Tips and Tricks

## Movement

Movement is an important tactic and a cornerstone of basic strategy in ninja.io. Players standing by idly are, quite literally, sitting ducks. While bullets are fast, they are still able to be dodged. Even just moving left and right (and jumping occasionally) will exponentially decrease a player's chances of getting hit. Try to time movements with the opponent's corresponding attacks (for example, if an opponent was about to shoot with a Barrett, the player should jump accordingly and at the right time). Noting which areas are generally "hot spots" for concentrated battles can also help players plan accordingly to avoid danger.

### Flight-Related

* By proning (X) and then flying (), you will rapidly propel yourself forward in the direction you are facing. This is very useful when you need to close distances (ex. for a Chainsaw kill) or travel quickly with an enemy flag.
* Similarly, by crouching (S) and then flying (), you will propel yourself downwards. Doing so will allow you to roll extremely quickly on ground contact, which can help you dodge in tight situations.
* Being underwater slows your movement to a crawl. However, you can use flight to your advantage as it allows you to move much faster while submerged.
* In maps with booster tunnels or bouncing platforms, prone flying in the opposite direction you are launched from can cancel all of your momentum, which is a useful move to subvert an opponent's expectations.
* Wallsurfing is a niche maneuver that requires prone-flight, where you walk to a wall and "surf" up along it. To do it, prone (X) facing away from a wall, back up against it (A/D), then fly (). This is especially useful for scaling large curved walls (like in Hunter) or escaping in CTF (every closed CTF map). (Demo Credit: Killers-R-Us)
	+ There are certain places where this tactic will lock you in place. Take note of these dead zones to avoid them when possible.

### Rocket Jumping

Rocket jumping is a useful tactic (notably in CTF) to travel at extreme speeds at the expense of your health. To do so, jump and shoot close to your feet with an explosive weapon in the opposite direction. The force of the explosion will grant nigh unbeatable momentum unable to be achieved in any other way. However, rocket jumping players must be extremely wary of their health and the damage each jump does to them.

M79, Avenger, X75, RPG, and cluster grenades all count as explosive weapons. Hand grenades count as well, but are not able to be used to rocket jump.

### Other tips

* To avoid bullet slides from Barrett players (see Weapon Tricks), stay off the ground by jumping or flying, or get behind obstacles that can block the bullet.
* Proning (X) is an effective way to dodge while make yourself a much smaller target for an enemy to your side. However, it makes you much more vulnerable to headshots. Spamming prone, while able to confuse enemy players, is not ideal since it can cripple your aim and throw off your own playing.

## Camping

Maybe you don't want to move as much, and prefer the calm, sedentary lifestyle of a camper. Camping defines using cover for extensive periods of time and using patience and vigilance to your advantage. This often means hiding in sandbags and using blindshots across the map to catch unprepared players off guard. This strategy can be extremely effective when performed well and difficult to combat as the enemy, which is why it is frowned upon by many players. However, knowing the time and place to camp effectively in some cases can lead to decisive victories.

### As the Camper

While sitting in a sandbag all game is a valid option, there are some things to consider.

* **Be wary.** Many inexperienced campers gain a field of "tunnel vision" and are focused only on what's in front of them, which leaves them open to attack from other angles. Opponents can get the jump on you from unexpected places and shred you in an instant.
* **Move when necessary.** Camping is about being unseen while having the advantage over the enemy. The more enemies are aware of your presence, the more risky it will be to continue camping in that area. Know when to rotate locations to avoid danger and also find more opponents to kill. Usually, each map has a few key spots that are solid for camping, which are ideally the ones to alternate between.
* **Stay loaded.** Always have a secondary with a full magazine ready for emergency situations, especially if your primary is a low ammo weapon such as the Barrett. This ensures you have a backup plan if opponents get the jump on you.
* **Find the balance.** Aim to camp around popular hotspots and chokepoints while still maintaining relative safety. Staying too safe can lead to minimal kill returns while playing risky can end you up at the bottom of the leaderboard. It's important to find a balance to reap the maximum rewards as the camper.

### Against the Camper

* **Find advantageous angles.** High ground is always a tactical option, as sandbags open at the top leaving campers vulnerable to aerial attacks. Look for angles or places that are suitable for an ambush that can catch the camper off guard.
* **Move fast.** Most campers tend to use the Barrett to kill enemies. Use any movement tactics possible to bait the camper into wasting all of their ammo. They become extremely vulnerable while reloading, so take the moments of opportunity to score the kill.
* **Flush.** There are many weapons that perform well against campers. The Chainsaw can instantly kill the camper at close range. Flamer can also pierce through their sandbag cover and flush them out. Pulse Gun can ricochet bullets off many angles and hit hard-to-reach camping spots. And as always, explosive weapons such as the Avenger reliably kill campers with their powerful splash and knockback.

### Wall Camping

Albeit a menace to players who are against it, wall-camping is an extremely powerful variant of camping which can be utilized in a select few maps. The concept is simple; by hiding in a bulletproof barrier, then proning and shooting when others comes close, the camper maintains extremely high protection while scoring a multitude of kills. However, wall camping can only be done at certain barriers in Space Station, Webb, and FacingWorlds exclusively.

The primary weaknesses of wall campers are still splash/piercing weapons, as well as being overwhelmed - bulletproof barrier locations are often near choke points. They are also vulnerable to bullets shot within the same barrier they are standing in. Effective weapons against wall campers include Chainsaw and Flamer for their piercing, as well as Avenger and M79 for their splash damage/knockback. As the wall camper, players must be aware of opponents at all angles around them and know when to retreat when necessary.

It is worth noting that while barriers recently received a major nerf, the idea of hiding behind a wall instead of inside it still stands. When the time is right, campers can walk out and still score kills, albeit becoming much more vulnerable.

## Combos

Finding the right combinations (or combos) of weapons to use can be crucial to gaining the upper hand in battles. These include weapons that synergize well together or just pair up to be versatile and well-rounded. While Primary/Secondary weapon combos naturally stand strong, Primary/Primary combos can increase variety and open up even more effective playstyles. The main difficulty in the Primary/Primary combos is finding the right second primary. Some weapons are more uncommon than others, so it is wise to plan accordingly. For instance, it is recommended for a Barrett/Primary combo that you manually select the other weapon and find another Barrett lying on the ground, as they are commonly the most abundant weapon dropped around the map.

* **M79 + (Fast-firing)** - Allows you to utilize a high fire rate weapon, as the M79 has a slow rate of fire that can leave you vulnerable if it misses. You can also use the M79 as mobility to rocket jump and get the jump on other players. Common examples include M79 + Deagles or M79 + Bow.
* **Barrett + (Short-range)** - The Barrett is superior to the M79 in long range and precise combat. However, it is likewise slow to reload which creates a similar vulnerability period after firing. By pairing the Barrett with a short-range specialized option, each weapon covers the other's weakness effectively. The most common example of this is Barrett + MAC-10 or Barrett + Chainsaw.
* **(Splash) + (Focused-fire)** - This ensures that you will have an option for precise, long ranged targeting while also having a deadly area damage alternative - two polar opposite playstyles that complement each other nicely.
* **Barrett + RPG** - A strong combination used by many veteran players, this combo allows you to wield **two** long-range instant kill weapons. RPG excels on sloped hill combat which Barrett generally falls short on, while Barrett excels on linear, accurate and piercing shots at a slightly faster firerate. Be wary, however; this combination relies on accuracy to make quick work of opponents, and requires time to recover with its long reload period.
* **Barrett + Deagles** - Immediately after using the Barrett, switch to Deagles and use up your shots. This will give you an almost certain chance of killing your opponent, or an easy way to take out a small group of defenders. The variant Barrett + Shotgun also works effectively, with a similar idea.
* **Rifle + Chainsaw** - The Chainsaw is great for tight spaces because close spaces keep everyone close to you. Rifle is just a pretty good primary for long distance when used correctly.
* **Barrett + Carbine** - This is very uncommonly used, but allows "multiple sniper shots" to kill off more opponents in a battle if necessary. If you miss your Barrett shot, you can also switch to the Carbine and keep sniping. This is heavily recommended for precision and/or accuracy oriented players.
* **Lasergun + MAC-10** - The range and capacity of the Lasergun make it a good suppressive weapon and the damage of the MAC-10 makes it a powerful tool at close range. When paired, this combines a high firerate weapon with even higher firerate, overwhelming opponents with a storm of peppering bullets.

## Instakill Combos

This is a method that allows a player to instantly kill (multiple) opponents quickly by using and switching (Q) between 2 instakill weapons. This double-shooting technique can be done with Barrett, M79, and RPG. These 3 specific weapons can be used interchangeably for instakill combos as they can all consistently kill opponents in one shot. The most common combinations include the double Barrett and Barrett + RPG.

To get a pair of weapons like these, look for any desired weapons around the map that fallen players might have dropped. They can also be naturally generated in the map (such as the Barrett on top of FacingWorlds towers or at the weapon pile at the bottom center of ArcticDusk). Or simply just press G to open the weapons menu and select the weapon you want (you will always respawn with the weapons selected in the menu).

### Barrett and RPG

It does not matter which order a player shoots the weapons in, but to fire the RPG they need to prone (X) or crouch (S). Be wary of the long reload times - Barrett takes a slightly lengthy 2 second reload, while RPG takes a staggering 4 seconds.

### Two Barretts

Unlike combinations with the RPG, players do not need to prone or crouch for this, but they still need to fire and press Q very quickly.

### Two RPGs

For this it is necessary to keep going prone or crouching when shooting both. You only need to press X once, but you will need to hold S.

### Barrett and M79

Although not mentioned very often, this tactic can be pretty useful in a CTF situation, where the M79 can be used to get in and out (see below) and the Barrett can be used as self defense.

## Nerfs

### Sniper-type

The Barrett, Carbine, and M60 have a specific nerf where if you take damage, at all, you will "flinch" making it impossible to accurately predict where the weapon will fire, even while standing still.

Barrett and M60 have a nerf where moving will decrease accuracy depending on speed; a crouching sniper will always be more accurate than a flying one shooting the same target. (Note: This nerf is present in the Carbine, but it's so small I've chosen to ignore it)

M60 is unique in that it will lose accuracy as you sustain fire as well as have the rest of the sniper-type debuffs.

### Bullet Drop

Pretty much every weapon has some amount of bullet drop.

Precision, Suppressive and Unconventional type weapons as well as the X75 and M60 have negligible, if not zero bullet drop.

The Rifle, AK-47, Deagles, Shotgun, and RPG have semi-consistent aim at close distances but will falter at larger distances.

For Bow, M79, and Flamer, bullet drop is an essential part of their balancing to keep them from being overpowered. They have significant drop over longer distances.

### Range

For Flamer, Uzi, Linkgun, and MAC-10, there is a range debuff that stops them from reaching a certain distance away from the player. The projectile will either de-spawn or discontinue (Linkgun) after this point.

Boomerang fits under this category under a technicality, as the round doesn't de-spawn after a certain distance; the bullet follows the mouse, so it will always be on-screen, which means you can only shoot a certain distance before it comes back to you. This also applies to Shock Rifle when it's in its tracking mode.

## Grenade Launching

Not to be confused with the concept of the M79 or rocket jumping, grenade launching involves throwing a grenade, preferably a Hand Grenade, and firing a shot at the same instant, usually with a Barrett. It is a tricky maneuver to get the hang of, and usually easier to perform while stationary. Grenade launching is also known to some players as "nadeboosting".

Grenade launching is also possible with Shurikens and Cluster Grenades, but not Snowballs.

Any weapon that does not detonate grenades (X75, M79, Link, etc.) can be used for grenade launching, for example a MAC-10 or Lasergun, although some are simply more effective than others.

## Weapon Tricks

Every weapon in the game has some sort of unique feature to it which allows it to be useful in certain situations and less in others. Common tricks include:

* **Blindshotting** - With pretty much every weapon excluding Flamer, Linkgun, MAC-10 and Uzi, it's possible to shoot wildly down long corridors you know aren't obstructed by clutter. Sometimes you'll hit something.
* **Bullet Sliding** - Shoot around slopes, like the edges of Nexus, and you could take out an enemy that could be protected from a linear shot. This is a lot more consistent when using doing so with a nadeboost.
* **Ricochet** - Slide v2; The bullet will slide very briefly onto an object and then fly an opposite direction, preferably around corners. Can usually be done multiple times with one round. This tactic requires a more dramatic angle than bullet sliding.
* **Sniper Camera** - Found on the Barrett, Carbine and Boomerang, holding fire [] will make the camera track the bullet. You may use this to your advantage to determine positions of enemies or in the case of Boomerang, track them.
* **Detonation** - Any explosive weapon, as well as the Link Gun, may detonate any grenades that they come in contact with. This may be used to your advantage to neutralize/sabotage your enemy's grenade throw and turn it into a suicide, just make sure not to do it to yourself.
* **Homing** - Shock Rifle and Boomerang's projectiles possess the ability to follow the mouse under certain conditions. While Boomerang automatically has homing shots, Shock Rifle players will need to manually hold fire [] and move the mouse.

## Weapon Blocking

A very difficult trick that requires precise timing and skill. If you're stuck in a corner and surely can't escape a Barrett-wielding enemy, you can try to throw your weapon [F] and the bullet will hit the gun and despawn, while also knocking it back into your hands, allowing for some cool trickshots if you can pull it off. With certain planning, you can trick a player into hitting your sidearm with you behind it, ready to fire.

## Weapon Value

No weapon is too good for every situation. While Barrett is a jack-of-all-trades in most situations, there are times where it just can't do everything. Every weapon has a set of nerfs and buffs that (try to) make the arsenal balanced.

* Shotgun is deadly at close range but weakens with distance.
* Rifle is superpowered but can't ricochet or penetrate.
* SMG has a fast firerate, but is very weak and has a curve.
* M79 is effective for movement (rocket jumping) and is instakill but it isn't optimal for ranged combat.
* Barrett can ricochet, penetrate, slide and do all kinds of stuff but reloads slowly and is drastically affected by flinch.
* Shock is great for corners, but you can't control the bullets when they're out of the screen.
* Pulse is OP in closed spaces, but damage is low unless headshots are scored.
* Flamer is great for flushing, but its damage is extremely low initially and only scales with momentum.
* Laser is all-around a great automatic weapon, but does low damage and becomes completely useless in water.
* Link is built for water combat and has (almost) instant reload, but has a set range, low damage, and is countered by Flamer.
* AK-47 is similar to the Rifle, but with more ammo and weaker bullets
* Minigun can rapidly fire a long continuous stream of small bullets, but they are extremely weak and it has long reload time.
* X75's low damage but high knockback can keep any oncoming flag capturers away from your base, however its accuracy and grab falters greatly.
* Avenger is notorious for its massive damage, but it is inconsistent and the magazine is very small.
* Carbine is precise and does heavy damage, but it is affected by flinch and can't do most of the things its cousin can (ex. piercing).
* M60 is strong and shoots fast but has a movement debuff, a flinch debuff, and holding fire () will decrease accuracy.
* Uzi is the midpoint between the stats of SMG and MAC-10. Solid damage at the cost of set range.
* Chainsaw excels at face-to-face short range combat, but its short range leaves it useless for opponents farther away.
* Ball cannot deal damage, but can be used as an excellent blocking tool in specific situations.
* RPG has the longest range for a secondary and instantly kills on direct hit, at the cost of bullet drop and slow reload speed.
* Deagles have excellent damage but require fast manual clicks and have a significant bullet drop.
* Mac-10 deals extremely focused damage which excels at close-midrange combat, but has very limited ammo.
* Bow fires quickly with little reload and is excellent for slopes, but falters at longer ranges and does not work while proning.
* Boomerang is beneficial for extra visibility and awareness and hard to avoid, but is countered by throwables and performs badly at close range.

## Other Tactics

### Cluster Ricochet

By throwing a cluster grenade at a nearby surface and ricocheting it instead of directly at an opponent, you can catch them off guard with a spread of lethal shrapnel pieces that are much harder to dodge. This can also be used to catch opponents at hard to reach angles and areas, like an explosive spread version of the Pulse Gun.

### Land Mine

If an opponent is chasing you along the ground, you can lightly tap the E key towards them to discreetly drop a grenade in their direction. Chances are high that your attacker will not notice it or not be able to stop in time before they trip right into it and explode. This can also be pulled off with shurikens, as many players underestimate stagnant shurikens and walk right across them, making themselves take damage.

### Rear Turrets

By doing a roll on the ground, you can shoot bullets of a weapon backwards if you time it just right. Using the Barrett gives them no time to react, while using the M79 gives you a greater chance of making the shot. This is extremely tricky to pull off, though. The riskiest way to do this is with an RPG as you are already "crouched" due to your roll. This is a risky gamble of self damage and often leads to a high-risk, high-reward scenario.

## Key Bind suggestions

Keybinds refer to certain keys connected to specific actions - for example, the default keybind to switch weapons is (Q). Comfortable keybinds often benefit a player's playstyles and gameplay. While preferred combinations usually vary from player to player, below are some ideal examples to try.

* This is mainly for touchpad players but it can work with PC also. You can swap your grenade to the spacebar and make it easier to get to your grenade and so your thumb does something.
* If you use arrow keys it could help to use the / button to be your swap weapons so you don't have to move your hand across the whole keyboard to get to it.
* Another arrow-key bind is to use . to go prone so you can easily access it with one hand
* I have prone bound to the left shift key which is not only more comfortable as your pinky naturally rests on that key, it also helps me switch between Ninja and Soldat gameplay in a smoother way. Morgoth recommends switching your prone key to spacebar as your thumb also naturally rests on that key and is also more responsive, allowing for faster proning.