Ninjas are infantry units that are very effective against heroes and mercenaries. Ninjas themselves are mercenaries, so are easily countered by Spies. The Ninja can also use Stealth Mode, which can be detected by an Explorer or Town Center (or other units or buildings).
The Ninja differs from the Spy in that it is classified as a mercenary, in contrast to the Spy, making the Spy very effective against Ninjas. The Ninja also has much higher cost, slightly less speed, much lower Line of Sight and much lower multipliers, but it has more hit points and much higher base damage and siege damage. Ninjas also take up 4 population per unit, despite only costing 200 coin, whereas Spies take up only 1 population per unit, despite costing 125 coin. Ninjas are slightly more deadly against mercenaries, but less effective against heroes, and are far less useful for scouting.
As is the case with Spies, Ninjas are not cost effective against any units other than mercenaries and heroes. However, they do much better against normal units than Spies do, because of their higher base damage. This makes them more well-rounded than Spies. Ninjas are classified as Heavy infantry and Infantry, making them especially vulnerable to skirmishers and artillery.
The Ninja also has worse accessibility than Spies, as Spies are always available from the Church/Mosque from the Commerce Age onward (except for the Dutch Church from the JapaneseConsulate), can be sent from the Home City by European civilizations, while the Ninja can sometimes be trained at the Saloon/Monastery, or sent with Home City shipments by certain civilizations.
Ninjas are very useful in the third and fourth scenarios of the Chinese campaign (by choosing Japanese Mercenaries at the Consulate) because most enemies on these maps (namely, Jaguar Warriors and Eagle Warriors) are classified as Native Warriors, which the Ninja has bonuses against.
The Ninjutsu-Zukai is identical to the Ninja, but are easier to access since they can be trained from the Japanese Consulate if Japanese Isolation is chosen. They start with +10% hit points and attack than the regular Ninja, and are automatically upgraded in every Age starting in the Fortress Age (see here for the exact values).
Shrouded by the mists of time, the exploits of the ninja continue to fire imaginations across the globe. During the turbulent years of Japan's sixth and seventh centuries, a secret class of warrior priests emerged. Rulers of opposing factions came to value the ninja for their skills in stealth, combat, and espionage.
As the centuries passed, the legendary powers of the ninja grew: invisibility, shape-shifting, flight; even the ability to pass through solid walls. Modern filmmakers blend historical fact with ancient myth to fashion a portrait of a warrior class that continues to fascinate and terrify.
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Gallery[]
An in game Ninja
Ninja siege attack
Ninjas in action
A Ninja in the Stealth mode
Video[]
NINJA vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT - AoE 3- Definitive Edition
Infantry Breastplate (+10%)
Thin Red Line (+20%, British only)
Corselet (+25%, Spanish only)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Maya Cotton Armor (+20%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%)
Mapuche Tactics (+50% siege attack)
Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%)
Yoga (+5%)
Master Lessons (+10%)
Military Drummers (+10%)
Tilly's Discipline (+20%, Germans only)
Quechuan Mountaineering (+20%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Town Watch (+2)
Standing Army (-25%)
Quechuan Diet (-25%)
Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)
