Community Thief Guide

Forum Discussion

Feel free to ask questions about Thief or the guide in the Forum Discussion.

General Information

Thief is a non-buff support damage dealer in FFXI. It will largely be played as a damage dealer and specifically a skillchain closer. Thief also is capable of placing hate on a player of their choosing. As well as stealing hate from other players; to help maintain control of battle.

Roles

The two most common roles is that of damage over time by dual wielding daggers and gathering rare items due to the Treasure Hunter ability.

Abilities and Traits

Your high damage will be from using the tried and true Sneak Attack and Trick Attack. In the old days you would stack them and use both at the same time. Nowadays it's better to use each with a weapon skill since you can build TP quickly and help the tank maintain hate.

Job Traits Lvl. Name 5 Gilfinder 10, 30, 50, 70, 76, 88 Evasion Bonus 15, 45, 90 Treasure Hunter 20, 40, 66, 75, 81 Resist Gravity 55, 95 Triple Attack 60 Assassin 75 Ambush 75 Aura Steal 78, 84, 91, 97 Crit. Atk. Bonus 83, 90, 98 Dual Wield

Job Ability Lvl. Name 1 Perfect Dodge 5 Steal 15 Sneak Attack 25 Flee 30 Trick Attack 35 Mug 45 Hide 65 Accomplice 65 Collaborator 75 Assassin's Charge 75 Feint 77 Despoil 87 Conspirator 93 Bully 96 Larceny

Treasure Hunter

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TH Gear Options     Caps at +5

Gandring Taming Sari TH+1 Per. Lucky Egg Wh. Rarab Cap +1 Plun. Armlets +3 Skulk. Poulaines +2 Chaac Belt

• See also: Volte Armor Set
• During Dark Matter campaigns, Herculean armor may also commonly receive TH+ augments of +1-2.

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Look, Treasure Hunter is not some mystery.

• A THF also must be on the hate list for TH to be active. It can't just stand there and give the effect.

• TH is actually a type of debuff. So it is safe to say that the Thief must act offensively against the target to apply the effect, and not simply gain hate with a non-offensive ability or spell on a party member with enmity.

• This means you don't have to melee, but you must use something like Bully or Provoke. Collaborator, Warcry, etc will get you on the list, but not apply TH.
• This can be seen in Voidwatch where TH grants a bonus to uncapped lights. The bonus only occurs if the Thief acts offensively against the target, and not for being in party or idly using something on a party member with hate.

• You may remove TH equipment and retain the current effect.
• If the monster goes idle then TH is lost.
• TH caps at +8 on equipment. This includes your trait of +3.
• Procs increase TH further to 12, and upwards of 14 with Job Point Gifts.
• TH makes things drop more frequently, stop nitpicking how much it matters.

• Here is a the official SE post on TH. It won't mean anything to most players. All you need to know is what was just said prior.

• If an item shares the same drop slot then Treasure Hunter will not increase drop rate.

• This is rare, but examples include Defending Ring and Omen bodies.

• Stop being weird and making up rumors:

• A THF doesn't need to land the last hit.
• No special item helps with TH or drop rates other than TH+ items.
• Moon phases are for boobs in tinfoil hats.
• Dying on THF doesn't reset TH value

Procing TH

• Multiple Thieves may work in tandem to each proc and raise the same TH level of a foe.
• No matter how much TH+ equipment you wear, you may not proc higher than TH 8 → 9 for the first proc.
• Wearing a total Treasure Hunter level equal to or lower than the current TH level on an opponent decreases the chance of procing TH.

• You must have at least a level higher than the current level applied to increase the rate of TH procs.

• Proc occurrences caps at a set rate.[1] Wearing more TH+ than the next level will not further increase the rate it increases.

• This fixed proc rate of TH increase is not static for all levels. TH proc rates are capped at a fixed rate per tier, and that set rate decreases with each level increase on TH. [2]

• Those two official posts are a perfect example of why players are confused. SE's messaging has lead to confusion, but now that we know, it is simple.

• There is an increased chance to proc TH while using Sneak Attack or Trick Attack as well as stacking them with Feint.

• Nonetheless, you need to collectively be at a single TH level above the current level on the foe in order to avoid a decrease in proc rate.

• TH may proc on a WS, but you wont receive a message.
• TH Only procs on the first hit of an attack round.

Merits

Merit Points
Name	Description	Level	Notes
Group 1
Flee Recast	Shorten recast time by 10 seconds.	0/5	Not needed, and the points are better spent elsewhere.
Hide Recast	Shorten recast time by 10 seconds.	0/5	Not needed, and the points are better spent elsewhere.
Sneak Attack Recast	Shorten recast time by 2 seconds.	0/5~5/5	I went 3/5 just to balance out with TA, but 5/5 is MAXIMUM DPS POWAR!!!!!
Trick Attack Recast	Shorten recast time by 2 seconds.	0/5~5/5	It is sometimes easier or more useful to connect TA than SA.
Triple Attack Rate	Increase triple attack rate by 1 percent.	5/5	Max this out.
Group 2
Assassin's Charge	Will triple your next attack. Recast: 5min. Increase chance of fourfold attack by 5 percent.	0/5	This JA didn't scale well. We TP so quickly, and TA does little for WS damage, it's not worth it.
Feint	Your next attack will greatly reduce an enemy's evasion. Recast: 2min. Increase chance of Treasure Hunter level up by 25 percent.	5/5	Helps with Treasurer Hunter gains, and your Relic Pants increase the effect by 10 per level. Good idea to max this.
Aura Steal	Adds a Dispel effect to Steal. Occasionally absorbs dispelled effect. Increase absorb rate by 20 percent.	1/5~5/5	There is an argument to be made that you should forgo ambush and just max this, but I feel Ambush comes into play more often.
Ambush	Grants an accuracy bonus to melee and ranged attacks from behind an enemy. Increase accuracy bonus by 3.	0/5~4/5	This isn't amazing, but a passive minor bonus is better than nothing. Relic Body +3 with Tauret Evisceration pairs nicely with this.

Support Jobs

• Warrior
  • /49: Berserk, Aggressor, Warcry, Attack Bonus I, Double Attack I, Max HP Boost I
  • /50+: Retaliation, Double Attack II, Max HP Boost II, Attack Bonus II

This is your highest damage option for sub jobs if your attack isn't capped due to Berserk and Warcry. Aggressor is not the worst thing to have either. However, it lacks Invisible, Sneak, damage mitigation, or healing, and as such is only viable when you have reliable healing or are fighting a monster with no Area of affect moves/spells/abilities.

• Dark Knight
  • /49: Arcane Circle, Last Resort/ Souleater, Attack Bonus II, Damage Limit+ II
  • /50+: Attack Bonus III, Damage Limit+ III

This is a more useful sub than you might think, and not just for niche situations. The Attack Bonus trait is the highest you will get and Last Resort will be identical to Berserk for a Thief. Since this guide clearly only advocates for Wanton Disregard, you also get Soul Eater to eat away at 8.5%-7% of your HP a swing. Whew baby! Otherwise, if you go from needing attack to capping it. Then the Damage Limit+ trait is actually a solid boost.
As for niche situations, Poisonga is really useful for applying Treasure Hunter to a field of monsters in an event such as Omen or Divergence. Especially since it gets resisted most of the time against anything foe of consequence. Stun isn't the worst thing, and allows for slight enmity control of stray foes.

• Dragoon
  • /49: Ancient Circle, High Jump, Accuracy Bonus I, Conserve TP I, WS Damage Boost I
  • /50+: Super Jump, Accuracy Bonus II, Conserve TP II, Damage Limit+ II, WS Damage Boost III

Enmity shedding with High Jump aside, the WS Damage Boost trait is what makes this the best sub for DDing while attack capped. The Conserve TP isn't terrible either given that Double Attack as a trait is weak for THF. The Accuracy Bonus will certainly come into play too. Despite lacking an ability to raise your attack when needed. The sub offers you a lot without lowering your defense further. Once you gain Super Jump this sub synergizes nicely with Collaborator, Accomplice, and Sneak Attack.

• Dancer
  • /49: Spectral Jig, Curing Waltz, Healing Waltz, Quickstep, Box Step, Haste Samba, Accuracy Bonus I, Skillchain Bonus I, Subtle Blow II
  • /50+: Contradance, Accuracy Bonus II, Skillchain Bonus II, Subtle Blow III

This sub offers sufficient utility, as well as healing should you be doing an event where trusts are not allowed or there are some shall we say— issues.
Dancer provides Sneak and Invisible, and eventually the most important bonus from any sub, Chocobo Jig. Haste Samba is "aggressively medium", while lacking buffs, but a Box Step right before you go to WS is a nice contribution to the group. Skillchain Bonus is generally underrated, and can really make the sub worthwhile in the right hands. Speaking of which: Subtle Blow.
This is one of the main subs for "soloing" as a Thf. While leveling, the time to start using Dancer as your Support is at 40 so you have access to Dual Wield.

• Ninja
  • /49: Shadows, Max HP Boost II, Subtle Blow III
  • /50+: Max HP Boost III, Subtle Blow IV

Sometimes you just need damage or TP move mitigation. This sub also offers sneak and invisible.
Since Thief doesn't get native Dual Wield until Level 83, subbing Ninja starting at Level 20 is the best option until you reach 40. You may then use Dancer as your support.
From 50+ /NIN will still provide another tier of Dual wield until 90/98 when a third is granted and then natively gained.

• Runefencer
  • /49: Runes, Vallation, Pflug, Tenacity, Auto Regen I, Magic Defense Bonus II, Inquartata II
  • /50+: Valiance, Embolden, Vivacious Pulse, Accuracy Bonus I, Auto Regen II, Magic Defense Bonus III

This is the defensive subjob of choice if shadows aren't viable, which is a lot of endgame content. Magic defense bonus, Runes, Vallation/Valiance are sweet for magical mitigation. Runes will offer you 58 resistance of an element of your choice.
Thief (as well as Dancer) may also push upwards of a 20% parry rate with this sub, Turms Leggings +1, and a parry +5 augment on an Ambuscade cape. Pretty neat.

Equipment

Weapons

Eminent Dagger
Homestead Dagger
Atoyac Acc +30 Occ. Atk. Twice Acc +15
Izhiikoh
Sabebus Path B ACC+
Sandung Acc +50 Crit +5% TA +3%
Ipetam DMG+ Acc/Atk+ Crit Dmg. + DEX +
Jugo Kukri +1 DMG +13 Acc +40 Eva +20
Ternion Dagger +1 DMG +17 Acc +40 WSD +5%
Shijo D) TA +2 DW +5% DEX +15
Taming Sari DMG +15 STR/DEX +10 TH +1
Skinflayer DMG + Acc/Atk + Crit. Dmg +
Centovente TP Bonus +1k
Gleti's Knife DMG +10 Atk +40 Acc +10
Crepuscular Knife
Tauret

Ultimate Weapons

Augment Rank 0

Mandau (Level 119 III)
Vajra (Level 119 III)
Twashtar (Level 119 III)
Aeneas

Augment Rank 15

Mandau (Level 119 III)366px link= DMG +7 Mercy Stroke +20% TA dmg +10%
Vajra (Level 119 III) DMG: +15 Mandalic Stab +15% Acc/MAcc +30
Twashtar (Level 119 III) DMG: +4 Rudra's Storm +10% DEX/AGI +20
Aeneas DMG: +6 Exenterator +10% Acc/MAcc +30
Gandring DMG +5 EVA +100 EVA TP +50 -or- DMG +5 Follow-up attack +50% "Subtle Blow II" +25

Prioritizing Equipment

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There are two main sets a THF needs. The first major one is the TP set in which you first want to cap your delay reduction. The next are your WS sets, and obviously you should have some DT sets as a third priority if you want to be valued. Woah, lets cool it on that sick elitist rhetoric, right?
Well, if you didn't care then you wouldn't be reading any advice on being better. So, dont be that guy, and make some defensive sets for physical, magical, magic evasion, evasion, etc. As long as you cap Damage Taken you can always go back later and min max out some sets, but have something worthwhile to resort to. Fortunately, there are sets below for you!

So your TP set on THF generally requires 26% equipment haste, 44% magic haste, and a certain amount of dual wield based on the buffs you have. You can go to Attack Speed for the more intricate numbers. If you're fully buffed though, you need DW+11, or DW+6 if you've acquired 550 JP.

After you've reached that (or very close) you need to stack accuracy until you are around the accuracy cap for the content you're doing. This is going to vary, but sometimes other players or pages on the wiki will explain the accuracy required. Parsing with third party tools is the best way to get this right otherwise.

Next step is to stack Triple Attack and Store TP. I'd value +2~2.5 STP similar to 1% Triple Attack. This comparison is going to change based on your gear and buffs, as the more TA you get, the more STP helps, and vice versa, so try for a general balance around that ratio.

If you can't decide between two pieces after all of that is considered, choose the one with more magic evasion or defensive stats, as you can't deal any damage while dead.

For weapon skills you largely need one type of gear, which is to stack DEX and Weapon skill damage+. Rudra's Storm and Mandalic Stab are our two strongest WS and both scale nicely with just those two main stats. Evisceration needs crit damage and then crit rate gear, as well as some more Accuracy+ to consider
For Exenterator, just stack AGI/ACC/ATT as it doesn't crit and doesn't scale well with WSD. Rudra's is your bread and butter WS, strong both stacked and unstacked, but you need attack buffs to really pump out any cool numbers. In a scenario where you have to deal without attack buffs, Mandalic, which has a native attack boost to it, can outpace Rudra's. This is true in general, but especially is with an augmented mythic.

If you are just a mule/new THF looking to be better than worthless. Toss on your Tauret/Shijo and spam Evisceration while SCing with SA or TA Rudras.

Equipment Sets

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TP Sets

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TP Sets by:

DW Sets

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Random DW Delay Requirements With Cap Gear Haste
Haste Spell Tier	Other Buffs	DW To Cap (550 JP+)
	Capped Magical Haste	6%
No Haste	Honor March (+3) and Victory March (+7)	8%
No Haste	Soul Voice Honor March (+4)	22%
No Haste	Soul Voice Honor March (+3)	24%
II	Haste Samba (10%)	13%
II	Haste Samba (5%)	20%
II	No Other Buffs	26%
I	Embrava	11%
I	Honor March (+4)	24%
I	Honor March (+3)	25%
I	Joachim's Victory March	25%
I	Haste Samba (10%)	30%
I	Haste Samba (5%)	34%
I	No Other Buffs	37%
No Haste	No Other Buffs	44%

• Its fine to be a percent over or under depending on your gear.

• For instance 6% is the DW required to hit a minimum delay with capped magical haste, but Reiki Yotai is 7%, and the best gain to opportunity cost.

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WS Sets

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WS Sets by:

Rudras

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Misc Sets

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Waltz

For Self +48% For Others +36%

Yamarang Mummu Bonnet +2 Passion Jacket Slither Gloves +1 Dashing Subligar Asklepian Ring Valseur's Ring