what are thfs good for aghhhh

[Aeronus]

im a thief lv 13 and i have yet found out what im good for? I started to lv in the dunes partying and for some reason it seems like my hits do little to no damage my hp is weaker then the rest of my party but were the same lv. I feel like a weaker version of a warrior. I know i have the treasure but i have no idea what that does. Is this all thfs have to offer.

[neighbortaru]

Re: what are thfs good for aghhhh

you are using a dagger aren't you? first, ditch that dagger and grab a sword.

second, THF's purpose is hate control and massive spike damage. the first you won't see until 30 and the second until 15.

at 15, you'll get Sneak Attack which is a automatic hit (if you stand behind the monster) for mucho damage (talking 100's here).

at 30 you get Trick Attack which will place all the hate you would normal generate from your attack onto a party member that is standing in front of you. There is also a slight damage boost with TA too, but not as much as SA.

[Taskmage]

Re: what are thfs good for aghhhh

Before 15 thf is just the worst job. Bear with it for a couple more levels. At 15 you get Treasure Hunter and Sneak Attack. SA Fast Blade and SA Combo can do absurd amounts of damage.

And don't ditch the dagger but do get a sword. You still want to keep your dagger skill leveled up, but sword is going to give you much better damage and skillchain options until level 32 when you get Viper Bite. So use the dagger a little while after you level up to cap your skill, then go back to using the sword.

[Ellipses]

Re: what are thfs good for aghhhh

When you grab that sword, don't just run off to the Dunes with it. Spend some time skilling it up first, so that when you get back to the Dunes you'll actually be able to hit things with it. Also grab a ranged weapon so you can pull.

At 15 you'll also get access to status bolts (Acid Bolts, Sleep Bolts, Blind Bolts) for a crossbow. You should be carrying a crossbow and Acid Bolts with you to every party from that point on (Blind Bolts are handy, too, if you don't have a mage casting Blind).

Make sure you're eating your food, too. Meat Jerky is good at that level, or Rice Dumplings if you can afford it and want to hit a little more often (Accuracy +7). Also, keep your gear up-to-date, and don't skimp on it.

[Ziero]

Re: what are thfs good for aghhhh

Pre 15, thfs suck. I say this as someone who lvled thf to 16 without a sub. It sucked.

At 15, you get your first good ability, Sneak Attack. It allows you to do a massive critical hit when standing behind the monster once a minute. When combined with certain Weapon Skills, at your lvl Fast Blade(sword) and Combo(hand to hand) are the best to use, will cause them to do even more Dmg and always hit as long as you are lined up correctly. These are best used when closing Skill Chains, which is something a Thf should be doing for a long time.

At 30 you get your second DD ability, Trick Attack. This allows you to do extra dmg, though not as much as Sneak Attack, when standing behind someone in your pt who is fighting the monster. It also has the added bonus of hate transference, so all the dmg you did will cause the monster to attack the person who was standing between you and the monster.

Sneak Attack and Trick Attack are often used together in combination with a WS to do extreme amounts of Dmg in one hit. It also causes any Skill Chain you closed to be fairly powerful and allow for a bigger Magic Burst. Thfs, unlike many other DDs, rely directly on the Pt's ability to cooperate and work together. Their normal hit dmg is mediocre at best, but their spike dmg makes up for it in the lower lvls. From 30+ your pts will want you to use SaTa for 'hate control' purposes, or in otherwords putting as much 'hate' onto the tank as possible making the fights flow smoother.

Thfs are one of the 'harder' melee to lvl as it requires your pt to work with you. Other melees can be at 100% whether their pt pays attention or not but if you can't get people to line up you as a thf are more or less useless pre 60.

[tdh]

Re: what are thfs good for aghhhh

THF's enjoyment increases in stages.

Lv.1-14 THF is the world's biggest chore. Nothing you can do allows you to keep up even remotely with any other jobs damage. I sub'd THF/RNG hoping I could do some damage that way, and was just forced to level it to 15 solo.

Lv.15-29 THF becomes a lotta fun! Sneak Attack + Fast Blade is AWESOME! Tank~ish, DRG, THF, BLM, BLM, WHM at Lv.17 in the Dunes Vs. Crabs is super fast EXP. Double Thrust > SA Fast Blade can drop a Crabs HP big time even before the MBs. I had a lot of fun in this range.

Lv.30-32 THF you get a new toy, and it saves your life. Those big Fast Blades were getting you in trouble and getting you a lot of hate. Now you can give that credit to somebody else easily. I'm in this range with my THF currently. 350dmg Fast Blades feel real nice!!

Lv.33 THF you get Viper Bite if your Dagger is skilled (Dagger Lv.100). You're going to use this until Lv.60, and I've seen 900dmg Viper Bites at Lv.57.

So very good burst damage, and hate control. Because of the Hate control, THFs are a NINs best friend.

[Zempten]

Re: what are thfs good for aghhhh

THFs are good for

A) DMG (wether in large sums or over time)
B) Hate Placement (when i get overshadowed by DRKs)

[Kaickul]

Re: what are thfs good for aghhhh

Let me also make note that you can use H2H until you get Viper Bite, and then youll want to switch to dagger.


...but if you are asking this at 13 then maybe a DD class that is more straight forward is something youll enjoy. Most of the time taking a class into the 30s will tell you if you really like it or not.