The Sealed Dagger: A Ninja Guide

We need to wait, to see what augments the new skirmish katana gets. The Delay is high, so no matter what it gets, it might not work well.

I'm going to say that I believe the Shigi should be a LOT higher on that list than you have it (for offhand).

Yeah, that's pretty much it. To be clear, offhand would be:

1) Taiko (with OAT augment) if no acc req
2) the cluster of Rai>Jushi>Chido in that order, if acc req
3) other 119s

There are also a couple unique/situational weapon uses:

Senkutanto is overwhelmingly the best offhand for any mainhand (including RME) any time you're in a reive. It got even STRONGER this update if you get the Ygnas Resolve +1 neck from Adoulin missions (WS DMG+25%), since Senkutanto is already a WS machine thanks to that incredible Save TP +400 (item description on the 117 bayld weapons says Conserve TP, but it really works like Save TP in that it's a 100% rate of retaining the extra TP after WS).

Shigi has some quirky uses too:
(a) The Ninjutsu stats (NTE+5, ninjutsu skill+10, higher Macc than the other non-RME 119 options) make it nice if you're focusing on casting more than maximum melee DD. Perfect for Voidwatch.

(b) Ninjutsu recast -3 is arguably useful for stuff like soloing something where you're not super buffed with haste/marches and want to keep Utsusemi and/or Migawari timers low. Rather niche, but it's plausible.

(c) The enmity-10 is unique if you're trying to not reduce hate in a party situation along with Innin/Yain. Probably still doesn't outweigh a better DD choice, since even with the Enm-10 you'll still cap your CE fairly quickly). But as they're continuing to tinker with enmity this might be a legitimate use in spots.


Basically, yes. But it's probably worth noting that although it's not that hot now, it does seem like there's a decent chance it will be the base for an upgraded weapon along with the next phase of Alluvion Skirmish (i.e. if things follow the same model as the original Skirmish weapons: Rala/Cirdas NQ -> Yorcia +1 -> Ra'Kaz +2)

they all have about the same damage and delay, so shigi essentially comes 3rd overall, second if taiko doesnt cut it.

edit: responding to langly

You forgot to account for STR Isuka offhand, Esor.

Izuna would need some serious buffs, I agree, but it could become a better MH alternative to RME than Raimitsukane.
WSDamage+20%? Dunno what you can get on it tbh, haven't seen any test or screenshot of buffs done on Izuna.
Each weapon seem to have some standard stuff (Acc, Att, Acc/Att) and then some "special" stuff. The special stuff seem to often being different from weapon to weapon.

STR Isuka would be under DEX Isuka, since you only want to swap out Taikogane when you need the accuracy.

Again, unless TP gain is a concern and accuracy isn't. In which case it's one of the better off-hands.

Not that there's a massive difference, but Raim/Jushi clearly have a couple advantages in that (1) they have useful attribute mods and (2) Shigi also loses out a little due to its lower than normal 119 katana skill (228 versus 242). While that's close to a wash with Raim/Jushi where Acc is concerned (since Shigi has Acc+27 versus Raim/Jushi's Acc+15), katana skill also adds attack. Shigi is also always a pretty poor mainhand due to low base DMG (i.e. weaker WS), it remains decent offhand due to the exceptionally low delay.

It's not like you're far inferior if you already have Shigi, but if you had none of these choice there's little reason to make the JSE except for the very niche uses of ninjutsu spam for stuff like VW. And honestly, that's VW, who really cares as long as you proc?

To phrase things differently based on your situation:

For everyone:
- Taikogane is a must, easy to get and by far the best offhand in any situation where you don't need higher Acc from the 119 alternatives.
- If you do reives with any regularity at all, Senkutanto is really great and practically a no-brainer since it's so easy to get (it's a serviceable placeholder too if you're just getting started gearing an ilevel NIN)
- Izuna (Alluvion Skirmish) is nothing that impressive yet even with the augments found so far. However, might be worthwhile later if needed for future upgraded versions.

For Kannagi & Kikoku users: You want either Raim or Jushi for offhand. Raim is slightly better, but I very well know it can be a pain in the *** to get the drop, so it's nice that there's a good alternative that's fairly easy to get.

For non-RME: Raim/Jushi is your best set. If you can't get one or both, the other 119s (Chidori, Isuka, Shigi) are fine but I wouldn't really advise sinking a bunch of gil into Isuka or Shigi if you don't already have them, since they're fairly easily replaced.

valid point. as someone who doesnt have a lot of plasm, i personally will be using a jushi/taiko (shigi for acc) setup, since rai refuses to drop.

i sincerely hope that Izuna (+2) will be in a better space than kanakiri +2 once all is said and done, but only time will tell.

also senju/taiko is the absolute most fun in reives. constant self skillchains with Hi.

With a quick check of the spreadsheet, leaving Taikogane and Senku aside, the order I got is:

Isuka STR > Jushi > Chidori. They're all pretty pretty close, so kinda arguable if you wanna spend 6 airlixirs on Isuka, granted that they're very cheap now and they're not 1,5m anymore but still gil is gil.
If you have to spend plasm to get Jushi it's another story but if you can get it for free then why not?


As for Izuna I did some random tests.
With WSdamage +10% you're already ahead of Raimitsukane. (just need 8% to be above)
As for +attack you would need at least +25 to get on par with Raimitsukane.
+10att/2%DA (an augment we've seen on other weapons) wouldn't cut it.
10att/+2% Crit neither (actually worse)

So basically... yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath for this Katana, unless we can get high amount of WS Damage
(After all, with WS damage+10% and other stats, even Kannakiri+2 is one of the best if not the best 119 non RME katanas we can get after all, not inlcuded in lists by many people because good luck getting the "perfect" augments)

The new Skirmish katana doesn't have WS Damage+% that I'm aware of. Capu was talking about the nextneck piece for Reives.

Also make sure the target is very high evasion for the spreadsheet. Like Seracs. Swapping out Taikogane is a last resort, not a first choice.

Well worth quoting.

You really don't want to lose that insane OAT (and crit) if you're able to still cap acc or come close. Better base katana DMG isn't gonna make up for it with our existing options, and if you're not too far from capping Acc it's better to go a little heavier on Acc gear and retain OAT. Removing Taiko is only for stuff like Delve 2.0, difficult or especially evasive high tier battlefield NMs, really evasive mobs (say, Serac Rabbits), etc.

speaking of gear, are the tp/ws sets from the OP missing anything new that's crucial? says they were updated in april, just curious if we've eeen any crucial gear to get since then. probably not important enough to update till we see emp 119 gear come out. just thought i'd ask. only things that come to mind are qaaxo harness and new yag helm.

Dread Jupon. Great, if not best, WS body. Best midcast Utsu piece too.

Ptica Headgear(yag helm) replaces Iga Zukin +2. Qaaxo Harness can be used as an ACC body if you don't have Mes'yohi Haubergeon.

What spreadsheet are using? Or we just eyeballing again...

What changed?

Um, what spreadsheet are you using. In a wide variety of situations/buffs, I've found Esor's list above to be correct from my own spreadsheeting.

RME main (either Kannagi or Kikoku)? Taiko (don't need acc) or Raim/Jushi (need acc) for offhand. Shigi doesn't win in any situation.

Raim or Jushi main? Taiko offhand as your default. If you need acc, it's very close between Raim/Jushi/Shigi and basically comes down to buffs and other gear.

Protip: if you're basing your spreadsheet assumptions on Delve 1 fodder, you should NEVER need acc badly enough for anything but OAT Taikogane to win as best offhand.

The thing is, the better your mainhand (i.e. Kannagi or Kikoku) that you might want to get more swings out of, the easier it is to have an available offhand option (i.e. Raimitsukane or Jushimatsu) that's strong enough in its own right to outpace the delay reduction benefit from Shigi.

And yes, OAT Taiko is indeed no joke. That really shouldn't be understated, it's generally worth having to gear for more Acc (and our Acc options are generally pretty strong in other DD stats anyway) or eat Acc food in order to keep the OAT. The kinds of situations where you really need more offhand weapon acc should be pretty rare if your other gear is up to par, we're talking stuff like Delve 2.0 NMs and some highly evasive high tier battlefields (say, AAMR D+, Gessho, etc.)

OAT Taiko is what killed Shigi.
- Both are offhand only weapons (unless you're just new to 119 stuff and working on getting up to par with a stronger 119 mainhand)
- Taiko is the better choice the vast majority of the time
- Even when conditions are most favorable for Shigi (non-RME mainhand and need Acc enough that Taiko suffers), it's no better than a sidegrade to the other options. And really, how often are you bringing your non-RME NIN to that kind of truly high end content?

I still keep the thing around for screwing around with Ninjutsu in VW, and conceivably the enmity-10 might come in useful as enmity gets further adjustments. But it's a toy that's rapidly becoming obsolete.

Esor pretty much on point. What "changed" was the fact that his target is Delve Fodder. In which case, lower delay from Shigi is preferable over the increased accuracy but higher delay from Raimitsukane.

Taiko is now taking the place of Shigi when accuracy is not needed because of the OAT.

Just use nagi/taeko hit more than a kclub melt your foes and call it a day...

Hi all,

for blade hi head piece, what augment should I put on the bird cap? or is ptica a better option for blade hi now?

If you're not worried about augs that could be useful for the other jobs that can wear it, then AGI.

Even if you do go with STR aug because of other jobs (I couldn't pass it up for MNK PUP use), STR is still a mighty strong Uk cap for Hi.

If you don't need the extra Acc on Ptica, the extra 1% crit rate won't beat either augmented option: comes down to comparing to STR+13 (STR aug) or STR+5/AGI+8 (AGI aug). Now, if you do need the acc, Ptica might win.

The previous post of mine was before taikogane was even a thing. Now that it's a thing, it's king as offhand.

I crave those low delay setups though. Love it. :)

Edit: And I could not find any "BUFFED" situation on the old spreadsheet that Shigi lost to Raimitsukane.

thank you for posting, very helpful for returning players :)

Hey guys! I've been struggling with getting the Gessho head piece and have begun to wonder if it is really worth the effort. It's definitely nice when solo and the crit +4 is pretty nice for a hi alternative or for acc situations. But with all the haste you get solo with trusts or within a party, dual wield pieces become less useful. What I do like about the hat is that it has both dual wield and crit rate(i do like crit builds!). Maybe in a high haste situation we can build around the hat itself?

Let me know what you guys think! The thing haunts me in my sleep. I've only seen it drop once and of course everyone was after it...

going out on a limb, but when emp 119 finally hits, that will probably replace ptica.

That's pretty much where I am with it. If I get it cool, if not oh well. I'm not going out of my way to get it because 1. pretty much the only people willing to do Gessho want that piece anyways and 2. The reforged Empyrean will probably come out a week after I get it anyway. :p