| Re: 2nd Character... THF or DRG? As for /NIN in there, it's hard to deny the usefulness of the two things that /NIN brings to the table when you're on a THF main, but it's hardly the only viable sub from 20 on. There are some considerations to take into account:
pre-20, THF/MNK is probably the best bet. There are various arguments for and against using hand-to-hand weapons when doing this. THF/RNG is also nice if you play it right. THF/WAR is reasonably standard, but at these levels doesn't give you much besides Provoke (THF can tank at dunes levels, but is probably not going to).
Many people argue for committing to /NIN at 20 for Dual-Wield. Unlike many cases where this is more a placebo effect than anything (see WAR/NIN at 20), you do get one key advantage here: Main-handing a sword and off-handing a dagger lets you build up dagger skill so that when you hit 33 and it's time to main-hand dagger, you don't have to spend a lot of time to cap dagger skill and get Viper Bite.
If for one reason or another you don't want to go this route, THF/RNG makes an excellent combo IMO and THF/MNK is still useful until about 30 (though H2H becomes progressively worse the higher you level, so a H2H THF/MNK might have some difficulty going this high), when THF/WAR comes into its own.
At 30+, the three main combos that are worthwhile:
THF/WAR -- This gives you extra power and access to Berserk. Good for DoT, good for spike damage. The primary downside to this is being more vulnerable when pulling, particularly for long pulls and fast mobs. At 50+ you get Double Attack, which helps squeeze out more DoT, and Defender, which can offset some of the pulling disadvantage, though it certainly doesn't substitute for Utsusemi. At 60+, Attack Bonus helps offset some of the additional advantages Dual Wield starts to offer THF/NIN.
THF/RNG -- Take full advantage of your Marksmanship skill and status bolts. When pulling, select your prey off the map and your compass will guide you right to it. This is a less standard sub which offers Accuracy Bonus (including Ranged Accuracy), Sharpshot, and Wide Scan as its primary features. This also grants the ability to use ranged weapon skills, which can be situationally useful, though most of the time you're going to want to be closing Distortion with SATA Viper Bite.
THF/NIN -- This gives you the same two useful things it gives any other job: Utsusemi and Dual Wield. Utsusemi's shadows make a big difference on long pulls. Dual Wield gives you the ability to off-hand a weapon for stat boosts (there are a few daggers that give pretty nice boosts this way). I'd say that pre-60, off-hand stat boosts will be what either sells you on /NIN onry, vs. seeing it as a situational sub depending on whether you're pulling and where. Dual Wield gets an extra edge at 60+ with Triple Attack and Dancing Edge, turning a 5-hit attack into a 6-hit attack with two chances at procing Triple Attack for a total of 8 hits.  Kumei, pickpocket of Midgardsormr (Bastok, Rank 8)
THF75, DRK60, NIN40, WAR37, WHM36, RNG35, DNC35, BLM20, RDM14, DRG12, BST8, BRD7, PUP4, SCH4
Alchemy 70, Smithing 50, Goldsmithing 38, Leathercraft 23, Fishing 16
Koren, San d'Orian Adv. (Rank 6)
WHM52, SMN31, SCH29, BLM26, NIN23, PLD6, BRD6, RDM5, RNG1
Woodworking 29, Cooking 11
All celestials obtained (Trial-Size)
Myrna, Windurstian Merchant
BLM19, WHM6
Clothcraft 24
Nyamohrreh, Windurstian Adv. (Rank 2)
WAR28, MNK16, WHM15, BLM3
Last edited by Lunaryn : 09-28-2007 at 12:39 PM. | 
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