How to be a Real World of Warcraft Ninja

I decide to do a fun post today instead of anything too serious. Hope you enjoy.

A recent discussion on Mystic Worlds presented me with the problem of exploring on a pvp server without the constant risk of death. Its dangerous for anyone not 60 to go to contested territory and dodge gankers while trying to find some place new in the world. Therefore I decided to share some tricks I learned on how to avoid being ganked. Not every class has the same potential to be a good ninja and because of this I am sticking to the Holy Trinity of Ninjas.

Rogues, Druids, and Night Elf Hunters

Names
They key to being a ninja is to be invisible thus you want to keep your name very short. Nothing shows your position better then a 20 character name with a 8 word guild tag underneath. Pick a short name with only 4 characters and go without a guild for awhile.

Size
Again be invisible. Pick a small race like a gnome or dwarf. If your a druid, stick in your cat or travel form. Being on a mount may be faster but its going to draw attention to you. Don't mount up unless you have an epic mount. A 60% mount is nice but your not going to outrun anyone on it. Only use a normal mount when traveling over territory with no cover such as Desolace or Arathi Highlands.

Movement
Constantly be on the move and never stop while not hidden by either brush or stealth. The enemy will assume you are AFK if you are standing still and attack on sight. I've seen an entire raid dismount on their way to Zulgurub just because a level 40 character was standing still near a road. On the other hand if you are moving, enemies will assume they have to catch you to kill you. If they are in the middle of anything else most likely they will not bother.

Cover
Stick in the trees and move through the brush. There's very little object collision in WoW so you can move freely through areas that will shield you from sight. Don't use shiny or glowing weapons. Even zones that do not have trees and brush have some form of cover. The Barrens has a set of mountains that you can travel on top of to get through the zone while other zones often have rivers or oceans that are safe.

Escape Tactics
Despite all that you have done someone has tracked you down and jumped you. If this is the situation then you can assume your enemy is much higher level then you and probably has friends. But not to worry they're several things you can do.

NE Hunters: Feign Death and Ice/Frost Trap. Most trinkets don't allow escape from this. Throw on aspect of the cheetah then get some distance and cover. Then activate shadowmeld while you watch the person search for you. Remember even if the person is 20 levels higher then you they still need to get pretty close to see you. If your ice trap cools down drop shadowmeld, throw down another ice trap, then resume shadowmeld. Insurance always helps.

Rogues: Gouge, Vanish and Sap. You just bought yourself 20 seconds. Even if sprint is down you should be able to find cover and stealth else you failed ninja school. When multiple people attack you use your blinding powder first then use your other abilities. Always keep snare on your weapons and never run out of poison.

Druids: Root is good but don't depend on it too much since it seems to be the ability most affected by level difference. Be prepared to root twice as most gankers will have the rank 2 trinket. Use cat form and sprint to escape rather then travel form. If your a tauren then use that warstomp to allow a root to get off.

Equipment
Ninjas have cool toys and to be a true ninja you are going to need the gear.

Mining/Engineering
Bombs and Dynamite are your friend. Get the dynamite that disorients for the longest amount of time and use it to your advantage to either disappear or fight. Mechanical Dragons are useful and can usually help distract an opponent long enough for you to escape. Like the shruiken, engineering pets are used to distract the enemy not kill them. Later on go gnomish enginnering to get several useful toys which can net, turn your enemies in leaper gnomes, mind control, or stun them.

Herbalism/Alchemy
Not quite as useful for escape as engineering I recommend this ninja path for druids. The alchemy potions to sta, str, and rage all benefit our ninja friends who can go into bear form the most. Also keep a stock of swift potions in your inventory. Nothing makes a opponent more pissed off then a sprint followed by swift potion. Hunters can also use it to get out of melee range then aspect of the cheetah.

Parachute Cloak: Useful in very specific situations, make sure you have it on you in mountain areas.

Underwater Breathing: On several items and potions. Farm the hydrocane from Gnomeragan if you can't find any in the Auction House. Very useful to lure your opponents into deep underwater then range fight them.

Silent Fang: The thought of a rogue wielding Silent Fang keeps most casters up late at night


I you have read this far then your knowledge is slowly approaching ninja level. The only thing left is to know the rules of the Wow Ninja. These are not the only rules but are some of the most useful for young ninja trainees.

Ten Rules for a WoW Ninja

1) Experience with Treachery will always beat Newbs with Epics.
2) If you're on the beaten path expect to be beaten.
3) A Ninja is their weapon. Smack yourself if its five levels below your level.
4) Fight only when you can win. Suicide is for warriors with intimidating shout.
5) Staying near a recent kill is a sure way to join it.
6) The closest thing to being able to inspect an enemy is to know its rank.
7) Timing is everything. Learn to use your abilities in specific combos for fighting specific classes.
8) Every 1v1 fight is winnable, except against paladins.
9) Running in a straight line is the shortest path to death.
10) Ninjas know who is around them. You are not the only one with stealth.