Any advice for a new thief?

[Malkieri]

I just started the game for the first time. I spent a few hours exploring Bastok on Fairy last night. I'm trying to learn how to do everything, but it's slow going. I'm working on a couple quests within the city as practice. I'm not ready to venture out and try my luck at fighting anything. Then again, all this "hate", "aggro", etc. doesn't make any sense to me yet. Is there a place within the city that teaches the basics?

I could probably use a tour guide to teach me the ropes. Maybe I'll try to find one when I get back on line. I'm going away for vacation next week, so it won't be for a while.

[Roldarin]

Hate and agro are just learned through playing the game. Some of the stuff you see about the topic tends to come from lots of testing and observation.

Agro tends to refer something attacking you. "I have agro", or "I agroed a goblin".

Hate is a numeric score that represents how much a particular monster wants to attack you. It is sometimes referred to as "Enmity".

People have noticed that casting spells, hitting the monster increase hate. Being hit by a monster decreases hate. Healing someone the monster hates, generates hate for the healer.

When you are soloing the smallest amount of hate is no different than a lot of hate. But in parties each person's hate matters. The main tank wants to always have the highest.

A few other hints:
- Talk to all the NPCs, accept all quests. You can always go back and look at your quest list.
- Some quests are repeatable, but require you zone out first.
- Change to a warrior. A Thief is much better off after you've received a subjob. So level your warrior to level 18, do the subjob quest and then resume leveling your thief as a thief/warrior.

[Macht]

If you are going to start as THF and get subjob with it, the big thing I suggest is not to start with daggers right away. Better to use swords first, but do have a dagger with you to skill up the dagger skill.

As for THF and hate, they are able to perform a method that helps control it so that the Tank will have the most. Once you get Sneak Attack and Trick Attack what you'll do (This requires the Main Tank to listen also) is get behind the monster and have the Tank get between you and the back of that monster.

Trigger Sneak Attack and Trick Attack together so that when you hit they both go off in that 1 hit, this will put all the damage you do in that hit into the Tanks Hate. If you have a weapon skill ready to use then placing it in with the Sneak Attack (SA) and Trick Attack (TA) will help to add even more hate onto the Tank.

That will reduce the chance that any of the other party members will pull hate away from the tank easily. This makes it were the WHM is mostly only healing 1 person and less MP used to do so which leaves the option to get EXP bonuses by pulling another monster within a set time.

[Theiry]

Originally posted by Roldarin

- Change to a warrior. A Thief is much better off after you've received a subjob. So level your warrior to level 18, do the subjob quest and then resume leveling your thief as a thief/warrior.

I have to disagree with that. I'd actually suggest you level thief up first, and get your subjob with it. Most people say leveling Thief is boring, but I have yet to find it boring. Part of the reason why I don't find it boring though is that I didn't play any other jobs until my Thief got "fun". You'll be having tons of fun no matter what job you use right away, so you might as well get through the "boring" job while you don't know the difference. =)

I have leveled Thief from 1 to 21 twice (I got my Thief to level 30 in the beta, and now it's level 21 in the full version) both times I didn't have a sub job until level 18. I found Thief to be extremely fun even at low levels, but when I switched to Monk, I was bored out of my mind. I'm sure if I started as Monk, I would have loved it and gotten bored with Thief. Either way, you'll have fun with any job when you first start playing, so I suggest leveling Thief first.

Also, it might be easier for you to get your sub job with Thief then with Warrior. When I got to level 18 (started at 15 actually) I got invites like crazy from parties trying to get the sub job items. Thieves get an ability that raises how often items drop, so they are invited to parties trying to get an item. It won't be hard either way to get parties for that though, Warriors are wanted then as well. But if either one would be easier, it will be Thief.

Anyway, I just thought I should post this. I agree with everything else the others said. You should level Sword or Hand-to-Hand (or both) to use, and keep your Dagger skill capped for later use. Have fun with Thief =) (by the way, if you are in the Fenrir server and need any help, send me a tell in game **edit** just noticed you're on Fairy, so never mind this part =P.)

[Theiry]

Oh, a bit more advice. Go to this link, and study it well:

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/vt/extra/index.html

Thieves are designed for skill chains, so you need to know how to do them as soon as you can. Study the chart of what type of weapon skill will chain with your good weapon skills, and try to get other party members to do that type. Once you hit level 15 and learn Sneak Attack you will want to always use that with a weapon skill. (ie, use Sneak Attack, and then a weapon skill right after so that your weapon skill is more powerful) Learn which weapon skills will work with Sneak Attack, and what weapon skills other people can use to let you end the skill chain. Make sure that you are the one to end the skill chain, not the one to start it. The damage the skill chain does is based on the damage of the last weapon skill in the chain, and your weapon skill will be the most powerful by far (until level 60 or so, and even then you'll be one of the best).

Why everyone says to use Sword or Hand-to-Hand instead of Dagger is that those weapon skills are better. Both Fast Blade and Combo (the first sword and hand-to-hand weapon skills) work with Sneak Attack, and they work extremely well. Your Dagger doesn't learn any good weapon skills to use with Sneak Attack until higher levels. Gust Slash is a nice weapon skill, and does really nice damage for being a Dagger weapon skill, but it doesn't stack with Sneak Attack, so it's as good as useless for you once you hit level 15. But you should keep your Dagger skill up to date, because later on all the best weapon skills you will want to use are Dagger skills.

I hope all this helped you. =)

[John Doe III]

Do not use Dagger till later levels. Even if they say Shadowstich or w/e is good, use H2H perferably till 20 then 1Hand, then at 28 use H2H and then Dagger at 33.

[Roldarin]

Originally posted by Theiry
I have to disagree with that. I'd actually suggest you level thief up first, and get your subjob with it. Most people say leveling Thief is boring, but I have yet to find it boring. Part of the reason why I don't find it boring though is that I didn't play any other jobs until my Thief got "fun". You'll be having tons of fun no matter what job you use right away, so you might as well get through the "boring" job while you don't know the difference. =)

My advice has nothing to do with being boring. I played my thief first. And then I started leveling up warrior, a little bit of monk and later did ranger. I wish I had gone WAR first. It mostly has to do with how much EASIER it is. The reasons I would give are:
- Warriors have more HP and more STR. You are going to hit harder at low levels and take more hits.
- Anyone who CAN use a bow SHOULD. I wish I had known the power of archery early on. You shoot an easy with an arrow for decent damage (once you raise your archery alittle) and then a few hits and its dead. Easy 12-15 exp with loot and crystals to boot.
- Warriors can use more powerful bows earlier than a thief can.
- If you keep sword and great sword capped warrior, you'll prepare for a thief using swords and also do good damage with the GSword.
- Before level 15 a thief offers nothing to a group. But after level 10 a THF/WAR can provoke, which will make it more likely to make it into groups. Also while raising warrior you are more likely to get groups.
- By going WAR and raising your archery, it'll be higher and therefore more effect for when the THF/WAR is soloing. Since a thief can't use as good bows, they need the extra skill in archery.
- Since Thief is gonna be your main, its better to do WAR->18, THF/WAR->36 so you don't have to switch gear as often. Although I would advice buying THF compatible gear anyway. If you go THF->18, WAR/THF->15, THF/WAR->30+ you have to switch back and forth

My thief is now 54. I have a lot of fun. I just remember from my experiences that thief isn't the best first job.