Stick to hand-to-hand?

[NGYoshi]

Howdy! This is my first post to the forums... be gentle!

So I'm a lvl 15 Thief with a hand-to-hand lvl of 36. I usually do ok (wish I could attack even faster) but when I went to the dunes today... I noticed I did little or no damage at all. Am I sticking to a weopon that is wise?

Also, any tips for using sneak attack well? Some monsters seem hard to sneak up on.

[neighbortaru]

Re: Stick to hand-to-hand?

what weapon are you using? make sure you are using the highest damage H2H weapon for your level.

[Murphie]

Re: Stick to hand-to-hand?

Personally, I prefer H2H to Sword or Dagger during that level range. If you've got the skill in it already, it's not a bad idea. Stacking your Sneak Attack + Combo should work out well for you.^^

Sword is another great option for that range. Sneak Attack + Fast Blade is nifty. Dagger is of course, your A rated weapon, but it's pretty terrible at that level range. That doesn't mean you should ignore it altogether, but if you can level it separately, that would be ideal.

[NGYoshi]

Re: Stick to hand-to-hand?

what weapon are you using? make sure you are using the highest damage H2H weapon for your level.

I'm using a Burning Cesti for Lvl 12 (dmg +3, delay +40, Acc +3 and fire damage.)

[Murphie]

Re: Stick to hand-to-hand?

If you can get your hands on some Bastokan or Republic Knuckles, you can use those until 30 or so. They are really fantastic.

[neighbortaru]

Re: Stick to hand-to-hand?

go with bastokian (or republic if you can afford it) knuckles. the extra damage and +3 attack will help.

Double Post Edited:
doh! murphie beat me to it

[Tirrock]

Re: Stick to hand-to-hand?

Also, any tips for using sneak attack well? Some monsters seem hard to sneak up on.

Sneak attack works so long as the monter's back is faced to you. Pulling with sneak attack isn't a good idea, since you'll get beat up while running back to camp. You can sneak attack in the middle of the fight though.

You're at least level 15, so I'd suggest buying a crossbow (crossbow +1 if you have the money, any other crossbow if you don't) and getting acid bolts for the crossbow. If your marksmenship skill is low, you might want to work on it solo a bit and get a few levels on it first. Acid bolts lower the defense of monsters by a pretty good amount, and on crabs and crawlers it even dispels their DEF boosting moves (scissor guard/cocoon) and replaces it with DEF down.

As for attacking faster... I don't see any mention of what subjob you're using (if any), but subbing MNK will greatly reduce your delay. Monks get a trait at level 1 that lowers their delay while using hand to hand.

It's a good idea to level dagger if you can. At level 33 you'll start doing better damage with sneak attack + trick attack + viper bite than you would with combo. Plus THF's low skill in hand to hand starts making a difference. Your accuracy and damage with hand to hand will be less than your dagger.