truth is a lot about soloing NM’s is getting lucky. Because we all know that shit can go wrong. Such as links, the mob spamming AoE or spells that piss on your shadows and skill. Even the occasional DC that can set the fire of a thousand suns on my face. So with that being said, don’t expect to always win with one strategy. Sometimes it takes multiple tries and different strategies depending on the situation. I will try to lay the foundation with my winning strategy, so you can make it your own and customize it based on your gear and character race/build.

Character Build
My character is a Mithra and I have the following merits:
8 Katana - 4 Evasion - 8 Ninjutsu - 8 HP - 5 Subtle Blow - 5 Huton: Ni - 3 Sange - 3 Ninja Tool Expertise - 4 Critical Hit - 4 Enmity - 2 STR (Never Finished)

I decided to go with the following merit build based around my own playing style.

I made the choice to merit subtle blow to max because I believe that aside from haste, it is the most important stat for any Ninja who enjoys soloing. Anything slowing the Mobs ability to TP is beyond useful, especially when you are alone and have limited resources to your disposal.

I merited Huton: Ni because sometimes I have been interrupted during my Jubaku cast, missing the window where I can benefit from the elemental resist down.

I merited Sange to full because I feel that it is one of the most amazing tools in the ninja arsenal. The ability to open the fight with Huton: Ni > Jubaku: Ichi > Sange for some intense enfeeble + damage is awesome. And since most NM solo fights extend passed 7 minutes, unloading a second Sange to close the fight is a real godsend.

Ninja Tool Expertise is useful when you are more dependant of your ability to Nuke then deal damage with your Katanas. It is also nice to have to save some Gil considering soloing is an expensive hobby.

Personal beliefs about game mechanics and Efficiency:
Take note these are personal beliefs and are immune to criticism because I don’t promote them to be true.

- I never fight a notorious monster on the day his birth element is dominant. Meaning I would not fight a mob who is Fire based on Firesday. I honestly believe that not only does he have the ability to do more damage with nukes, but his ACC, EVA, and other character specific traits are enhanced.
- I tend to try and fight a notorious monster on the day his birth element is weak. For the opposite reasons above. Though to pull this off is extremely hard to do unless the NM is force popped.
- I avoid crowds. Though it is nice to stroke my penis in front of a group or party in the area, I like to avoid them as much as possible. I feel that when people are crowding me, I lose focus and some of my animations or system messages do not go off. And this pisses me off.
- I believe there is a mob motion delay that triggers when using the weapon skill Blade: Retsu in addition to the trigger of Paralysis. To me this is extremely important because sometimes when I am behind on shadows due to double / triple attacks, I can load off a Blade: Retsu and make a run for it creating a window to get shadows back up without taking as many hits.
- I believe that AGI and Evasion/Evasion skill go hand and hand, and that If I overdue evasion without the AGI to support it, I will have increased diminishing returns. Same applies to Parry/Parry Skill
- I believe that in some cases, subbing RDM, WHM, BLU or BLM will have a more damaging impact to your solo then subbing WAR. I believe this because Double Attack as well as the increase in your DOT far outweighs the benefits of healing/buffing yourself.
- I believe low delay Katanas are superior to high delay Katanas even if they have an Enfeebling Trait attached to them. Such as Mamushito for example. I will explain in detail when I discuss my katana choices.

Tools and Requirements:
These are the following things you should have done, or have available every time you go to solo a Notorious Monster.

- Merits: I will be honest, if you are not merited your ability to successfully solo shit will decrease by a lot. This is because a successful solo is not only dependent on your ability to evade and parry, but to land your enfeebles, to deal damage, land those nice spell interrupting critical hits, reduce resists, even surviving a huge cock slap in the face.
- Meds: You should have the following meds on you when you are soloing. Antidotes, Echo Drops, Hi Ethers if you subbing a mage job, Hi pots, or even X-pots if you are short on inventory space, Holy water if the mob you are targeting curses, Icarus Wing for that closing slam, and remedy if you are fighting a NM that casts a spell that has multiple enfeeble affects. I cannot stress how important meds are when soloing.
- Food: I personally like the following, Sole Sushi for high Evasion NM’s, Carbonara for low evasion NM’s, or foods that give me elemental boosts that affect my target. For example, Jack o Lantern Vs DRK NMs, or Spicy Crackers for Beast Killer. Yadudo Drinks and Au Laits are equally important. Food is a very strategic choice because you can get elemental boosts and even killer bonuses. These all can change the outcome of the fight so food selection is very important.
- Ninja Kyahan: If you started the fight at night there is no reason why you should ever get hit by the mob. When your shadows are about to come down and you know your timer is still ticking, pop these bad boys on and perform a mini kite. These are hands down a Ninja Godsend.
- Ninjutsu Gear: There is no reason why you do not have this with you for every solo. Most of the possible equipment choices are free or so cheap you could sell crystals for a day to buy them.
- Sub Job Arsenal: The more sub Jobs the Better. The best ones you will use when soloing are WAR, RDM, WHM, BLU, and DRK. Each situational and each with a purpose.
- Reraise: Do I need to explain this one?
- Kawahori-Ogi and Hirashin Tools. If you never going to carry elemental Ninjutsu tools around with you, make it a habit to carry these. Nothing worse that a resisted Hojo or Jubaku.
- Comfortable Macro Sets: You need to have everything in Macros. Med Macros > Item Menu Searching. If you are not comfortable with your macros defeat is in your future. It takes one macro slip to fuck up your entire flow.
- Close to cap Parry Skill: Parry is another awesome stat to have available. I cannot begin to mention how many times Parry has saved my ass. My Current Parry Skill is 251.

My Equipment Choices:
Before I start I would like to point out the most important stats for a solo ninja in my OPINION. The following were my greatest concerns when selecting equipment using the following order. HASTE > ACC > Dual Wield > EVA > DEX > AGI > ATT > Subtle Blow > STR > PARRY > Store TP(That doesn’t suck ass. . . Rajas Ring? Usukane Set?) > MISC. I have found setting my priorities like this prove fruitful. You should have the following Macro swaps. WS, Ranged ACC+ATT, Ninjutsu, DR(Damage Reduce) Swap, Elemental Buff Swap.

Now on to the actual gear choices.
PS – I do not include gear I do not own, because apparently they have not helped. That and If I listed my Dream Equips I would grow sad and tearful. Also note that I do not list the gear as a build. Instead I consider all my gear to be my inventory of possibility and customize my gear based on the target NM.

Weapons
Unji - Unsho - Hyabusa x2 - Terra Staff (Or earth Staff) - HQ Staves

The reason why I feel low delay Katanas are superior to high delay Katanas is due to the ability to herb mage type mobs by having a higher chance to interrupt there cast. Building up TP fast for some strategic juicing is important as well. Hyabusa for example are massive rape against mage monsters. It is the equivalent of having 100 fists with war subbed while lacking haste spell. Hyabusa or even U/U VS mage class mobs = 6-10 chances to interrupt casts with a bonus of pushing out blade: retsu/Jin almost every 30-45 seconds. The Shit is crack I tell you.

Ranged/Ammo
Fenrir’s Stone (Night) - Bomb Core - Ungar Boomerang - Bibkiki Seashell

This is pretty obvious. Mobs with High ACC I push out more EVA. Mobs with lower ACC I push out the bomb core. Bibkiki Seashell is for the killer affect.

Head
Whalahra Turban - Optical Hat - Genbu’s Kabuto - Ninja Hatsuburi - Arhat’s Jinpachi +1 - Yasha Jinpachi +1

I usually go with turban over anything else but sometimes I whip out OHAT for those NM’s that have retarded EVA and/or ACC. I also use Ohat for Sange. Genbu’s hat is mainly a macro piece I use for water DEF boost. Arhat’s Jinpachi is used for my DR build and Yasha Jinpachi is used when I elemental Wheel.

Neck
Peacock Charm - Evasion Torque - Ninjutsu Torque - Uggalepih Pendant

I normally main Peacock unless the mob has insane ACC. I also you Peacock when using Sange. Evasion Torque has become underrated, however I find it to still be an amazing piece for those monsters with retarded ACC. Ninjutsu Torque is for my Ninjutsu macro. Uggalepih Pendant is used when I am elemental Wheeling in particular Strategies.

Earrings
Suppanomimi - Melody Earrings x2 - Triumph Earrings +1 x2 - Fenrir’s Earring - Diablos’s Earring - Hades Earring x2 - Dragon Earring - Demon Earring - Aquan Earring - Amorph Earring - Beast Earring - Bird Earring - Lizard Earring - Plantiod Earring - Arcana Earring - Moldavite Earring - Communion Earring x2

The earring slot is awesome because it has so much potential. I normally equip Suppanomimi and Diablo’s Earring and weaponskill/sange in Fenrir’s. The rest are pure situational earrings.

Body
Scorpion Harness +1 - Haubergeon +1 - Kirin’s Osode - Arhat’s Gi +1

This is pretty simple. I solo in SH+1 for high ACC mobs and Osode for low ACC mobs. I use Haub for my WS macro. I also use my SH for my DRK/WTR resist build, and Osode for my Light Resist build.

Gloves
Dusk Gloves - Seiryu’s Kote - O.Kote - Ninja Tekko - Praefectus Gloves

This is always a tuff one because I hate sacrificing Haste for anything. But on occasion I use S.Kote over dusk when I am really stacking the EVA and can use the AGI to match the stack. With Mithra I don’t have to worry too much about having enough AGI though. I do this when I go all out on EVA while fighting Charby or LoO. O.Kote are perfect for my WS and Ninja Tekko are used when I Sange.

Rings
Sniper Ring x2 - Shinobi Ring - Triumph Ring x2 - Communion Ring x2 - Snow Rings x2

My ring selection is small only because it is all I could afford really. I normally main 2 snipers, sub in Shinobi for a haste boost in yellow HP, and WS in Triumph. I also use triumph/communion for my resist builds. I use snow rings when I am nuking with ninja. If I am about to get hit with a heavy DRK magic spell, I take off Snipers.

Back
Corse Cape - Cerberus Mantle - Gigant Mantle

Corse Cape = I wish I had boxers but because I don’t have sea I suck cock. Cerberus for WS and Fire Resist build. I use Gigant Mantle when I nuke on Ninja only because I don’t have anything better.

Waste
Swift Belt - Earth Belt - Fire Belt - Wind Belt - Water Belt - Ice Belt - Lightening Belt - Warwolf Belt - Jungle Rope

The elemental resist belts are awesome. Everyone should have them because they are free and avatar solos are a joke. I usually main Swift Belt and WS is Warwolf Belt. Jungle Rope is used with I am nuking with Ninja.

Legs
Byakko’s Haidate - Yasha Hakama +1

For me there is no other choice. High DEF 5% haste and 50 + LIT resist = awesome. I used Yasha when I nuke on Ninja.

Feet
Ninja Kyahan - Fuma Sune-ate - Suzaku’s Sune-ate - River Gaiters

Ninja Kyahan when I know it is time to run, Fuma for the haste and S.Sune-ate for my fire resist build. I use River Gaiters when Nuking with Ninja.

SO MY GEAR IS PRETTY GIMP HUH? Damm right its gimp. I don’t have sea and I have not been participating in the expansion due to my loss of interest in the game, so I made use of what I can get. With that being said, I am sure 85% of you have way better equips then me, so the big question would be how did I do it? Well I will list the strategies for the most popular Mobs on my list. If you have any questions about the ones I didn’t list, feel free to request.

Basic Strategies I Use:
- When I normally engage a NM I open with a Huton > Jubaku > Raiton > Hojo > Kuriyami > Sange. I rarely make exceptions for this opening assault. This gives me a awesome defensive front, initial damage output, and a nice chunk of TP. Magic Skills or Abilities granted to me by my sub job always come second.

- During the Fight I like to play a game of hit and run. This gives me a chance to shorten the gaps on my cast timers and improve my chances of surviving by taking less damage. This strategy is a lot harder to accomplish during the day due to lack of Ninja Kyahan. Instead I wait for the NM to use a TP move that normally stuns there ability to move. Most monsters in the game have moves that do this.

- Because I whore Shinobi Ring, I like to spend the majority of the fight in yellow HP. But tread carefully, for fighting in Yellow HP increases your chances of getting owned by a lot.

- I use my environment strategically to my advantage. I will take a moment to study monsters movements once engaged to have an idea where the passable on non passable points are in the environment. When I find these non passable points, I make it a habit to kite or hit and run using these points breaking there movement towards me.

- I normally save TP when fighting mage based mobs to Use Blade: Retsu. I know that if I could not land a critical hit that would stop a cast, I could at least fall back on Blade: Retsu to seal the deal. Usually with 200+ TP, Blade: Retsu’s Paralyze affect goes off 60-75% of the time. (In my experiences.) I also whore Blade: Retsu when a NM 2 hours. This gives an initial stun to the trigger of the 2 hour and gives me a chance to create a gap between me and the mob in case I have to run. Like during 100 fists or Chainspell. Once the NM starts to chase, his 2 Hour is rendered useless. This is especially affective VS mage class NMs.

- I usually close a fight with WS > Icarus Wing > WS > Sange. This gives me a closing boost of damage and ends the fight a shit load faster. I would never use Icarus wing unless the fight was coming to a close due to the fact that you become drugged after using it.

Alkyoneus:
Victory As: NIN/WAR
Equipment: U/U - Fenrir’s Stone - W.Turban - Peacock Charm - Plantiod Earring - Suppanomimi - Scorpion Harness - Dusk Gloves - Sniper’s x2 - Shinobi Ring when in yellow HP - Coarse Cape - Swift Belt - Byakko’s Haidate - Fuma Sune-Ate.
Macro Sets: DR Set - WS Set - Sange Set - Ninjutsu Set
WS of Choice: Blade Jin
Food: - Red Hot Cracker - Au Lait
Meds - Hi Pots - Ic Wing
Info
This fight can go bad very fast if you are not on target with your Ninjutsu. I found this fight to be very tough because of the lag generated by the crowd around me. I popped a Red Hot Cracker for Beast killer and opened the Fight with my normal opening strategy. Because Alky has high resist to Ice, Landing Jubaku was extremely tuff. Huton is mandatory if you want a chance of it sticking IMO. From there it is all about shadow control and keeping your enfeebles up. When you get with those dirty AoE’s make a slow recovery with some Hi Pots and Au Laits. I personally like to stay in high yellow HP to trigger my Shinobi Ring. However VS Alky this can be extremely dangerous because he can rip through shadows pretty easy. His 2 hour is pretty pathetic. He misses the majority of swings if you have some decent EVA and PARRY. Surprisingly my beast killer triggered more then I expected. This saved me from getting slapped in the face a couple of times. I tried to avoid storing TP for this NM considering it would not be beneficial. I closed the fight with my normal closer but I almost got owned because it. I popped my Icarus Wing too early and lost shadow control, and I could not kite because I was surrounded by a army of people. If it was not for my DR gear I would have lost to a defeated NM.

Aquarius
Victory As: NIN/RDM
Equipment: U/U - Bibkiki Seashell - OHat - Evasion Torque - Bird Earring - Suppanomimi - Scorpion Harness - Seiyu’s Kote - Snipers x2 - Shinobi Ring when in yellow HP - Coarse Cape - Swift Belt - Byakko’s Haidate - Fuma Sune-Ate.
Macro Sets: DR Set - WS Set - Sange Set - Ninjutsu Set
WS of Choice: Blade: To - Blade: Jin
Food: - Sole Sushi - Yagudo Drinks
Meds: Ether - Hi Pots - Ic Wing
Info
Aquarius has an insanely fast attack rate. Lucky for me, he is weak to Ice and getting Jubaku to stick is not tuff. However, Jubaku will wear off on him really fast. It is just a matter of staying focused and keeping an eye out for when it does wear. If you forget about Jubaku anytime during the fight he will come at you with fury. What is also good is he hits like a bitch. It will take anywhere from 10-15 hits to kill you with a Mithra’s HP Range. You can take even more blows if you macro in your DR gear when you have a huge gap in your shadow timers. He is an easy kite too, just as long as you keep him away from water to grab links. I decided to go with Sole sushi because I was subbing RDM and using Evasion Torque for Peacock. I subbed RDM for Dia, and Dispel, both very important to the fight. RDM also provided some cheese to my arsenal, using Barwater and Enblizzard. Enblizzard was actually very helpful and made the fight exciting. I shouldn’t have to mention this but Protect should be used as well. . . The trick behind this fight is to stay ahead with shadows by keeping the bitch paralyzed. Sange damage is ok but not spectacular. I would still open and close with a sange for this fight. Make sure you have those ethers and Yagudo Drinks to restore your MP. The moment you completely deplete your MP is the moment you become subjobless.

Bloodsucker
Victory As: NIN/WHM
Equipment: U/U - Bomb Core - W.Turbin - Peacock Charm - Aquan Earring - Suppanomimi - Kirin’s Osode - Dusk Gloves - Snipers x2 - Shinobi Ring when in yellow HP - Coarse Cape - Swift Belt - Byakko’s Haidate - Fuma Sune-Ate.
Macro Sets: DR Set - WS Set - Sange Set - Ninjutsu Set
WS of Choice: Blade: Jin
Food: Carbonara - Yagudo Drink
Meds: Either - Hi Pots - Eye Drops - Ic Wing
Info
The only thing that makes this fight tuff is the links. It is so hard to fight this hoe without linking one of his bros. In the case of a link I would switch immediately to the Link and kill it as fast as possible. Recent changes to signet will give you boosts to normal mobs if you have signet on. For this fight I would recommend getting it. Another big issue is Acid Mist and Drainkiss. Both deadly and rape your HP pool. MP Drainkiss is annoying too but not as bad as Drainkiss and a lot easier to recover from. The ACC of this mob is not high so stacking evasion is not necessary. Your Enfeebles should handle half his attacks and your Natural character skill should handle the rest. I selected Carbonara for this fight because of the +ATT and Store TP. It helps speed up the fight. I decided to go with WHM for this solo because my primary concern was surviving the Acid Mist and Drainkiss. Dia 2 will also help speed the fight up a lot because Bloodsucker is weak to Light Spells. Dia 2 on impact does sweet damage. Also Erase is very useful because of sandbreath’s blindness effect. I had a conversation with someone about RDM being more important because you need to dispel Bloodsuckers regeneration. I however did not find regeneration to be that much of a problem. Sange should do decent damage, though I personally have not had an opportunity to test because I killed before I had Sange.

Wyvernpoacher Drachlox
Victory As: NIN/WAR
Equipment: U/U - Bomb Core - W.Turban - Peacock Charm - Plantiod Earring - Suppanomimi - Kirin’s Osode - Dusk Gloves - Sniper’s x2 - Shinobi Ring when in yellow HP - Coarse Cape - Swift Belt - Byakko’s Haidate - Fuma Sune-Ate.
Macro Sets: DR Set - WS Set - Sange Set - Ninjutsu Set - Fire Resist Set
WS of Choice: Blade Jin
Food: Red Hot Cracker - Au Lait
Meds: Hi Pots - Ic Wing
Info
This fight is pretty easy because RNG mobs are so predictable. The idea of this fight is to run away whenever your shadows are down. It is that simple! RNG mobs are noobs and won’t always chase. Instead they will lay waste with there shitty RNG attack. Now everyone should know this, but there is some kind of bug with shadows and ranged attacks where the ranged attack is always like 95% successful if you have shadows up, however this does not hold truth if your shadows are down. With your Natural Evasion Skill and a MIthra’s Agility I was able to take minimal damage when I fled. Off course I would flee and put on my DR Gear without earth staff just as a precaution. I also had all my fire resist gear with me for that gob bomb. It would be awesome to get hit with a NM gob bomb for 30-50 points of damage. (I have around 130 Fire elemental bonus without subbing RDM.) Your only real concerns should be Goblin Rush and Eagle Eye Shot. You should fear a back to back Goblin Rush Eagle Eye shot. If this happens, it is game over. Sticking your Enfeebles should not be a problem either considering he has no real resists to them.

Genbu (ALLMOST SUCCESSFUL SOLO)
Attempt As: NIN/BLU
Equipment: HQ Staves - Phantom T - Yasha Jinpachi +1 - Uggalepih Pendant - Moldavite Earring - Beast Earring - Kirin’s Osode - Seiyu’s Kote - Snow Ring x2 - Gigant Mantle - Jungle Rope - Yasha Hakama +1 - River Gaiters/Ninja Kyahan.
Macro Sets: DR Set - WS Set - Sange Set - Ninjutsu Set - Water resist Set
WS of Choice: None
Food: Rolanberry Pie
Meds: Ether Hi Pots X pots Antidotes Elixer
Info
Probally one of the most challenging and boring solos I ever attempted. I was able to get Genbu’s HP down half way (Don’t know % cause I don’t use windower) using elemental wheel and kiting. I started the fight the moment nighttime hit so I could use my Ninja Kyahan. With BLU subbed I was using the MAB bonus and Lizard Killer Bonus with trait combinations. I decided to go blue because I felt it would have the best of both worlds. Full MAB bonus, the ability to heal/buff myself and stun. The spells that were most vital to me were Cocoon, Metalic Body, Headbutt, and Pollen. Before the fight started I checked on my water elemental resist macro, made sure the day was L.DAY, popped my food, cast Cocoon and Metalic Body. The fight started pretty well because he opened with a flood. That gave me a good minute to lay down a full wheel and size up my oppoinment. Each nuke was doing 2-30 points of damage on average. I never saw anything passed that, or at least I didn’t notice because I was running for my life. The only enfeeble I was using was Jubaku. I felt paralyze is the only thing that would make a difference. I also opened with this after my first wheel. My ability to enfeeble Genbu with Jubaku was about 1/3. Sange did terrible damage but I used it anyway to speed things up.

The key thing that I needed to avoid was Poisonaga 3 and Wateraga 3. Whenever I was hit with poison I would immidiatly removed it with antidotes. Wateraga 3 was slow enough cast for me to run out of distance with Ninja Kyahan on. If I was too close I would lay off a couple of nukes then headbutt. Right after headbutt I would equip my water resist equips and pray that Jubaku or Stun would stop the beast. Because I had around 140 in water resist, when wateraga 3 landed I was hit for about 150-450 on average. Sometimes more damage if I was unlucky. Because I had a retarded amount of meds on me, recovering 300+ HP was not too difficult. Pollen Helped speed up the HP return and used very little MP.

Shit first started to get ugly when nighttime ended and my Ninja Kyahan Became useless. Genbu now was able to catch up to me faster and use his annoying moves like headbutt, Aqua Breath, turtle Stomp and Turtoise Song. Turtoise song was the worst because he always did it when I was in a corner, giving the fat slob a successful blow to my gut. Sometimes two. With my DR Gear I was only taking around 150-250 a hit unless the bitch landed a critical hit or turtle stomped ;0;. Another Factor made things ugly when my med stash was running low. I knew without my Meds shit was going to get really ugly. I semi cheated in my solo because I brought up my GF’s character naked so I can hold a second inventory in meds. I only did this because I had so many Ninja tools on me that I could not hold on to enough meds to even have a fair shot. It turns out with 2 inventories worth of meds and around 2+ hours I could only get him half way down. He even used his two hour.

Sadly I came to my death to a Poisonaga 3 -> Turtle Stomp. He caught me without my DR gear on. I used around 2-3 stacks of each elemental tool, and was down a couple of hundred thousand in Gil and another couple of hundred thousand from buying the pop items in bazaars. However I am confident two Ninjas who have good survival skills could Duo Genbu easy.

Cemetery Cherry
Attempt As: NIN/BLM - WHM
Equipment: HQ Staves - Phantom T - Yasha Jinpachi +1 - Uggalepih Pendant - Moldavite Earring - Vermin Earring - Kirin’s Osode - Seiyu’s Kote - Snow Ring x2 - Gigant Mantle - Jungle Rope - Yasha Hakama +1 - River Gaiters/Ninja Kyahan.
Macro Sets: DR Set - Sange Set - Ninjutsu Set
WS of Choice: None
Food: Wizard Cookie Yagudo Drinks
Meds: Ether Hi Pots X pots Remedy Elixer Antidotes
Info
Cemetery Cherry is probably one of the easiest solos I have pulled off but the most frustrating. Frustrating because I have had this hoe stolen from me multiple times by other people. The moment someone sees you killing him, they love to follow you around for the whole fight waiting to make some easy cash. Treant type of mobs walk slow and are very easy to glitch using the wall in this area. There are even points against the wall that cause him to walk in circles for a couple seconds which gives you a awesome window to lay down some fury or recover from his attacks. Take note that CC Draws In if you run too far or pass the hole in the wall that leads underground. The best way to prevent triggering drawn in is to keep a solid distance but close enough where CC can still trigger and cast his spells on you. You should be far enough from him where you are in range to trigger his AGA spells but able to run out of range. Measuring this range takes a lot of practice. If you are drawn In, don’t panic, it is no big deal and easy to flee.

The key to winning this fight is to avoid Graviga and Entangle. If you are new to this solo I recommend going as WHM. Granted your nukes will do a lot less damage but at least you can recover easier from this NM’s binding moves with Erase. However, if you feel you are pro, I recommend BLM. BLM’s MAB bonus will double your damage to Cemetery Cherry and Bio 2 speed up the fight noticeably, however if you get unlucky you may suffer defeat easily. If you do get unlucky and you cannot move or gravitated in a segment of the wall that does not brake CC’s line of movement, dump on all your DR gear and just kite/blood tank. Bind should never last too long because Ninja naturally resists Bind. In addition the killer bonus and Resist Slow bonus from your food and earring will help when you are stuck in a ditch taking grenades. Not to mention that your Ninjutsu Enfeebles will interrupt his casts and own his wack ACC. When you go to cast shadows for this fight, macro on your haste gear to decrease your timers which help counter the effects of leafstorm. Also if you have a small window, throw out a nuke or two. If you are slept, then you have to deal with it and take a blow or two.

Lastly, you should avoid coming in contact with CC when he two hours. I recommend just kiting with DR gear until it comes to an end. Nothing more annoying then setting back your win time because he is swallowing his HP back. Don’t be surprised if you lose a couple of times. Mastering kiting while wheeling and preventing Draw In takes times. This solo should take around 45-60 minutes. Time may vary depending on how skilled you are with wheeling on the fly. May I also recommend that if you are alone for claim/pop, the ideal time to start this fight is at night so you can make use of your ninja boots. Ninja Kyahan makes this fight laughable and somewhat disappointing but very profitable.

PS - I am sure Sange will do nice damage during this fight, however I have not had the opportunity to use it while fighting this NM.

Anyway I am tired of Typing. I will add more strategies for some of the Mage NM’s I fought and how I handled there faces. If you want other Individual Strategies of NM’s that I killed, shoot me a message and I would be more then happy to help. I am also happy to share my Duo Strategies. PS - Most mobs under level 65 I have soloed as well. Ohh and sorry if my Grammar sucks.

[Squah]

Before the mage stuff, can you do the strategy on Cemetery Cherry? It caught my eye and looks like an interesting challenge to take on.

[ZeRoJRG]

i like this. /cheer

[WWF_ultimatewarrior]

They make this thing called a "Boxer's Mantle".... you've heard? And what's this U/U nonesense? Mamushito?

[Gengu]

Well...

Corse Cape = I wish I had boxers but because I don’t have sea I suck cock. Cerberus for WS and Fire Resist build. I use Gigant Mantle when I nuke on Ninja only because I don’t have anything better.

he covered that >.>;;

- I believe low delay Katanas are superior to high delay Katanas even if they have an Enfeebling Trait attached to them. Such as Mamushito for example. I will explain in detail when I discuss my katana choices.

~

Unji - Unsho - Hyabusa x2 - Terra Staff (Or earth Staff) - HQ Staves

The reason why I feel low delay Katanas are superior to high delay Katanas is due to the ability to herb mage type mobs by having a higher chance to interrupt there cast. Building up TP fast for some strategic juicing is important as well. Hyabusa for example are massive rape against mage monsters. It is the equivalent of having 100 fists with war subbed while lacking haste spell. Hyabusa or even U/U VS mage class mobs = 6-10 chances to interrupt casts with a bonus of pushing out blade: retsu/Jin almost every 30-45 seconds. The Shit is crack I tell you.

He covered that too... >.>;;; Personally I'm really interested in reading the rest of this, gogo Atreyu (b'-')b

[WWF_ultimatewarrior]

Yup that was most unclever of me. My apologies for acting rude, crude, and above all dumber than hell. I believe this guide is well worth the read, I just got carried away, sorry, sorry...

[Watkins]

Was an interesting read rly, but some nitpicking, not so much to criticize you but to provide feedback and speculation for others to read as well. :

I just can't understand the katana choice.

You say you prefer U+U because it helps interrupt spellcasting against mage mobs, which is fine. Here, however, you seem to be using it against... everything, even for things that could be made a lot easier with Mamushito.

If it's a non mage NM and you feel the need to just DD it instead of stun, I don't see why you'd not use S/F. Either is fine though.

- I normally save TP when fighting mage based mobs to Use Blade: Retsu. I know that if I could not land a critical hit that would stop a cast, I could at least fall back on Blade: Retsu to seal the deal. Usually with 200+ TP, Blade: Retsu’s Paralyze affect goes off 60-75% of the time. (In my experiences.) I also whore Blade: Retsu when a NM 2 hours. This gives an initial stun to the trigger of the 2 hour and gives me a chance to create a gap between me and the mob in case I have to run. Like during 100 fists or Chainspell. Once the NM starts to chase, his 2 Hour is rendered useless. This is especially affective VS mage class NMs.

Jin usually works just as well, with exceptions of course. Just takes experience to know when to paralyze and when to damage deal.

Body
Scorpion Harness +1 - Haubergeon +1 - Kirin’s Osode - Arhat’s Gi +1

This is pretty simple. I solo in SH+1 for high ACC mobs and Osode for low ACC mobs. I use Haub for my WS macro. I also use my SH for my DRK/WTR resist build, and Osode for my Light Resist build.

No AF Body? I would think you would at least list it, because it's quite effective against low acc and mage mobs.

And... Faf spawned and I'm tired so I'm going to bed. Dx

[`MbS`]

sleep is for weaklings

[AtreyuCerberus]

Watkins :
Was an interesting read rly, but some nitpicking, not so much to criticize you but to provide feedback and speculation for others to read as well. :

I just can't understand the katana choice.

You say you prefer U+U because it helps interrupt spellcasting against mage mobs, which is fine. Here, however, you seem to be using it against... everything, even for things that could be made a lot easier with Mamushito.

If it's a non mage NM and you feel the need to just DD it instead of stun, I don't see why you'd not use S/F. Either is fine though.

- I normally save TP when fighting mage based mobs to Use Blade: Retsu. I know that if I could not land a critical hit that would stop a cast, I could at least fall back on Blade: Retsu to seal the deal. Usually with 200+ TP, Blade: Retsu’s Paralyze affect goes off 60-75% of the time. (In my experiences.) I also whore Blade: Retsu when a NM 2 hours. This gives an initial stun to the trigger of the 2 hour and gives me a chance to create a gap between me and the mob in case I have to run. Like during 100 fists or Chainspell. Once the NM starts to chase, his 2 Hour is rendered useless. This is especially affective VS mage class NMs.

Jin usually works just as well, with exceptions of course. Just takes experience to know when to paralyze and when to damage deal.

Body
Scorpion Harness +1 - Haubergeon +1 - Kirin’s Osode - Arhat’s Gi +1

This is pretty simple. I solo in SH+1 for high ACC mobs and Osode for low ACC mobs. I use Haub for my WS macro. I also use my SH for my DRK/WTR resist build, and Osode for my Light Resist build.

No AF Body? I would think you would at least list it, because it's quite effective against low acc and mage mobs.

And... Faf spawned and I'm tired so I'm going to bed. Dx

It really just my personal choice. Katana's for Ninjas are a really sensitive subject. Like I said, I prefer low delay katanas. I find the damage on U/U to be the same for S/F because I am getting more hits in. I also like to swing fast for everything. So as a staple now, I go H/H for mage classes and U/U for Melee. So with that being said, If you like Mamu/s/f then go for it. I however did not find them to be my cup of tea, even with the occasion stun proc.

As for AF body. I have it but I dont use it. This does not mean you cannot implement it in your own solo build and find uses for it.

[Jedah]

It's a shame you're quiting, b/c I think you posted a pretty good document that can inspire lower level Ninjas to achieve more then they thought. No criticism on my behalf as I'm a firm believer in that every Ninja plays to their own style, strs/ weaknesses, and self advantages of their server/linkshell and friends. Best of luck to you.

[Michelangelus]

Squah :
Before the mage stuff, can you do the strategy on Cemetery Cherry? It caught my eye and looks like an interesting challenge to take on.

Wondering this myself, fought him many times and he can be quite the bastard.

Don't see how you could win meleeing him, do you kite/nuke? He moves ridiculously slow so I could see that working.

[Mojopojo]

I've dualboxed Cemetary Cherry before, NIN/DRK(To stun the ga spells) and BRD. I don't see how you could do it solo meleeing though. It has really poor accuracy with Kurayami on, but its TP moves are pretty bad. You could maybe endure with /WHM if you brought a lot of Refresh drinks, maybe. Kite nuking seems out of the question(It has draw in). Maybe if you were really careful about it, you wouldn't get drawn in. I'm really interested to see how you pulled this off.

[Michelangelus]

I've kited him a lot of times when things got rough (I usually duo with an RDM) I've never seen him draw in, if he can it's got a pretty large buffer range before it'll use it. It moves so slow you don't really need a lot of distance to avoid his attacks.

[Mojopojo]

I see. It probably won't draw you in until you're out of its bounding box(Whatever that may include). It has close to 40k HP though, so that would be a pretty long kite nuke lol.

[erish]

Awesome read and its kinda making me want to go out there and solo something.

[AtreyuCerberus]

Post updated with CC strategy. It is also possible to melee him solo, but it is alot harder.

[Iiori]

Update prz ; ; Needs more story telling.

[Gengu]

Bump for "Hey if they went through the trouble to sticky it at least explain the rest of the list you put down"

[Tempestwolf]

Tyranic Tunnok strat prz very interested in it.

[Jedah]

Tier 1 healer lv 65 Npc can help you duo dhamels in bibikibay for kindred seals if you're bored and a ninja.