UO Ninjitsu Skill Guide
Ninjitsu is a stealth-based combat skill introduced in the Samurai Empire expansion. It allows players to use ninja abilities such as animal forms, mirror images, and special stealth attacks. It is primarily a PvP skill but can also be used in PvM for mobility and survivability.
Ninjitsu is a ninja skill in Ultima Online, rated as Hard difficulty to train. This guide walks you through everything you need to raise Ninjitsu from 0 to grandmaster, including the most efficient training methods, the targets and items to use at each skill range, and the gains you can expect along the way. Whether you are building your first character or optimizing a finished template, the breakdown below will help you train Ninjitsu as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Below you will find an overview of what Ninjitsu does, a step-by-step training guide, recommended skill ranges, any bonuses Ninjitsu provides, and the templates that pair well with it. If you would rather skip the grind, UO King can deliver a ready-made character or the gear you need to support a Ninjitsu build on your shard.
Ninjitsu is the specialty skill of the Ninja, unlocking a toolkit of stealthy and shape-shifting techniques. To call on any Ninjitsu ability you must carry a Book of Ninjitsu in your backpack, meet the skill requirement for that technique, and have enough Mana to fuel it. The skill's signature power is Animal Form, which lets you take on the shape of various creatures for different combat and utility bonuses; while running, casting it will snap you straight into your most recently used form.
Train by using Ninjitsu abilities from the Book of Ninjitsu. Animal forms and low-level abilities are the most mana-efficient for skill gain.
| Skill Range | Abilities |
|---|---|
| 0.0 – 30.0 | Train from Ninjitsu Instructor NPC |
| 30.0 – 60.0 | Animal Forms (Rabbit, Cat, Dog) |
| 60.0 – 90.0 | Mirror Image, Focus Attack |
| 90.0 – 120.0 | Ki Attack, Surprise Attack, Smoke Bomb |
0.0 – 30.0
30.0 – 60.0
60.0 – 90.0
90.0 – 120.0
Each animal shape carries its own Ninjitsu requirement and its own perk, and several of the stronger effects scale with your Ninjitsu skill:
- Low-tier forms (Rabbit, Rat) unlock at 0 skill and boost Stealth.
- Mid-tier forms grant faster regeneration or on-hit poison.
- High-tier forms add movement speed, offensive bonuses, and poison immunity, topping out at 100 skill.
The table below lists the animal shapes available through the Animal Form ability, along with the Ninjitsu skill each one requires and the benefit it provides. The Animal Form spell itself costs no Mana and has no skill requirement to begin; it is the individual forms that gate behind higher skill.
| Animal | Skill | Special Abilities |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit | 0 | Grants a 20 point bonus to the Stealth skill. |
| Rat | 0 | Grants a 20 point bonus to the Stealth skill. |
| Cat | 40 | Increases regeneration rate, scaling with your Ninjitsu skill. |
| Dog | 40 | Increases regeneration rate, scaling with your Ninjitsu skill. |
| Giant Serpent | 50 | Inflicts low level poison when you strike with a non-ranged weapon. |
| Bullfrog | 50 | Inflicts poison when an enemy damages you at short range. |
| Ostard | 70 | Increases movement speed. |
| Llama | 70 | Increases movement speed. |
| Wolf | 85 | Increases movement speed and adds a bonus to hit chance and maximum hit points. |
| Bake-Kitsune | 85 | Increases movement speed and adds a bonus to hit chance and maximum hit points. |
| Unicorn | 100 | Increases movement speed and grants immunity to low level poisons. |
| Ki-Rin | 100 | Increases movement speed and regenerates stamina quickly. |