YomiHustle/Ninja/Combos
Overview
Damage
Your main goal when comboing is to use as many high damaging moves as early as possible. Damage in combos scales heavily with the number of hits, so a short combo with many high damage moves can often do more damage than a longer combo that is mostly filler moves. For reference, here are all of ninja's moves sorted by damage:
| 2000 |  (Palm Strike)
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| 1500 |  (Air)
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| 1200 |   (+600)
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| 1100 | 
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| 1000 |  (High)  (Timed Det) 
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| 900 | 
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| 800 | (Low)  (Melee Hit) (Manual Det) 
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| 700 |   (x3)   (Kunai) (Slide Kick)
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| 650 | (Slide)
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| 600 |  (x3) 
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| 500 | 
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| 400 | (Air)  (Ground)  (Grab) (Projectile)
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| 300 | (Ground) (Air)
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Palm Strike and Air Uppercut have the highest damage, but are also the most difficult to follow up on. Your main damage moves in combos will generally be Sweep and Chuk Jump, as they are fairly reliable to combo into and out of. Drop Kick is also a strong option in the corner, as it has relatively lower damage, but is very easy to follow up on grounded hit.
Outside of these options, moves like NunChuk, Kick, and Chuk Spin are generally preferable for linking combos together compared to moves like Punch or Quick Slash, but other moves can be situationally useful as well.
Also note that moves with multiple hits cause scaling to increase for each hit, so it is usually advisable to cancel out of these moves after the first hit.
DI
Ground combos are often preferable to air combos, since your opponent only has 2 DI directions, and it is easier to set up combos that work on any DI. Additionally, ground combos have more high damage options which are easy to combo off of.
When you do have to convert to an air combo, opponents will most often be mixing up their DI between straight Up, or straight Down. If they DI up, Kick puts them in hitstun until they hit the ground, which gives you plenty of time to convert into a sticky bomb, or a restand to continue your ground combo. On DI down, divekick can often be used for a slightly tricky restand option. Chuk Spin can combo on any DI, but may require using an air option, especially on DI Up.
Enders
Your secondary goal when comboing is to end with a move which will help you set up your offense and increase the chance of starting another combo. The premiere ender for Ninja is Sticky Bomb, as it provides a constant oppressive threat to your opponent until it is detonated, or you are hit, as well as providing a knockdown on hit.
Learning to combo into sticky consistently can be difficult, but it is worth practicing. Here's a few tips to help, however:
- It is easier to combo into sticky in a ground combo or against the wall, since you only have to space yourself horizontally or vertically.
- The sticky bomb hitbox becomes active at the apex of the jump (when done without vertical momentum). Use this knowledge to help line yourself up in the air.
- Even if you can't land the grab, the sticky bomb is dropped straight down on frame 16. In situations where you get a knockdown, you can often drop the sticky directly onto your opponent, instead of trying to hit OTG.
- Don't worry about being slightly - afterwards, as this will give you the opportunity to react to your opponent's getup option.
If you can't set up a sticky bomb, you can instead try to set up a situation on knockdown where your attack will hit on the first frame where your opponent is actionable, and then free cancel it for an easy 50/50 mixup.
Alternatively, use your opponent's knockdown as an opportunity to set up down-forward summon or caltrops to make your pressure more oppressive in the next exchange.
Combo Starters
Punch/KickYou’re going to be starting a lot of combos with these because they’re the easiest to confirm into. However, they have high proration, so go for something else if you have a guaranteed punish.
NunChukA fast option that converts into high damaging options on any DI.
Quick SlashGood at catching your opponent off guard in neutral, but has some proration, and lower frame advantage on DI down, meaning you will generally need to spend more resources to combo off it. Burst Cancel is usually the best answer to both of these issues, since it resets your combo proration.
Restands
This is probably one of the more advanced aspects of combos, since it requires spacing, a bit of memorization, and a bit of math. If you hit your opponent as they land from hitstun, it will put the opponent into grounded hitstun, allowing you to continue your grounded combos.
If your opponent lands from a move without hard knockdown, there is a 4 frame slide animation where you can hit them for a restand.
On the other hand, if the opponent lands with hard knockdown, you have to hit them on the exact frame they hit the ground to continue the combo. This is where the math becomes important, as you often have to kill time with moves in order to get the timing exactly correct.
When your opponent gets knocked down, you get 20 frames of advantage after they hit the ground (by the game’s calculation). This means that, for example, if you are +25, you can hit them with a frame 5 move like kick to restand them. Often, the key to getting restands is to kill time with short duration moves like shuriken, to manipulate the amount of frame advantage you have. Check the overview page for more information on the startup and total duration of your various moves.
Common Restand Timings
- Punch: +24 (Knockdown), +4-8 (Soft Landing)
- Kick: +25 (Knockdown), +5-9 (Soft Landing)
- NunChuk: +27 (Knockdown), +7-11 (Soft Landing)
Movement
NIL (No Impact Land)
No Impact Landing is a movement technique where you can airdash at a precise angle to gain access to your grounded options, without incurring landing lag. This technique is performed by airdashing so that your airdash ends before you land, but close enough to the ground that the game treats you as grounded. If performed correctly, you will be able to use grounded options with more frame advantage than you would when landing normally.
To set up a NIL, airdash at a downward angle so that the character appears ready in the landing animation.
Then, adjust the dial upwards until the character appears ready in the airdash animation.
There is a small amount of leniency on the positioning for this technique. For example, in the example Dropkick starter combo, the NIL is performed slightly higher, to get more distance on the run.
Meter Usage
Quick SlashIt’s tempting to use this any time your combo won’t reach, but use some restraint. Your meter is often better spent on other things. This move has pretty low damage for a super, and has no minimum damage, meaning that its damage at the end of a combo is almost inconsequential. It can take multiple quick slashes to kill even an opponent who has no visible life left in their life meter.
However, this move can still be worth using as an extender if it lets you corner carry, or get a stronger ender for your combo.
As a grounded combo starter, this move is very strong due to its ability to hit at ranges where ninja normally has no unreactable options. However, the proration is very bad for your combo damage, and on DI down, this move has very low hitstun. The best thing to do is usually burst cancel, since it lets you use your super meter for other things, and resets the scaling on your combo, instead of increasing it.
Instant CancelUseful on special moves that have limited follow-up options, or occasionally in ground combos when your opponent is too far away, since most ground normals can’t be dash canceled.
CaltropsThe big combo super. Caltrops put your opponent into ridiculous amounts of hitstun, especially in ground combos. It can often combo off of moves with even decent amounts of hitstun, like grounded kick. It can even combo off of itself if you have the meter for it.
As mentioned previously, one of the best (or at least coolest) applications of caltrops is their ability to continue a combo off of Backsway Palm Strike, which is great late in a combo due to its high minimum damage.
Burst CancelPuts you at big advantage and refreshes all your air options, this can be used to keep an air combo going. Close to the ground, this move can also put the opponent back on the ground for a restand, so it can be a good way to keep a ground combo going after a launcher hit.
And, if it's timed correctly, it can completely nullify your opponents burst, placing you in an advantageous position with ample opportunity to get a full combo, however this only really works in very specific situations, and shouldn't be your main use of such a powerful tool.
Common Strings
These are not full combos, but rather common combo pieces that can be slotted together to form larger combos.
Legend
j. = Airborne version of normal move
(#) = Slider value (e.g . Chuk Jump distance or Shuriken Speed)
(#, #) = Directional value (e.g. Jump or Airdash angle)
NunChuk Basic
> (100) > > Airdash (0.85, 0.52) > > > Dash (100) > > > (0) > A simple, high damage combo which works on opponents who only DI out, and carries to the corner. Note that the second NunChuk will not link into Chuk Jump outside of the corner, due to increased knockback. In this case, loop Sweep into Instant Cancel again.
The airdash after Chuk Spin should land you directly in front of the opponent, but should not overshoot their position.
The last Chuk Spin can link into sticky bomb fairly easily. It may be better to end with sticky, rather than going for slightly more damage at this point in the combo.
Notes:
- The first NunChuk will not link into Chuk Jump on DI Out if hit at max range (such as from round start distance). In this case, you can do a shorthop forward (0.57, -0.33) into a NIL Airdash (0.99, 0.12) and hit another NunChuk.
- On the standard ruleset (wall distance 800), the corner will allow the last NunChuk to combo into ChukJump. On the most common competitive ruleset (wall distance 1100), this option will whiff. Instead, you can instant cancel the NunChuk, and Dash (100) into another NunChuk to connect the Chuk Jump.
Total Damage (Starter): 4800/5020
NunChuk Advanced
At higher levels, most opponents will DI your first Chuk Jump In, instead of Out, to make it harder to corner carry. This combo expects full DI Out, except for the first Chuk Jump hit.
> (100) > > Airdash (-0.45, 0.89) > > > Dash (100) > > > > Dash (100) > This version of the combo is not lacking in damage or corner carry, but it is incredibly meter hungry, so you will want to try to get a sticky bomb ender shortly after, otherwise you might be left at a disadvantage in your next neutral exchange.
The airdash after the Chuk Jump should put you very close in front of your opponent, so that the combo continues in the same direction.
Notes:
- On the standard ruleset (wall distance 800), this will cause a wall bounce in the corner from round start distance, which can continue the combo. On the most common competitive ruleset (wall distance 1100), this combo will instead end on the last sweep on DI out.
- In this case, you can throw Shuriken (100) and Dash (100). If they get up as soon as possible, this sets up for a very powerful substitution with the shuriken. If they delay their wakeup, substitute immediately to stop them from parrying it.
Total Damage (Starter): 4560
Drop Kick Starter
If you hit this from round start, it is very tricky to combo on DI Out. However, it is possible with a very specific airdash angle.
> Airdash (0.98, 0.2) > Dash (100) > > > (100) > (Whiff) > The airdash in this combo causes a "no impact land", which causes you to become grounded, without incurring a landing lag animation. This puts you +12, which is just enough time to run up and punch. You can get a no impact land with a slightly lower airdash angle, but doing so will cause the punch to whiff when hitting this combo from round start distance.
When hit at close range, this airdash angle will also allow the chuk spin to connect at the end of the combo.
Total Damage (Starter): 3570
Kick Starter
If you land Kick in a close-range RPS situation or as a punish, this route can net some decent damage.
> Jump (+/-0.73, 0.42) > (flip) > (0) > (100) > (100) > This is assuming the opponent is set to DI away the whole time, but if the opponent does DI in for the Kick, then do Jump (-0.5, 0) instead. At the end, you're free to Airdash diagonally down to follow up more, but depending on how close or far to the wall the opponent is, you're free to create your own path to glory!
Total Damage (Starter): 3850
Air Combo into Sticky
If your opponent DIs down on any Sweep, your only option will be to Stomp for an air combo. Here are some common air combo situations.
> Airdash > > Airdash (Optional) > > Air combos are much more DI dependent than ground combos, so no specific Airdash angles are given. Note that Chuk Spin can often combo directly into sticky bomb on DI Out, however.
The Dive Kick is not meant to hit, instead, it should leave you +0 or slightly - on the opponent's landing. Being - in particular can let you react to your opponent's getup option.
If you read DI up from your opponent, it may be better to go for a Kick into airdash down to get a restand setup.
Palm Strike/Caltrops Loop
This only works if you have caltrops set up. You can often combo into caltrops off a kick, or set it up while your opponent is in a lot of hitstun from a poorly DI'd sweep. Either way, all it takes to do this combo is hit an opponent into a caltrop with Palm Strike. You will need at least 18 frames of advantage to do this (13f backsway + 5f palm strike).
Palm Strike has a minimum damage of 700, so it does great damage even in heavily scaled combos, in addition to having the highest base damage.
In these situations, the best move for your opponent is to DI Away and let themselves get hit by the rest of the caltrops. If they do not, you can perform this loop multiple times for massive damage. If they do, you still have a huge amount of frame advantage to set up whatever extension or ender you want.
Also, be careful about launcher hits. If either the Palm Strike or Caltrop sends airborne, your opponent can DI Down to force a landing, and sometimes have enough advantage left over to punish you for it.
Detailed Move Guide
Ground Combos
Ground combos are your bread and butter, and you should always be trying to convert into one.
They tend to be more DI safe than air combos, and are great at bringing your opponent to the corner, where combos become much easier.
Ground Normals
PunchPunch is a high speed low hitstun move, it’s very useful for sometimes being the only move that will let you pick up a combo, at 4f startup. Additionally, it’s good at checking your opponent’s DI due to its low knockback.
However, it can be very difficult to combo off of when used more than once in a combo, due to how low the base hitstun is. The damage is very low as well, which makes it less rewarding to hit.
KickLike Punch, this move has very fast startup, but also comes with the added benefit of 8 extra frames of advantage, which allows it to combo into caltrops and backsway palm strike, although it can be difficult to combo into the latter if your opponent gets knocked too far away.
SweepThis is one of the highest damage moves that can combo consistently. On DI Down, it can combo into Stomp OTG for an air combo. On DI Out, you can spend meter to instant cancel into dash, but this can often be worth it for higher damage combos and corner carry.
On DI up, the opponent will be put into a ridiculous amount of hitstun. You can take this time to taunt for meter, and still continue the combo on the ground with a restand.
NunChukNunChuk is a core move in your ground combos, due to good damage and combo potential with their unique stance moves. Against opponents who have bad DI, or in the corner, you can link standard Chuks into itself multiple times. Against opponents who DI out, you may need to cash out sooner.
The biggest downside to Chuks is that if your opponent gets knocked too far away, the lack of dash cancel and limited stance options means you can be forced to end your combo early or spend meter, so don't get too greedy.
NunChuk (high) doesn’t work in ground combos, but is faster and does more damage than the low version, and is less affected by DI due to its knockback angle.
Chuk HeavyA somewhat niche combo option. It has lower horizontal knockback than NunChuk, which means that it can be used to get an extra hit in before cashing out with Chuk Jump. However, its damage per hit is lower than regular Chuk, and each hit scales your combo, meaning it’s not worth going for all 3 hits of this move.
Chuk JumpThis is your “Cash out” button on chuk combos. It has high damage, and allows you to transition out of Chuck stance. Be sure to hit this before your opponent gets too far away. Against opponents with good DI, this can sometimes be after only 1 or 2 hits. This move has very limited follow-up options, so you want to adjust the distance so that it combos into Chuk Spin cleanly. However, even if Chuk Spin whiffs after this move, you will still have at least +8 Frame Advantage by landing with it.
Whip WaveThis is the most niche Chuk followup, but it’s still very useful. First of all, it’s the most burst safe of all the followups, since it lacks the usual forward lunge these moves have. Additionally, it can be somewhat hard to DI, as the correct DI depends on the range, and can combo into itself multiple times if your opponent has the wrong DI. At some ranges, DI down can result in a hard knockdown which will instantly end your combo, but other times, DI down will make this move combo into itself.
Drop KickThis move has high damage, and a decent amount of hitstun, but launches your opponent very far on DI out, which can make it hard to follow up on. Best used in the corner where followups are easier.
GrabYour fastest option, with decent damage. Unfortunately, its combo potential is limited by port priority. If you are player 1, DI down will cause the combo to drop, but as player 2, you can combo into stomp on DI down. Should be avoided since it forces you into an air combo at best.
Air Normals
Air KickOn grounded hit, this move has similar knockback to Kick, but has separate scaling, and is easier to combo off of due to being airdash cancellable. More importantly, it is possibly the best launcher button in your kit (see Launchers for more detail).
Chuk SpinThis move has decent damage and great hitstun, and is also airdash cancellable, which makes it a very safe option to extend your ground combos.
Specials
UppercutThis move has high damage and hitstun, but can be very hard to combo off of without burst cancel, and puts your opponent high in the air, where you generally don’t want them to be.
The air version of this has the second highest damage of any of your moves, but is not cancellable on hit. You can land cancel it however, so this can be a way to punish an opponent for using DI Down close to the ground.
StompHits OTG meaning you can hit opponents in hard knockdown, as long as you do it before their getup options are available. This is not optimal in other situations however, since it forces you to combo high in the air most of the time.
ShurikenDon’t forget you have it. Sometimes it’s the only way to get a combo pickup. It can also make combos burst safe, and it’s good for restands. You should always try to hit the lowest speed shuriken you can, since the later it hits, the more frames of advantage you will get off it.
Jump KickOne of the highest damage moves in ninja's kit, but launches opponents up and far away. Cancelling into specials like summon or shuriken can give you enough advantage to continue your combo, but it forces you to convert into an awkward air combo.
BackswayThis move can be used to bait bursts, due to its startup invincibility. Its main usage in combos is its Palm Strike followup (sometimes referred to as “Pilebunker”). Palm Strike is the highest damage move in your kit, and has a high minimum damage, which means that it’s great late into a combo, especially if your opponent is low on health.
However, Palm Strike is also +0 on hit at best in most situations, so this is usually a combo ender. The main exception to this is when setting up caltrops, as hitting opponents into caltrops with this move can often allow you to loop this move multiple times, DI permitting. If you can set this up, the damage is massive.
SubstitutionCan be a somewhat situational option due to relying on prior setup. The most common application is swapping with a projectile like caltrops to get closer to the ground after launching your opponent downward.
Air Combos
Generally, if you can convert an air combo into a ground combo, you should. But your opponent can make this tricky for you with DI. These combos are much more subject to DI, and your opponent can sometimes make you burn all your air options after just a few hits.
PunchNot the core of your air combos, but a good DI mixup. This move sends very up, which can make you burn resources on it, but if your opponent is DI’ing down, it can often combo into itself or buttons like divekick without spending an air option.
KickThe corollary to Punch. This move has hard knockdown and a lot of downward knockback, which can make it hard to combo off of. But if your opponent DIs up, it can become a great way to convert back into a ground combo.
Additionally, if you have a substitution target near the ground, such as caltrops, you can use this to refresh your air options or convert into a ground combo, even on DI down if your opponent is high enough when it hits.
Chuk SpinThe core of your air combos. This move works decently well on most DI, although you normally still have to spend a resource on DI up. This move is also best at linking into Sticky Bomb in your air combos. It often combos directly into it, or if not, you can jump/airdash out of it to put yourself in Sticky Bomb range.
DivekickThis move’s momentum shifting properties often let it get combo pickups where no other move will hit. Additionally, since it sends both you and the opponent downwards, it can be useful for converting to a ground combo. However, it has more limited cancel options. You usually want to combo this into shuriken, but DI up can make shuriken whiff, forcing you to spend meter or drop the combo. For this reason, it’s better used closer to the ground.
GrabThis move has infinite hitstun until your opponent hits the ground, and it sends outward rather than straight down like Kick does. It also has higher damage than your air normals, making it a surprisingly strong combo option which can convert into a restand or sticky bomb setup.
ShurikenGood for getting your opponent to go towards the ground but can be hard to follow up on depending on DI.
SummonOccasionally useful from the air, but more useful when used shortly after a launcher to juggle your opponent without burning air resources. However, be careful about comboing off the projectiles from this move. The opponent’s DI can drastically change their position after being hit, so it’s best to wait for the projectile to hit and react to their DI option.
Additionally, this move gives a slight upward boost, which can be useful to catch an opponent who got launched really high without spending an extra air option.
Store/Release MomentumIt’s worth storing a dash or airdash in neutral, so that you’ll have release momentum ready for your combos. It can be very useful for picking up combos where your opponent is just out of reach.
Store momentum can also be useful for continuing a combo off of moves with limited cancel options, especially if your current momentum brings you too far out of range.
Sticky BombThis right here is the best combo ender in your kit. You should always try to end combos with this move (You can end ground combos with this move too). When used high enough up, you can act soon enough to detonate it and continue your combo, or substitute with a caltrop on the ground and hit them before they land. However, the sticky bomb is much more valuable as a neutral tool than a combo extender, since it allows you to get a full combo off of any whiffed option from your opponent.
While connecting this move isn’t too hard from a grounded combo, or in the corner, it can be really tricky to learn how to hit it consistently in the air. As mentioned, Chuk Spin is the most consistent at this, but it’s really just important to know where the hitbox on this move is. The hitbox is pretty small, and doesn't come out until frame 10. The key here is to space yourself so that you hit your opponent at the apex of the jump, which is when the hitbox becomes active. You also have to factor in momentum, since this move has a set vertical velocity, but is affected by your horizontal momentum.
If you start a combo with the sticky bomb on the opponent, it also works great for burst safe routing. If you detonate and block on the same turn, it will parry burst, while still giving you enough advantage to continue the combo if they do not. Given that you lose the sticky bomb if you get bursted anyway, it’s best to do this earlier in the combo.
