Awakened Ninja Update Suggestions

Intro

These ideas are based off my experiences stretching from Arena of Solare, open world, and Node wars. Awakened Ninja suffers from an over reliance on using skills off the hot bar, poor skill flow, a lack of reliable damage outside of Serpent Ascension and Drastic Measure, poor accuracy modifiers, restrictive passive, and unreliable safety in mobility. Below are my ideas suggesting ways to potentially improve the class starting from smaller quality of life changes, damage changes to larger game play changes.

Video: https://youtu.be/3NmHbQvASik

Suggestions

Suggestion: Revert Shadow Clone to be a flow of Shadow Stomp.

Details: The pre awakened skill Shadow Clone use to flow after the skill Shadow Stomp (S+E), this was changed so that Shadow Clone no longer flows and can only be cast from the hot bar. Due to the large number of skills Awakened Ninja needs to hot bar, this skill is essentially never used. Allow it to flow after Shadow Stomp again, LMB after Shadow Stomp will cast Shadow Clone. Increase damage of skill, remove air smash.

Suggestion: Increase the reliability of main hand skills Absolute Black Moon Light, Beheading the Dead and Shuriken Flight

Details:

Most of Awakened Ninja's main hand skills are rarely utilized in PVP or PVE, either due to lack of accessibility, lack of fluidity or low damage.

             The Skill Absolute Black Moon Light, can only be used via hot bar and is hardly used due to Awakened Ninja's heavy reliance on hot bar skills, making it difficult to find space to slot in. This skill can not be canceled or fast cast like its counter part Prime Black Moon Light. Allow this skill to flow off other skills and allow this skill to be fast cast or speed up its animation. For example, RMB after Shadow Stomp (S+E) would fast cast Black Moon Light and RMB after Smoke Screen will fast cast Black Moon Light. Increase damage, and accuracy.

The Skill Absolute Beheading the Dead (SHIFT+E) is a two-part skill, the first part an AOE stun and the second part an explosion damage AOE. This skill was only used for its initial stun followed by canceling for other skills. This skill becomes unreliable due to its slow initial wind up, self lock down and is too clunky to utilize in present Awakened Ninja movement. Speed up the initial cast of Absolute Beheading the Dead (the stun), allow us to fast cast the damage explosion after Smoke Screen like Kuno Smoke Screen to Flash Slash. Smoke Screen followed by Beheading the Dead would cast the second half of Beheading the Dead (only damage explosion no stun). Increase damage, Accuracy, -15 DP debuff should be changed to -20 DP and debuff should apply at the start of the skill.

The Skill Absolute Shuriken Flight could use an increase in speed and increase in Damage and/or Accuracy.

Suggestion: Reduce the number of hot bar skills, by locking unused main hand skills.

Details: Awakened Ninja relies heavily on the hot bar to cast his skills, especially to switch between main hand and awakening. Currently the skills Murderous Intent (SHIFT+LMB) and Katana Shower (SHIFT+F) are two awakening skills can be cast from pre awakening via the hot bar. Allow us to lock the main hand skills Ankle Cutter (SHIFT+LMB) and Boss Slaughter (SHIFT+F) so when the key inputs are entered, they cast their awakened counter parts in Murderous Intent and Katana Shower.

Suggestion: Increase damage and reliability of Awakened Ninja skills.

Details: 

Awakened Ninja damage is underwhelming and unreliable, Awakened Ninja relies on Serpent Ascension (S+F in awakening) and Drastic Measure (SHIFT+RMB in awakening) for most of his damage. When these skills fail no more reliable options are available. When in skirmish Serpent Ascension is too risky to use, the BON version gives a very short frontal guard that is generally overshadowed by the other BON options. Even with good AP and Accuracy the damage of Awakened ninja feels underwhelming. Suggestions to increase damage and reliability:

• Mach Explosion:
  - Change addons from tier 2 to tier 3.
  - 10% Accuracy buff for 4 seconds.
  - Increase the speed of the skill.
  - Allow skill to finish regardless of character state.
• Serpent Ascension:
  - Increase accuracy modifier.
  - Make Serpent Ascension frontal guard by default, remove BON option.
  - Make Serpent Ascension cast two waves when in transition stance and one wave in - regular stance. Give the player the choice.
  - Up critical hit rate buff from +18% to +22% so that the critical hit rate with add-on (20%) and with base +5 crit (18%) will be an even 60%.
• Corrupt Sword Dance: Increase dash range, damage, and accuracy.
• Vacuum Slash: Increase damage, accuracy, allow last hit to flow after Serpent Ascension (S+F > RMB).
• Murderous Intent: Change critical hit rate from 50% to 100% in PVP.
• Silent Charge: Increase Iframe duration to increase reliability in higher latency.
• Transition Stance: Allow more ways to access Transition Stance and Silent Charge. Example: Casting Murderous Intent from main hand uses Transition Stance Murderous Intent.
• Flashing Light: Allow skill to be canceled earlier if skill is canceled damage will not apply. Increase evasion shred to -10%.
• Killer Training: The Ninja passive gives +12 AP and 10% all evasion. Awakened Ninja suffers from very low base accuracy modifiers, this forces most Awakened Ninjas to build DR with Bheg’s gloves for the accuracy. Give the option to choose between 10% evasion or increased Accuracy Rate or Special Attack Damage.
• Flash Bondage: Increase initial reach out speed, give Increased Grip passive (+30 Grapple success rate).

Werent you on awaken ninja last garmoth an 2 shot me well i had 417 dp 1200eva plus my e buff and skill addon spin which is around 38% eva rate ... Also yous deffinitley do not need grab success rate +30% if anything that passive should be removed from all classes.

Edit: i also saw you use e buff an no bleed stacking , the skills were all awaken.

Heyo, I sadly don't remember, regardless with my gear and E buff I would be sitting around 1140+ accuracy with that accuracy any class should be able to one combo a 417 evasion player without stress. The issue at hand isn't the damage of the skills in an isolated setting like a one-on-one, in a situation like that an awakened ninja will always have some kill pressure as we can use any unprotected skills to increase our combo damage. The issues are related to group plays and awakened ninjas' stats compared to other similar classes, in a group setting awakened ninja has a very difficult time following through on a catch without getting crowd-controlled. While I can do some damage with my gear on awakened ninja, other classes can do everything this spec can do but better and more reliably and more effectively, classes like succ ninja, hash, sorc, and warrior will all do significantly more with the same gear.

Awaken kuno has the same issue an is inherently something we need to play around ,we arent meant to run into any ball we meant to rip people of the sides and at the back, some classes you mentioned are overtuned an need to be put back in line with other classes, and Grapple Ignore Resist has to be removed on all imo since rn that is making some classes even more stronger at what they do then they should be needing less crystals to do the same job as other classes who have to remove stats to get the same outcome

That is an issue, this game is not about the one vs one this game is about group play and in a setting like AOS there is no playing on the side. This week in global lab awakened Kuno got some nice buffs that should help the class a fair bit. When it comes to grapples the reason I want an ignore resist on the awakened grab is that its fairly slow compared to deaths decent ninja and Kuno's main grab, when deaths decent fails its animation does a quick backflip that can be followed up into smokescreen or ghost step. With the awakened ninja grab the initial reach out is very slow compared to deaths decent, it plays the same backflip animation when it fails but there is no quick escape after like smokescreen, and finally, its cooldown is 5 seconds longer than deaths decent. All the grabs that have ignore resist have some form of an extra level of value to them compared to flash bondage (awakened grab), for example, Zerker can extend his grab extending the cc duration, Warrior has a quick grab and it is a KD, striker/mystic grab is KD whereas flash bondage the initial CC (time in grab) duration is one of the lowest into a bound CC the weakest CC. While I agree certain classes are over-tuned and need to be brought down, they won't be brought down they have been over tuned for a very long time and it seems PA intends to buff other classes to match the power of the stronger classes.

Besides the damage buffs the majority of kunos aren't happy about the glab changes. Kunos lose their fastest CC, 1 of their 2 knockdowns, and their only fg damage trade ability.

Also you gotta admit Flash Bondage doesn't only have weak point. It's still IFrame on success and has a lot longer reach than Deaths Descent. Also just having the option of having another grab after missing the first one is a HUUUUGE advantage. If I know my enemy missed their grab I can often play really aggressive because I won't need to worry about being grabbed. This doesn't apply if the enemy has two grabs though.

I'm not saying Awakening Ninja doesn't deserve some love but the buffs you're requesting kinda seem crazy.

Yeah... Its why most are wanting to roll of which there is already a limited number of kunos. Also Ninja an Kuno isnt for being a succ zerk, the class identity crisis of having no weakness or something you have to play around is what is  killing bdo

I disagree, Flash Bondage Iframe is one of the things that make it weak. The Iframe window is near instant vs Deaths Decent full super armor, This short Iframe protection is less reliable and can be crowed controlled out of. While yes vs a class with two grabs, you have to be cautious Flash Bondage is not something that can be thrown out as easily as Deaths Decent because of its long wind-up, it's use risk is too high, for a 20-second CD ability with a long unprotected wind-up animation with a short window of protection, that can only be used in melee range, that puts the user at risk for an rng chance of very short crowd control. It is weak and could use an update in its reliability and fluidity.

Sure, but that is not what PA is doing they are buffing all the weaker specs to meet the powerful ones. In the recent patch, Awakened Hash got a large number of changes most of them being buffs that give it more protection, fluidity and reliability. In the end, it is more reasonable to expect a buff to weaker classes than a nerfs to all the strong ones that remained strong for a year.

awa hash tho was already strong and had giga movement, damage, ranged grab and other tools.