Overview
Going in-depth of all the equipment you can carry as the Marked Ninja. Some SPOILERS ahead. If I missed anything, let me know.Other Mark of the Ninja guides:The Hazards of Mark of the NinjaThe Scoring of Mark of the NinjaChanges:DateModification24.08.2017Added an explanatory section to Styles.02.08.2017Added maximum stock capacity to distraction and attack items.31.07.2017-01.08.2017Tweaked some images for transparency, added a section to display Honour cost to upgrades, added maximum stock limit to distraction and attack items.28.07.2017Fixed a few grammar issues.
Passive Items – Grappling Hook
Grappling Hook is arguably the most useful tool in the Ninja’s arsenal. It can be used to grapple onto surfaces quickly vertically and horizontally. This makes it ideal for quick getaways and it can be used indefinitely. When clinging onto a grappling point, the hook will make a little bit of noise and anyone who is near to the point will become suspicious.
Passive Items – The Sword of Tetsuji
The Sword of Tetsuji is also a very helpful weapon to kill enemies who are in your way. It can be used from different angles with different results (some require Technique upgrades). When targeting an enemy from stealth, you will usually need to move your mouse in the right direction for it to succeed smoothly and quietly. Failing this will make the target scream, making noise, and will also reward less points. Some kills will not require this. Due to the tradition of the clan, clan members never use the sword in a fight, instead they use their fists and feet to fight, and only use the sword as a finisher.
Passive Items – Bamboo Darts
Bamboo Darts are an extremely useful for diversion. They can be used to destroy light equipment like lights, power boxes etc. They can also be used at enemies to bring their attention to the position you threw them. When using Focus, you can throw up to three darts at once.
Passive Items – Map
The Map is also quite a useful tool to keep track of where you are. It will display different information such as the explored environment of the level as silhouette, your position, the objective locations, current objective, seals and their requirement, found and unfound scrolls, and the map score targets.
Styles
Styles are different costumes that your ninja can wear. Some have to be unlocked by completing specific seals and others are unlocked by progressing through the storyline. Each one also has different advantages and setbacks to balance the gameplay to your needs.
Styles – Path of the Ninja
This is the traditional clothing worn by the Hisomu clan for centuries. The wearer can carry a sword, bamboo darts, one distraction item and one attack item
Styles – Path of the Mark
This style enables you to use the Mark of Serenity, the final effect of the ink. This enabled the ninja to move at lightning speed and go unnoticed with this. It also allows the ninja to scale to places impossible usually. This is at the cost of a distraction item.
The clothing is stripped, because when the Ninja was receiving the final mark, they were ambushed by Stalkers and his clothes were torn off.
Styles – Path of Might
Path of Might is suitable for those who engage in fights more often than usual. It’s thicker armour adds two health points enabling the survival of more intense fights and restoration of health upon stealth kills adds to this. Furthermore, the thick armour is also more effective on enemies which means knocking them down is easier. However, the heavy armour forfeit the ability to freeze time when using Focus, making stealth tactics harder to execute.
Styles – Path of the Hunter
Path of the Hunter is suitable for those who like to strike from the shadows. To help this, stealth kills are always perfect and silent, and the Ninja can carry two attack items for further lethality.
However, the complex design of the costume will make replenishing possible only at equipment caches. Also, the Ninja cannot use distraction items when needed.
Styles – Path of Silence
Path of Silence is fitted for those who leave guards untouched and shadows to move through entire levels undetected. To help this, this costume has extremely light and soft structure making any running, climbing, any movement completely silent. Furthermore, two distraction items can be carried to support this.
However, the Ninja cannot stealth kill when it would be conventional and attack items cannot be carried.
Styles – Path of Nightmares
This costume is ideal for those who like to manipulate enemies and make them take care of themselves. This is supported by that the suit will allow you to leave behind more gruesome corpses and more terrifying stealth kills with the Oni mask (in the guards’ eyes). However, distraction items cannot be carried when needed.
Styles – Path of Wisdom
The Ninja in this suit is actually young Dosan. Dosan doesn’t carry a sword around and instead, uses his own hands to knock out enemies. This makes the suit ideal for non-lethal playthroughs. Also, he can carry more of other items because of not carrying a sword.
Stealth knockouts are different from usual kills:
- Will not kill the enemy
- Always succeed from behind
- Unable to perfrom from a hiding spot if the target is looking at the Ninja’s direction
- Cannot be executed from above or below or from a ventilation shaft
- Knocked out enemies can be awaken by other guards
- Enemies who find a knocked out guard will not sound the alarm
Distraction Items – Noise Maker
Noise Maker are firecrackers that will make noise for about an eight meter radius once thrown onto the ground. Any guard who hears this will come to investigate, giving you a chance to ambush them or sneak past them.
Upgraded Noise Makers don’t set off once they hit the ground. Instead, they can be manually triggered when the time is right.
Distraction Items – Smoke Bomb
Smoke Bombs will temporarily blind any enemies in its radius. This makes it ideal to quickly sneak past multiple enemies in one place. Smoke Bombs will also block light sources and laser tripwires.
Upgraded Smoke Bombs will unleash a poisonous gas that will temporarily disable enemies without a gas mask entirely, leaving them vulnerable to any attack. When enemies recover, they have a chance to sound the alarm, though, so the upgrade can be a downgrade for those who don’t touch enemies.
Distraction Items – Distraction Flare
Distraction Flares are used similarly to Noise Makers. Instead of making noise, it will make a light that will attract guards from a distance. This makes it good for distracting enemies to a longer distance, but it cannot distract enemies from behind, however. It will also disable Gas Mask guards, because their goggles cannot adapt to light sources that intense.
Upgraded Distraction Flares have a manual trigger like upgraded Noise Makers have.
Distraction Items – Cardboard Box
Cardboard Boxes are portable hiding spots for the Ninja. They can be used at any time to hide from patrolling enemies and can also be used to move around. When an enemy sees you moving around at a distance, they will become suspicious, but at close, they will sound an alarm.
Upgraded Cardboard Boxes enable you to kill an enemy and hide its corpse in the process in the box. This will leave the box behind, but you can retrieve it when needed.
Distraction Items – Dusk Moths
Dusk Moths are ideal to temporarily disable any light source in the area without causing suspicion. They can also be used to disable enemies when hit. This will leave them open for an attack or you can leave them untouched to sneak around.
Attack Items – Spike Mine
Spike Mines can be thrown onto the ground as a trap that will kill guards who talk into it with an impaling spike. Other guards who see another guard get killed by this will become terrorized. When a mine lands, though, it will make some noise and anyone who hears this will become more suspicious and will disable the mine. Droppsed Spike Mines can be picked up if not activated.
Upgraded Spike Mines land onto the ground completely silently.
Attack Items – Hisomu Terror Dart
Hisomu Terror Darts have an ancient fluid in them that will draw anyone who is struck by it insane (or terrorized in the game). This makes it ideal to clear some spaces of guards without much attraction to yourself. As terrorizing doesn’t work for all enemies, it isn’t good to use it on them.
Concentrated terror darts will further enhance the fluid and will eventually draw struck enemies to suicide, This will work on any enemy, regardless of terrorizing vulnerability. Enemies who see a suicide will become terrorized.
Attack Items – Caltrops
Caltrops are used to disable enemies who walk into them for a few seconds, leaving them vulnerable for a kill or to sneak past them. This works on all enemies, making it a better attack tool in some situation while a worse tool in other situations.
Attack Items – Ravenous Insects
Ravenous Insects will violently and loudly eat anyone who is struck by them alive. This will terrorize anyone who sees them and distract anyone who hears them. They can also be used to remove left behind corpses, but that’s mostly wasting its potential.
Attack Items – Fungal Spores
Fungal Spores are great for killing multiple guards. Anyone who is hit by these will be instantly killed, and the corpse left behind will leave the spores in in it. Other guards who see the victim getting killed will become terrorized.. The corpse will make some noise every few seconds and anyone who hears it will come investigate it. The person who gets close to the corpse will cause the spores to emerge and kill its next victim. By this time, the spores will disappear.
Upgrades
Upgrades can be earned by spending Honour points. Honour points can be obtained by completing levels with expertise.
You can earn Honour by:
- Completing levels with a target score. There’s three targets, each of them gives one Honour point.
- Collecting Haiku Scrolls. These are hidden throughout each level and some of them require a puzzle to be solved.
- Completing Seals. Seals are three optional objectives featured in each level. Completing one gives one Honour point.
At the end of each level, you should be able to earn 9 Honour points.
Upgrades – Techniques
Techniques are unlockable upgrades that will permanently applied to your ninja. Most upgrades require Honour points and completion of a level while others are free by obtaining from a pickup.
Upgrades – Distraction Items
Distraction items are mainly used as a non-lethal alternative to help you bypass a situation with better techniques, though some also help you deal with the situation by lethality.
Upgrades – Attack Items
Attack items are mainly used to help the Ninja in killing enemies swiftly, though some can sometimes be used to bypass them.
Upgrades – Requirements and Acquirements
This section shows the Honour required and the chapters required to obtain the upgrades.
