Thoughts on Thieves

[Zorego]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on here and im trying to decide which job to mantain as a main for my character once the game hits beta/retail.

My sights are set on thief so I was wondering if any thieves main or sub could post on their experiences with the class.

Things like their role in groups, how do their skills work, weapon types that can be used etc.

Also, any thoughts on a sub for my thief main job choice would be welcome as well. Thanks in advance.

[IleDeusMorpheus]

Thief is an important damage dealer class. Many PTs on the Japanese servers right now will pick THF over DRK for damage. Also Thieves are invaluable when searching for rare item drops and doing coffer quests. The mechanics of backstab and decieve attack make it necessary for you to know what you're doing both in PTs and solo to get by. Subs for THF ... well, erm, usually it's Thief that ends up getting subbed - it's a viable (if not always the best) sub for just about any class ... as far as subs though you want to stay away (as usual) from RNG and BRD, they are never to be subbed. melee/mage combos are not terribly popular either, and while WAR/WHM might have some success, I'm not confident that a THF/mage would do quite the same. WAR, MNK, probably Samurai are all good subs ... other idea, anyone? :confused: :confused: :sweat:

[Zorego]

Not the best question to ask since its so early into the expansion but how would a ninja/thief perform?

[IleDeusMorpheus]

Very nicely I think. Of course, I also think Ninja/Black Mage will become a standard. We'll see how it all pans out. :sweat:

[Zirus]

i was thinking about being a MNK/THF. would thief be useful as a sub for the monk? im guessing it would be but i just want to be sure.

also, what do the backstab and decieve attacks to exactly.

thanks for the info.

[Zorego]

also, what do the backstab and decieve attacks to exactly.

Ya I was wondering that myself.

[Fox Excalibur]

Backstab, you stab the enemy in the back for lots of damage.
Decieve, i imagine you decieve the enemy into blocking an attack when it was really a fake, and you hit them somewhere else! (just speculation on this, this is what it is in Fencing)

Also to say i believe Monk.Thief would work well, you wouldnt be able to use Backstab (i dont think, could be wrong) but you could get the attack bonus that thief will give you, plus the rewards of how much stuff tehy can find.

[Starv]

Decieving attack is where the thf stands behind another person in the party and attacks from there, usually a paladin.
It deals out loads more damage

[carl713]

As you can see, I am planing on making a Theif / Beastmaster...

...i think that this will do quite well...especially now that i know about backstab...

I can send my pet to attack(drawing that attacks of the enemy to my pet) and sneak around to the enemys back and use this skill...

This should work great when going solo...

(Now, i dont actually know this will work...but I can only assume it would)

someone plz correct me if I'm wrong

[Zorego]

Originally posted by carl713
As you can see, I am planing on making a Theif / Beastmaster...

...i think that this will do quite well...especially now that i know about backstab...

I can send my pet to attack(drawing that attacks of the enemy to my pet) and sneak around to the enemys back and use this skill...

This should work great when going solo...

(Now, i dont actually know this will work...but I can only assume it would)

someone plz correct me if I'm wrong


Hmmmm that isn't a bad idea really. It sounds viable to me, Although I think i would try it as a summoner/thief maybe? or thief/summoner... hmmm...

I think THF/BST would have a problem with that setup since the charmed creatures you control seem to be alot lower level then the creatures you will be fighting. One backstab might just leave all the aggro on you instead of the pet.

[carl713]

Tru Tru...

I still like the Beastmaster class and think that(once its a higher lv) you can control some cool mosters

I still think that I will make this to start out with(at least)...

I mean...you can change your classes at any time, so its not that big of a deal if it doesnt work...



But a Theif / Summoner would be a damn cool combo too!

;)

[Zorego]

Originally posted by carl713


But a Theif / Summoner would be a damn cool combo too!

;)

Yeah it sounds pretty good. Would be interesting backstabbing things with a summon thats twice/three times my size (tarutaru thief)

[cactuar]

well iam going to be thief but iam not importing how would a thief/monk work out

[Shanker]

I believe that Thief/Monk works out very nicely(IMO, better than Monk/Thief). Infact, thats the combo i'm going with when i get the game.

Now the beauty of having Thief as your main job are the active/passive abilities. You get the Monk's two "Martial Arts" grappling shortening skill along with the "Counter" ability.
Also, you'll be able to receive the Thief's lv 45, 50, 55 passive abilities of "Treasure Hunter II"(along with lv 15 "Treasure Hunter" you have much higher chance of receiving items), "Physical Evasion Up"(with the already agile Thief stats and Monk lv 15 ability "evasion" you'll be dodging attack like crazy), and "Triple Attack"(paired up with Monk's "Martial Arts" you'll make up the 2 lost STR points with numerous and multiple hits).
On top of all of that, you get the active abilities of "Pickpocket"(extra gil, ain't nothin' wrong with that) and "Hide"(very nice when your traveling).

Well, that ends my rant. Thanks for humoring me. ::steps off soap box::

[Legend ONE]

I'm thinking of trying out a Paladin/Thief combo. I'm thinking with high evade and defense to boot, this would make me a tank dishing out damage like a school girl. Could someone reassure me on this, because the Ninja class is looking promising...

[Sindinista]

I don't mean to discourage you, but Paladin will only use a different subjob than warrior in rare situations.

Paladin + Warrior Sub = WAY overpowered tanker.

But is it cool looking to see a Paladin decked out in AF weilding double Lv.60 swords.:cool:

[Zach Imato]

i was planning on being a thief as well. Ive used the stat calculator to determine what the most well rounded sub would be for a thief. it seems that thief/monks are possibly the highest damage dealing characters in the game. think about it, an agile cunning thief dodging attacks and dealing the most damage in the game. I think that is what i will end up doing. Or maybe ill try Theif/Ninja or Dragoon. Im not sure now. We'll all just have to experiment when we get a hold of the precious game.

heres the link to the stat calculator if you guys want it Stat Calculator (http://cgi.tripod.co.jp/hugger/cgi-bin/ff11status.cgi)

(It doesnt have the recent class additions like summoner, dragoon,ninja or samurai)