Are ninjas useless?

[Alixsar]

I think they are. They can't fight as well as fighters or black belts, and all the black magic they do learn they can't use very well. The only real benefit of them is that they can still kind of fight, and can help out when hasting the melee classes. That's the only use I've ever found for them. Not to mention that while they're still thieves they basically can't do anything. I would personally rather have either a second fighter (to absorb damage and help dish it out) or a black belt (to dish it out hardcore) in place of a ninja, or maybe even a red mage (they have cool hats). I just don't see a use for ninjas at all.

So, are they useless or not? Discuss.

[Zeromus_X]

You can make the same argument for Red Mages being useless. No class is totally worthless, outclassed, but not bad. Anyway, it's not like you need to use a Ninja anyway.

I did use them on my first few games, and having Haste was awesome. No, he can't hit as hard as a monk, but there aren't many things that can. xD

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

A Ninja can pitch in with Haste if you don't want to spend two or more turns having your Black Mage cast it. As for Thieves, in the NES version, they prettymuch never fail at running from battle.

Ultimately, a second Fighter/Knight would probably be more useful in battle, but then you have to worry about generating the gil necessary to buy a second set of all those weapons and armors. And with regard to aesthetics, having two of the same sprite in one party is unsightly.

[Peter_20]

I think Ninjas are pretty nice, concerning they *can* deal quite a nice amount of damage AND act as Hasters of destruction if you wanna boost your Fighters' battle power.

Ninja: *throws Haste*
Knight: *swings sword*

VICTORY FOR EVERYONE!

[Captain Maxx Power]

A ninja hating thread. I like it.

Incidentally I think it's somewhat more valid to slap the old "useless" label onto Black Belts.

[Sefie1999AD]

Ninjas are great. They get pretty good weapons, they get a pretty good defence, they're good at running away from battles and they'll get some basic Black Magic spells. I usually don't have them cast level 1 or 2 Fire/Ice/Thunder spells, but their Saber and Haste spells help a lot with saving the MP of the other mage character(s), especially in the last dungeon, since you'll need Haste against Lich, Kary/Malirith, Kraken, Tiamat and Chaos.

Sure, two Knights are better fighters than a Knight and a Ninja, but with Knight and Ninja, you'll have more variety and less redundance. I think Thieves start with a 2x-hit accuracy in the DoS version, and they get 3x-hit very early too, so they'll be quite guaranteed to hit and do a lot of damage in DoS, especially when you cast Haste on them.

[Crossblades]

Ninjas are okay. They don't hit hard, but they are decent magic users

[Dr Unne]

FIR2, LIT2 and ICE2 can make a difference, if only to mop up what's left after your RM/BM is done. FAST can obviously make a difference. Every turn in battle matters. You can save a turn worth of waiting for your RM/BM to cast FAST on you, by casting it on yourself.

Ninjas are the second best in the game in terms of the quantity and quality of types of armor they can wear. I believe they're the first best in terms of how many weapons they can use. They are the only class which can use the third best weapon in the game.

They do seem to run better, in the remakes if not in the original. I don't know if the game mechanics back that up, but it seems so at a glance.

Everything is useless compared to a Knight, yes. Sometimes it's fun to take a party that's a bit weaker with greater variety. There's more to the game than maxing your stats. Armor and weapon discovery in the dungeons is lots of fun for me. But only if you actually get to use it all. Getting new magic is lots of fun for me. Ninjas are fun.

[Alixsar]

FIR2, LIT2 and ICE2 can make a difference, if only to mop up what's left after your RM/BM is done. FAST can obviously make a difference. Every turn in battle matters. You can save a turn worth of waiting for your RM/BM to cast FAST on you, by casting it on yourself.

Ninjas are the second best in the game in terms of the quantity and quality of types of armor they can wear. I believe they're the first best in terms of how many weapons they can use. They are the only class which can use the third best weapon in the game.

They do seem to run better, in the remakes if not in the original. I don't know if the game mechanics back that up, but it seems so at a glance.

Everything is useless compared to a Knight, yes. Sometimes it's fun to take a party that's a bit weaker with greater variety. There's more to the game than maxing your stats. Armor and weapon discovery in the dungeons is lots of fun for me. But only if you actually get to use it all. Getting new magic is lots of fun for me. Ninjas are fun.

The thing is that I personally never use magic except during boss encounters or unless if it's absolutely necessary, so being able to "mop up" doesn't mean a whole lot to me. And when I have them attack, they do significantly less damage than a knight or black belt would. And I'm aware that they can use more items/armor, but that doesn't really matter since the best armor and weapons will always go to your fighter/knight anyway. And I personally prefer having a second fighter/knight so I can have someone that can absorb damage and dish it out too (which like I said before, I find ninjas do less even with similar weapons). The only real advantage to ninjas that I can find are the extra FAST/Hastes.

As far as theives go, I don't see a point. In the original/Origins versions, they can't deal any damage at all. And sure they can run away, but that doesn't really help much when you're in a situation where you can't (i.e. a boss). In DoS, they do get 3x hit but due to their limited weapon selection they still can't deal that much damage.

I can see why people might like them, but the way I play FFI I've always found them to be a waste. Now, Black Belts on the other hand are a godsend. I don't get why everyone hates them. But that's another topic altogether.

[Zeromus_X]

How on Earth can anyone hate Monks? Likewise, no, nothing can hit as hard as a Monk or Fighter can, obviously.

[ValiantKnight]

I've failed to see how people do not like monks/black belts.

Yes its true he has the defense of a mage unless you level up.. but his damage is on par with Fighter/Warrior for most of the game. Or was at least for all of mine.. and by the end of my games he was doubling or tripling fighter's damage. His multiple hits allow for criticals, which rip up high defense monsters.

As for Ninja, I find him useful, but Thievies just... are awful to me.
Ninja's have second best armor, and do ok damage.... and have nice spells, they are a good support fighter. But until they become a ninja, its like dragging around nearly dead weight.

[Crossblades]

How on Earth can anyone hate Monks?

Monks rock! They are the hardest hitters ever!

[Cinda]

They're excellent as body shields when you don't wanna lose more important members in battle ;-P

[Evastio]

They're excellent as body shields when you don't wanna lose more important members in battle ;-P

They can also equip actual shields and not those Protect Cloaks. With their High Evastion and their Increased Evasion from a shield that makes them quite useful.

[Reine]

Red Mage/Wizard > Ninja

Swap out the ninja for a Pirate

Then the RW can merge with the Pirate in the ultimate trance limit overdrive break attack!