As obvious as it is that Shinobi will be way better at offense and defense, there are still some things to keep in mind. Unlike Orochi mains, we are not blessed with God mode.

Now in ganks, Shinobi will NOT be able to just pull someone out with a long range gb or be able to snipe people with long range heavies and has to suffer with everyone inside the gank now. Sickle rain is still the main goal when inside of a gank as the "pin" move to guarantee damage for others. Shinobi will be able to target swap the kick and the heavy after kick, which can relieve some pressure in ganks or team fights. With the extended roll and the back flip, Shinobi has a pretty safe defense for getting in and out of fights easily which still gives Shinobi that feeling of the "get in, get out" mentality.

In 1v1s, Shinobi has a LOT more to work with upfront and less range BS, with the new changes Shinobi is able to chain more attacks into each other and dodge around while focusing on landing a sickle rain. Shinobi now has a new front dodge attack option to chase and mix up the regular dodge and double dodge. The kick no longer requires a double dodge and can be accessed from just a regular dodge to increase mix up capabilities. All of Shinobi's heavy finishers lead into sickle rain, the sides being undodgable attacks and the top being an unblockable. The deflect no longer guarantees the kick but still guarantee the light option for less damage.

In my personal experience with the last testing ground changes, Shinobi feels a lot smoother when chaining into different attacks honestly a lot better than before, besides the clunkiness of some animations. These changes do not feel broken or weak, they are just right. With the new update coming and the new front dodge attack, things should feel a lot better for the 0.36 KD Shinobis :)

Shinobi

HP is now 120, up from 110
Developer’s comment: With the changes coming to Shinobi’s escape options, the lower HP pool was no longer necessary.

Ranged Attacks

Removed Charging Heavy Attack from Neutral
Removed Ranged Guard Break
Ranged Heavy Attack is now a Melee attack accessible after Front Kick, Side Kick or Teleport Kick
Developer’s comment: Shinobi had access to tools that bypassed For Honor’s Art of Battle; at-will ranged attacks caused issues in group fights with invisible indicators and off-screen attacks. With these changes, Shinobi’s Ranged Attack is now only accessible as a guaranteed attack off some of the hero’s Kick attacks, which should reduce the frustration experienced when facing Shinobi. We’re pushing the hero in a different direction, with a more slippery, agile and mixup intensive kit which fits better with what heroes are capable of generally doing.

Heavy and Light Attack changes

Adjusted Heavy Opener properties to gain better tracking and range
Light attacks now chain to Sickle Rain at 100ms (down from 200ms)
Light Openers now have extra forward movement
Light Finishers now have flatter weapon trajectories and now have extra forward movement
Sickle Rain

Top Heavy Finisher is now Unblockable and 800ms (up from 700ms)
Side Heavy Finisher is now Undodgeable
Additional hits for Sickle Rain no longer require strict timing
Additional hits no longer cause Bleed damage
Now deals 20 damage on initial hit, plus 3 per Stab (for a total of 29 damage)
No longer drains stamina on hit
No longer ignores Pinning rules
Now chains to Back Flip 66ms earlier
Developer’s comment: With the removal of Ranged Guardbreak (which was the main way Shinobi landed Sickle Rain), we’ve adjusted the move as well as where it can be accessed from so that it lands more frequently.

Chains

Light Finishers now chain to Sickle Rain
Combo Light attacks now chain to Sickle Rain
Developer’s comment: These changes should help Shinobi flow better in 1v1.

Dodge Kicks

Side Dodge Kick can now be performed after a single Dodge (was from Double Dodge only)
Front Dodge Kick can now be performed after a single Dodge (was from Double Dodge only)
Front Dodge Kick can be performed from 300ms to 500ms from Dodges
Front Dodge Kick and Side Dodge Kick can now ledge
Developer’s comment: With these changes, Shinobi is better able to defend and open up opponents.

New Option: Front Dodge Heavy

New Option: Front Dodge Heavy Attack
700ms feintable Heavy Attack
Can be performed from 100ms to 500ms during Front Dodge and Front Double Dodge
Initiates Chains
Developer’s comment: This new option should help Shinobi have a proper mixup between Front Dodge Kick and this new attack which is feintable.

Front Roll

Now chains to Flip Kick earlier
Now chains to Sickle Rain
Now can be target-swapped
Now has extra forward movement
Now 600ms of invulnerability frames (iframes)
No longer Guardbreak Invulnerable
Now lasts 900ms total
Now leads to Double Dodge at same timing as Flip Kick and Sickle Rain
Developer’s comment: Front Roll is accessible after using Ranged Heavy attacks. These changes ensure that Shinobi has a mixup available when performing Front Roll, with Flip Kick or Side Sickle Rain, opponents will need to make a read as to how to approach this situation.

We’ve also improved the properties of Front Roll; since it now has generous iframes, it can be used more often with less risk of being punished.

Flip Kick

Now leads to a new guaranteed combo Heavy Attack
Now target-swappable
Developer’s comment: Flip Kick is now a chain extender; the new combo Heavy Attack chains to Sickle Rain, providing extra mixups.

Sprint Attack

Replaced Sliding Kick with a new Sprint Attack
New option is still a Melee attack but no longer unbalances opponents
New option now chains to Combo Heavy Attack on hit
Developer’s comment: This new Sprint Attack is both less frustrating to play against and also adds another layer of mixups to Shinobi by letting them push forward with the Combo Heavy Attack.

New option: Combo Heavy Attack

Accessible by pressing Heavy Attack after Flip Kick and Sprint Attack
Chains to Sickle Rain
Developer’s comment: This new option lets Shinobi deal reliable damage after two of their Melee options, and opens up new venues to go to Sickle Rain.

Back Flip

Is now 900ms (up from 600ms)
Now has 600ms of iframes
Is no longer Guardbreak Invulnerable
No longer chains to Ranged Attacks
Now chains to Flip Kick
Now chains to Light Finishers and Sickle Rain
Now initiates Double Dodge
Developer’s comment: This new iteration of Back Flip should help Shinobi use Back Flip to counter attacks more efficiently with branchings to Flip Kick and extended iframes.

Dodges

Double Dodge can no longer dodge backwards
Double Dodge now costs 6 stamina
Developer’s comment: Shinobi was able to create too much distance too quickly with back Double Dodge; with this change, Shinobi can still use Double Dodge to create horizontal space with their opponents, but shouldn’t become impossible to reach.

Deflect

Teleport is no longer automatic; it must be performed by pressing Guardbreak during a Deflect
Teleport now chains to Heavy Finishers
Developer’s comment: This change makes Shinobi more in-line with other heroes that can Deflect and removes automatic Teleport to make sure players have a choice to perform the action or not, depending on the situation.

Teleport Kick

No longer guaranteed after a Teleport
Ranged Heavy Attack is now always guaranteed
Developer’s comment: Shinobi was dealing too much damage after a Deflect; with this, the hero is more in line with his new identity where a landed Deflect now enables a mixup with Teleport Kick and Undodgeable Sickle Rain.

Shadow Strike

Now chains to Teleport Kick
Now chains to Sickle Rain
Extended the input window to make the move easier to perform
Developer’s comment: Similarly to Deflect, Shinobi now gains new mixup options after a successful Parry.

Zone Attack

Now costs 15-15-10 Stamina (down from 17-17-21)
Can now Back Flip at the same timing as Feint
3rd hit has less Knockback
Now chains to Sickle Rain
Developer’s comment: These changes to Zone Attack should help make it more usable; it can now initiate mixups with Back Flip, can chain to Sickle Rain, and has a much lower stamina cost.