Clan Battle Strategies and Abilities

Shuriken

Shuriken are extremely important during clan battles. While a shuriken does not inflict much damage, it stuns an opponent, leaving him open to an attack.

In addition, as long as you’re facing an opponent and there are no obstacles in the way, a shuriken automatically targets an opponent. This occurs even if the opponent is camouflaged in an attempt to get a Ghost Kill.

The number of shuriken you can hold depends on your player level. The higher your player level, the more shuriken you can carry. When you die during a clan battle, your shuriken are completely replenished.

However, there’s no other way to replenish shuriken, so use them sparingly. If you’re close to death, make a last-ditch effort to survive by using the rest of your shuriken.

If you survive, you may be one step closer to victory, and if you die, your shuriken are fully replenished anyway.

Shuriken Capacity

Arrows

Arrows are very similar to shuriken as far as Clan Battle mode is concerned. Both track opponents that are camouflaged and attempting to land a Ghost Kill. Arrows will target an enemy from much farther away than shuriken, and they inflict more damage.

You can also use the lock on ability of the bow to locate an opponent, then attack with a Falcon Dive or some other long-range technique.

Think of arrows as the sniper rifle of Clan Battle mode. You can attack from a great distance without the enemy knowing he’s in danger.

The total number of arrows you can carry is determined by your player level. As your player level increases, the number of arrows you can carry also increases.

The only way to replenish arrows during a clan battle is to die, so if you’re close to death, make sure you use any remaining arrows you have in an effort to stay alive.

The worst possible outcome is that you die and then you’ll have a fresh supply of arrows.

Arrow Capacity

Slide

The slide is an extremely powerful offensive and defensive tool in Clan Battle mode. On offense, it breaks an opponent’s guard and allows you to follow-up with an immediate combo.

Defensively, the slide is your best evasion tool, allowing you to dodge shuriken, arrows, and even Ultimate Techniques with proper timing.

If an enemy is nearby and attacks, use consecutive slides to evade his attacks and potentially stun him so that you can turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Falcon Dive

Unfortunately, the Falcon Dive has limited uses in Clan Battle mode. It can kill an opponent in a single attack, but initiating and successfully attacking with a Falcon Dive is not an easy task.

To initiate a Falcon Dive, you must start on a platform high above the ground, then jump and hold or to start the Falcon Dive. Once initiated, use the Left Analog Stick to move your ninja to the right or left.

You do not have much control, which makes it difficult to properly target an opponent. In addition, the Falcon Dive has a very long range and isn’t useful if you’re trying to attack an enemy that is moderately close to you.

If you dive toward an opponent at just the right range, press or to execute a one-hit kill. Due to the size and layout of the stages, the Falcon Dive is best used on the Snow Field stage if an opponent is near the middle of the stage.

Ghost Kills

Walk to activate the camouflage.

Once you earn the Ghost Kill skill, walk for a short time and your ninja activates a camouflage that makes him very difficult to see. In addition, the name above your head disappears. As long as you don’t stop walking, your ninja remains camouflaged.

During this time, as you move, opponents will see a slight distortion to indicate where you are. However, the farther away you are from an opponent, the harder it is for him to see the distortion.

Unfortunately, while camouflaged, shuriken and arrows will still target your ninja, and you can be hit by any attack, whether the opponent knows you’re nearby or not.

If you see an enemy close by, approach from behind or keep an obstacle between you and the enemy until he engages another ninja. At this point, move toward him and press or to execute a Ghost Kill.

This stabs him through the chest and kills any opponent in a single attack. When you execute a Ghost Kill, your ninja becomes visible and vulnerable to an attack for a short time. Make sure you do not miss when attempting a Ghost Kill.

Ultimate Technique

An Ultimate Technique in Clan Battle mode is similar to an Ultimate Technique as Hayabusa, but not quite the same. If you kill two consecutive opponents without dying, your sword glows red.

This indicates that you can use an Ultimate Technique. Hold or , then release to execute an Ultimate Technique.

Under most circumstances, an Ultimate Technique targets the closest enemy and kills him in a single attack.

However, an opponent can use a properly timed slide or jump to evade your Ultimate Technique. Luckily, you’re not vulnerable to a counterattack for very long, but a skilled opponent can still take advantage of the situation and attack you.

If you’re not close to any enemies when you execute an Ultimate Technique, it will be wasted and your ninja will not attack any opponents.

It’s best to use an Ultimate Technique in a crowded area so that it’s difficult for the opposing clan to know which ninja is being targeted. It’s also much harder to evade an Ultimate Technique while engaged in battle with another ninja.

Ninpo

The Dark Void Ninpo is the only Ninpo available in Clan Battle mode. As you inflict damage, your Ki Gauge builds up, just like in the main game. Once the Ki Gauge is full, you can use Ninpo.

Under most circumstances, it can kill an opponent with a single shot. It can also go through any and all obstacles, and can be aimed in almost any direction. This makes the Dark Void Ninpo extremely deceptive and useful from a distance.

The only downside of the Dark Void Ninpo is that it takes a little while to execute, but while your ninja is charging the Ninpo, he is invincible to attack and any opponent that gets near him will take damage, and is momentarily stunned.

Use the Dark Void Ninpo offensively and defensively. To use it as an offensive tool, find an opponent from a distance with the bow (lock-on and zoom in), then activate the Ninpo and target the same area.

If you see an opponent’s name but an object is blocking your view, activate the Ninpo and shoot it through the object to catch the opponent by surprise.

From a defensive standpoint, if an opponent is closing in and about to attack you, activate the Ninpo to make your ninja invincible and inflict damage on any nearby enemies.

If you can hit the opponent with the attack it serves as both and offensive and defensive tool simultaneously.

Latency (Lag)

It’s impossible to avoid lag during any online game, and Ninja Gaiden 3 is no exception. When latency occurs, an opponent may seem to instantaneously jump from one point to another.

Most of the time, this action is disguised as a teleport, complete with a cloud of smoke. If you see this cloud of smoke, it’s not an ability you have yet to obtain; it’s just a little bit of latency showing up during a clan battle.

General Strategy

Use shuriken and arrows primarily to find camouflaged opponents and to lead into a combo. When you’re close to an opponent, throw a shuriken, then follow it immediately with an attack. If the shuriken hits, the following attack will also connect, leading into a combo.

If the shuriken is blocked, you can still attack before the opponent does if you used a Quick Attack instead of a Strong Attack. Arrows work exactly the same as shuriken, but they take longer to shoot.

They inflict more damage, but the combo following an arrow reduces the need for increased damage in this situation. The slide inflicts a similar stun to shuriken and arrows, but does not automatically target an opponent.

The recommended combo to use almost all the time is hold , release, or hold , release, . This combo starts with a Quick Attack and leads into an Izuna Drop to finish off an opponent.

You can use an Izuna Drop only if the opponent’s Health Gauge is red. If it’s not, the combo stops once the opponent is launched into the air.

When this happens, follow the launching attack with a shuriken, then press or as soon as you land to catch the opponent as he falls. It won’t always be enough damage to kill the opponent, but it will bring him very close to death.