Tips for upcoming THF

[hongman]

Hi all

So, I'm levelling THF now. Currently lvl 16/17, subbed MNK so far using Sword.

Any tips for me, that I wouldnt otherwise find online on wiki etc?

The 1st "problem" I have found is working out my SA. I have a macro for Boost, /wait 2, SA.

Problem is, sometimes I swing before I can get my WS off >.> I guess this is just practice?

My Marksmanship is capped till skill 80 or so, using Acid Bolts (though I miss a lot on exp mobs, no RACC gear around this lvl). Blind bolts I find to wear very quickly with neglible difference. Blood and Sleep bolts I will use when I get access.

I can easily dump a merit into Dagger (which is like skill 230 from RDM) to get VB a tad earlier. Also have /NIN ready, /WAR as I progress. Emp pin ready, no boots.

Apart from that.... anything else Im missing?

Thanks

[Kirsteena]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

There are r acc rings at 16 that aren't too pricy. Just remember to swap them out when not shooting. What food are you using? Rice dumplings are good at low level - in fact through till about 40.

HP +17
Strength +3
Vitality +2
Agility +1
Attack +20% (Cap: 45@225 Base Attack)
Ranged Attack +30% (Cap: 45@150 Base Ranged Attack)
HP Recovered While Healing +2
MP Recovered While Healing +2
Accuracy +5
Resist Paralyze

I went h2h until 24 when I swapped to /nin - SA Combo is godly at lowbie level (though you will be tanking afterwards).

/wait 1 between boost and SA - though you might be better with seperate macros to try and avoid the lag.

[hongman]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

Ah I didnt realise there was RACC rings at 16, to be honest I havent done my homework past lvl 14, I ddint expect all those lvls from one pt.

Food wise, I am using Squid Sushi for the Dex +6, plus they are cheap right now. There is a % acc and racc as well but I guess that to be pretty low at this lvl.

Ill give Rice Dumps a go next pt I get. In fact I think I have a stack on a mule.

I tried wait 1 between boost and SA, but (lag?) I got the message Unable to use JA, so I went with 2. Would a wait 1 followed by Fast Blade any good, to avoid swing in between? I really do have to test these things >.> but I had to get to the KS99...

Also, would you recommend I use the +STR rings on normal attacks and swap to +DEX for SA, or just keep the DEX on full time?

[Kirsteena]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

The benefits of sushi are fairly minimal at lowbie levels - that flat acc +5 will help you far more than the dex (iirc 2 dex = 1 acc).

If you are getting tied up with your JA, seperate the macros out - you will get used to learning how you react with firing them off.

Dex and str rings - urgh I dunno - my thf is only 27 itself, I'm pretty much going by what I have picked up for other jobs!

I was so spaced out on my meds last night, I paid no attention whatsoever to what was going on!

[hongman]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

Well, I wasnt going for DEX on the Sushi for acc, it was to boost SA dmg, seeming as its modifier is DEX.

My Acc is crap anyway, so I thought rather than trying to boost my pitiful DoT, Id maximise my Spike.

[Shadowneko]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

mostly at low levels you want to use DEX+(Sneak attack) and AGI+(Trick attack) to do better criticals and accuracy is allmost a non-issue untill lvl 40 or so. Also if you plan on using mosly sword to 33 I'd drop the /mnk sub and just lvl Warrior for the sub job.(mnk is only good if you plan on using Hand to Hand/claws)

I also reccomend skilling dagger right now rather than waiting unill you hit 33. I would use mostly sword as THF/war but swap in a good Dagger when I gained a lvl...just long enough to cap the skill. No one ever told me off for it and when I hit 33 I was good and ready with Viper Bite ^^

[Armando]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

Do not touch Sushi. Bear in mind that it takes 2 Acc to raise your hit rate by 1%. You're probably not even getting 10 Acc out of Sushi right now. On the other hand meat dishes will always boost your Attack by 25%. It's that or Rice Dumplings.

+DEX is only for SA. Use Mighty Rings the rest of the time.

Alternate macro that shouldn't fail due to lag:
/ja Boost <stpc>
/ja "Sneak Attack" <stpc>
/ws "Fast Blade" <t>
All the goodness of keeping your abilities on separate macros, without the slight delays of activating each macro individually. Basically, that <stpc> means the macro can't move on to the next line 'til you confirm the target for the ability (in this case, yourself.) Can't remember if you'll need an <stnpc> on Fast Blade or not but I don't think so.

Regarding H2H: SA Combo is great damage but the DoT is low. Sword is all-around more efficient and it doesn't require a specific sub to function. This is a big plus because at 20 you can take advantage of /RNG or /DRG using a sword.

Daggers: The earliest you should use them is 25 if you get Federation Knife, on mandragoras in the jungles. Otherwise just hold out 'til 33 if that's what you prefer. As long as you have it capped for Lv.32 so that when you hit 33 you can use Viper Bite ASAP you'll be fine.

Tip for soloing: When doing Sleep Bolt -> Sneak Attack, don't forget you can run through the mob. Many people forget that. It's faster 9/10 times, especially if what you're fighting isn't Tarutaru-sized.

EDIT:

Well, I wasnt going for DEX on the Sushi for acc, it was to boost SA dmg, seeming as its modifier is DEX.

My Acc is crap anyway, so I thought rather than trying to boost my pitiful DoT, Id maximise my Spike.

Eep. No, no, no, no, no. All spike and no DoT makes a bad Thief. That and lolModifiers in general, it's crazy to pass up a huge Attack boost for a teaspoon of DEX.

[Wise Donkey]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

If you are subbing MNK, use h2h, SA+Combo is amazing. If you want to stick with sword, just go /WAR. You can switch to /NIN at 24, but please do not do so sooner, you have no reason to be /NIN pre-Utsusemi, as you have Dagger skilled already.

The simplest way to fix your macro woes is to just separate them. You will learn to time hitting the next one based on the character animations.

Get some RAcc rings like Kirsteena suggested. Equip macros are a pain but can really put you on the next level as a THF.

Sushi is a waste at low levels. Acc should not be such a problem that you need it, and an Atk food like those Dumplings will give you a much more noticeable boost. +6 DEX will give you slightly better SA damage, but +Atk will help you on SA and your regular attacks too.

Putting a Merit into Dagger isn't a bad idea, but not necessary. I think it will only allow you to get it one level early, but if you have Merits to spend, why not?

And lastly - don't waste you time on +STR rings. They are not going to make a difference worth the trouble of having to macro in yet another set of rings. Just stick with +DEX rings as your base melee gear and macro in your +RAcc rings for your Marksmanship.

Just to give credit to my advice, I was a 52 THF before I left. I am on the path to start it once again, it is a great job. ^^

[Armando]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

If you are subbing MNK, use h2h, SA+Combo is amazing. If you want to stick with sword, just go /WAR. You can switch to /NIN at 24, but please do not do so sooner, you have no reason to be /NIN pre-Utsusemi, as you have Dagger skilled already.

/WAR offers nothing offensively until 30, so he made the right choice in going /MNK for now. Also, /NIN is fine at 20, because a 10% Delay reduction is better than nothing, and close enough to /RNG and /DRG to warrant not having to stop to level one of them if he doesn't have them available.

And lastly - don't waste you time on +STR rings. They are not going to make a difference worth the trouble of having to macro in yet another set of rings. Just stick with +DEX rings as your base melee gear and macro in your +RAcc rings for your Marksmanship.

On the contrary, when you're using weapons with DMG that doesn't even exceed 20, and Delays that don't surpass 240, raising your DMG by even just 1 is a big deal. The best choice are Mighty Rings though. +2 STR and +10 Attack in your ring slots as early as level 14 is pure madness, even if it locks you out from using DEX rings.

[hongman]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

Wow, a great deal of opinions here, some opposing others. :p

Just a few things to note, (not to sound unappreciative)

1. I already have sword and dagger well above cap (both like 230+)

2. I have /MNK and /WAR and /NIN readily available...I chose MNK to start off with becuase I thought the base STR would be ever so slightly more (admittedly, no real research)

3. I wont use H2H. I just dont like it, and from what Iv read, SA+Combo vs SA+Fast Blade are pretty much on par at the end of the day.

4. I probably will dump a merit into Dagger, I just love the thought of having access to VB if only 1 level earler. ^^

5. Gear swaps are also a non issue, even it it makes me only a "slightly" better thf. Im an RDM at heart, I blink more often than not!

Other than that, points taken, thanks, now I just need to visit the AH and get practicing!

[Malacite]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

Sushi is OK if you're really trying to land acid bolts (you only have a C rank) and there are ranged accuracy rings available by the way. I suggest you pick up a pair of +1 bone rings and macro them in on ranged attacks, then macro back out to dex rings.

If you find you can't land hits enough with sword, use Jack-o'-Lanterns for food. +10 Accuracy and Evasion, -CHR (I forget how much. THF doesn't need CHR anyway) and Arcane Killer I believe.

Attack food is the better way to go in the lower levels I find. You should be using either grilled black hare (since you're using sword over dagger) or Roast/Juicy Mutton until about 30-31.



Oh, and the moment you hit 20 sub RNG. Dual-wielding is moot at those levels, and the +10 accuracy bonus is hard to beat.


As for landing SA+WS, take a swing at the mob, then immediately use boost and sneak attack, then WS manually. Or if you want it macroed:

Line1: /ja "Sneak Attack "<me>
Line2: /wait 1
Line3: /ws "Fast Blade" <t>

[Tokitoki]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

There is no reason to eat sushi. A % based accuracy increase with skill in the 40s or 50s is not netting you enough to be worthwhile.

You'll get an extra 7 accuracy on Marksmanship and your melee attacks will be weak. The best bet is to still go with attack food.

Like stated, if you need a little accuracy then use Rice Dumplings. 5 accuracy and +20% attack (+30% rattk).

[711rocks]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

Set a bunch of macros next to each other, and don't have anything in /p in them and you can SA WS 99% of the time without swinging. (That 1% is because idiot party members will at some point in your career spell-lock you-it's not your fault lol)
As for no /p, that allows you to hit the macro a million times to make sure it goes off. You'll notice more with TA, but if you hit a SA macro, then the TA macro too fast you may get "Unable to use job abilility"

Put them next to each other-say Alt 1= Boost, Alt 2= SA, Alt 3 = WS
Then when you want to WS, Hold Alt down and 1, then press 2 a bunch of times until you see SA goes off, then press 3 a bunch of times. When you get TA add that between SA and WS macros. If you have something like /p "Using Sneak Attack", your party will see you say "Using Sneak Attack" 7 times and get pissed.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

lol. What 711rocks says. No /wait in macros; you're a RDM, you're used to pressing whole bunch of them in a row anyway.

THF/MNK is meh-ish once you're in Lv.20-29 range (it's what I did, though. lol), in hindsight. I'd go THF/RNG for Accuracy Bonus, or THF/NIN for for dagger off-hand for better TP gain. Heck, even THF/DRG is a lot better than THF/MNK or THF/WAR in that range, I think. (SA stacks with Jump, BTW.)

Having done THF/MNK with Hand-to-Hand, I recommend against it now. Accuracy will be an issue, sooner or later.

[Malacite]

Re: Tips for upcoming THF

Yes THF/DRG is a good option too, especially if you want to take full advantage of using meat. I'd still go with /RNG though for the accuracy and ranged accuracy. Acid bolts are hard enough to land as it is.