What kind of gear do I need? I know NIN typically focus on Evasion. But should I get as much evasion as possible, or are there places where I may want to sacrifice evasion for another stat? At what point do I pass up a little added evasion in order to get higher defense?
IMO, it's generally best to go EVA > AGI | ACC > DEX > STR > DEF.
NIN rely on EVA and shadows. The more evading you do the less shadows you use. Therefor, I suggest loading up on as much evasion as you can. Whenever you have hate you want to have evasion gear on. AGI helps you evade as well. Some say that AGI <> EVA is like STR <> ATT. You have to have some of each for either to work right. Unfortunatley I've yet to find an exact formula of how much of each you should have for best results.
Being an Elvaan you have horrible ACC to begin with and being NIN there are very few pieces of gear that will give you ACC bonuses at those lvls. I went with Fed. Tekko for ACC+3 (at 25) and Venerer Ring for ACC+3 (at 34).
Personally I never went for Defense gear unless there was absolutely nothing else that I could get. Being a NIN you're not supposed to take DMG, but to evade it however possible.
In what order should I do my debuffs to best hold hate and enfeeble the mob?
Being that all 3 of the main enfeebles can equally help you the order isn't as big a deal as getting them landed. Personally I went Kurayami (Blind), Hojo (Slow), and then Jubaku (Paralyze), but I've also heard others going differing orders with very good results. I'd suggest basing what you cast on the mob. If it's a slow attacking mob Hojo isn't needed as quickly as the others. If the mob has very good ACC Kurayami may be needed sooner. Play around with it to see what best works for you, but just make sure that someone gets these spells landed on the mob.
As for hate Dokumori (Poison) works very well to increase your hate lvl. I've heard some people claim that it's as effective as 1/3 Provoke or 1 Boost.
If there is a RDM in the party, should I ask them to refrain from enfeebling to allow me to do it and therefore generate more hate?
Many times I'll try to do all the enfeebling on the mob instead of the mages just to help with hate. If hate isn't an issue and/or I'm running low on time or tools the mages are more than encouraged to do the enfeebling. It's also a good plan to work with the mages and let them know that if your enfeebles do not stick for them to try to enfeeble the mob. The main point here is to make sure that the mob is enfeebled.
Should I be wearing +AGI or +DEX or +STR rings?
I tried AGI, STR, and DEX rings and found that being Elvaan DEX worked best for me. IDK how much more I'd have evaded with AGI as I was more focused on hitting the mob and even with the DEX rings my ACC sucked. As an Elvaan you already have top STR (compared to all races) so focus more on your weaknesses. Go with either AGI or DEX. Once again play around with them and find whichever makes you the most comfortable.
Does anyone have Horomusha/Ochiudo's Kote they would be willing to let me borrow for 34-37?
Sorry, but I don't lend out gear. Honestly if you are only going to 37 Fed. Tekko would do you perfectly well and you may even find it more useful than either Kote.
Any input is appreciated guys. And feel free to toss out any tips outside of the range of questions I asked. Thanks for help gang.
As for weapons I went with dual Katanas, but there are some nice swords available as well. Personally I'd suggest only using one sword and having it in your off-hand if you do plan to go that route. The Centurian's Sword is a good choice at lvl 30.
Katana weapon skills are based off of STR and DEX or INT. Gearing up with DEX will increase your DMG on Rin and Retsu as well as increase your overall ACC. Unless you are in a SC (which is not recommended for many reasons) stick to Blade: Retsu whenever possible. It's a great WS and adds Paralysis to the mob for a short while. It's a great WS to use when you have the TP and no shadows. Sometimes it can paralyze the mob long enough for you to get shadows back up.
Blade: Rin 1.00 1x STR_20%, DEX_20% Crit Rate
Blade: Retsu 1.00 2x STR_20%, DEX_20% More Paralysis
Blade: Teki +0.50 +??? +1.00 1x STR_20%, INT_20% Water Damage Add
Blade: To +0.50 +??? +1.00 1x STR_30%, INT_30% Ice Damage Add
For food I'd recommend Jack-o'-Laterns for the whole time you lvl (0-37). Rice Dumplings are also a good choice, but don't offer the EVA that Jacks do.
lvls 25-30 is pure hell for NIN tanks. I'd suggest trying to get into a pt as a DD if you can or just buckling down and bearing through it. Mandies really suck as they are MNK-type mobs and can strip your shadows very fast. Another suggestion is to find another place to lvl. I know some people lvl in Sea Serpent Grotto from 30-35. Crabs are a really great mob to tank as they are slow attackers.
If you do Eastern Altepa Desert (generally lvl 30ish) make sure to carry Echo Drops (or really any time you fight silencing mobs).
WHM (post 32) with Erase is very useful for NIN tanks as (depending on the mob) you can get Evasion Down quite often.
From 30-33 you can fight Sahagin or Makara in Yuhtunga Jungle (F-11
Near the Sea Serpent Grotto). Personally I've never fought these, so I cannot comment from personal experience.
Both Beetles and Bats have Evasion Down, but they are relatively easy mobs to tank even so.
Before lvl 37 it's best to dual-tank mobs since there may be long periods of time until your recast is up and you cannot rely on EVA alone to tank during that time.
Check out
MysteryTour for a good lvl'ing guide.
It's good to use something like Hyoton (I used Hyoton because the tools are very cheap) at least once per mob just to help keep your Ninjitsu capped. Having capped Ninjitsu also helps your enfeebles stick and can increase the duration and potency of the spells.
NIN also has an excellent rating in Throwing and if you want to spend the gil for Shurikens they can greatly help in your DMG and hate abilities. Personally I used a boomerang-type weapon for an added AGI and because I didn't really need the extra DMG for keeping hate. If you have capped Throwing from other jobs Shurikens would definitely be something to consider, but also note that you'll need to gear up for it too (+RACC and +AGI when throwing).
