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Table of Contents

(I) Introduction
(II) Race
(III) Job abilities
(IV) Job traits
(V) Weapons skills
(VI) Leveling Guide
(VII) Equipment
(i) AF1
(VIII)Strategies
(i) Party Formation
(ii) Thief's role in a party after level 15
(iii) Thief's role in a party after level 30
(iv) Job Combinations
(v) Sneak Attack and Trick Attack
(IX) Macros
(X) Additional Resources
(XI) Special thanks
(XII) Final words
(XIII) Disclaimer

(I) Introduction:

This is a FAQ made specifically for Thief in the game Final Fantasy XI. Playing
a thief has its upsides and downsides. It is a long journey that will be
rewarded at the higher levels. Be prepared for rejections from parties at level
14 and under. The thief class is not meant to be at front line such as
Warriors. Their purpose in a party is to control hate, which determines whom
the monster will attack. This FAQ will not answer general questions about Final
Fantasy XI, rather it is a specific guide to becoming a good thief.

Version 1.0
No changes

Version 1.1
Corrected spelling mistakes
Corrected Yokodama terms
Additional links added
Additional information on sub jobs added
Additional information on mug added
ASCII Logo added

Version 1.2
Minor Updates

Version 1.3
Minor Updates

Version 1.4
Fuidama vs Yokodama updated
AF1 Added
Monk strategy updated
Ninja strategy updated
Useful macros updated


(II) Race:

The most important stats that allow a thief to do the most damage is DEX.
Therefore, most players tend to choose Mithras to be thieves because they rank
the highest for dexterity. However, DEX is not the only factor that makes a
thief a good thief. While Mithras have the highest DEX, they lack in STR and
VIT. Most would argue that STR is not important because thieves rely on DEX to
deal damage, while others would argue that VIT is not important neither because
thieves are not meant to take hits anyways. HP wise, Hume will get more than
Mithra, which can make all the difference in the world when you're in a long
battle. There are many occasions when 30hp could mean life or death even at
levels such as 30 when you have a max of 500+. Below are the stats to all races
with thief as their main job and no sub job. It is also important to consider
Race Specific Equipments, which have different stats for different races. For
example, the hume gloves add 3 to DEX. Personally I would prefer a Mithra to be
a thief. Thanks to this calculator, which can be found at this site:
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~nhart/charstat1.html

The bottom line is this, Mithras will make the best thief, however if you plan
to pursue other jobs such as Warrior or Samurai, Humes are the most well
rounded race out of all 5.

(III) Job Abilities:

Active Abilities are job skills that must be activated to work.

Active abilities:

Level 1: Perfect Dodge
Duration: 30seconds
Cool down time: 2 hours
Macro: /ja "Perfect Dodge"

The thief's two-hour ability is a particularly selfish one. When used, you are
able to dodge all physical attacks for 30 seconds. This does not however
include magic attacks. Perfect Dodge is very useful when you are low on HP and
your healers are out of MP to heal you. It is even more useful when you combine
Perfect Dodge with Provoke. This way, the monster will attack you and you would
not get hit for thirty seconds. Thirty seconds may not sound like it is a lot,
however, in a battle situation, 30 seconds is a matter of winning and losing.
It will provide an opportunity for your healer to rest and for warriors a break
from taking hits.

Level 5: Steal
Duration: Instant
Cool down time: 5:00
Macro: /ja "Steal"

Steal is the classic ability from all previous Final Fantasy game that makes
the job class thief unique. This ability allows you to steal from an enemy. You
do not have to be engaged in battle to steal from an enemy. However, once you
steal from an enemy, they will begin to attack you.


Level 15: Sneak Attack
Duration: Instant
Cool down time: 1:00
Macro: /ja "Sneak Attack"

Sneak attack is the most useful ability out of all of the abilities that a
thief will get. When used, you must stand behind the monster and not in front.
If it successfully connects, you will dp a critical damage that can range
anywhere from 4 to 10 times what a normal attack will do. This job skill is
very useful when combined with weapon skills.

Level 25: Flee
Duration: 30 seconds
Cool down time: 5:00
Macro: /ja "Flee"

Flee is a very simple ability. Flee allows the user to run at speed of up to a
chocobo. It is self only and therefore the party does not benefit from this
ability.

Level 30: Trick Attack
Duration: Instant
Cool down time: 1:00
Macro: /ja "Trick Attack"

Trick attack is the second most useful ability that a thief will get. To use
properly, you must stand behind a party member and attack from there. Trick
attack will work even if the monster is facing the party member that you stand
behind. If it successfully connects, you will do damage that is generally 2 to
3 times the damage of what you would normally hit. This job skill is also very
useful when combined with weapon skills.

Trick attack marks the pinnacle of thieves. At level 30, you will be doing
damage that even warriors will envy. Trick attack when combined with Sneak
attack is the backbone for dealing damage for thieves. Simply stand behind a
party member when the monster is not looking, and activate Sneak attack and
Trick attack. More on this will be explained later.

Level 35: Mug
Duration: Instant
Cool down time: 20:00
Macro: /ja "Mug"

Level 45: Hide
Duration: Random
Cool down time: 5:00
Macro: /ja "Hide"

Hide resets the hate that the monster has on you. If you miss trick attack, it
is a good idea to use Hide so that the monster won't attack you.

Gil steal is pretty straightforward; it allows you to steal gil from a monster.
Mug does not work if the monster does not drop gil at the end of battles.

(IV) Job Traits:

Passive abilities are abilities that you do not need to activate and are always
"on".

Level 5: Gil Finder

A passive skill that multiplies the amount of gil dropped after defeating a
monster

Level 10: Evasion Bonus

A passive skill that adds to your evasion skills. This does not however add
numbers to your combat skills under "Evasion". It is simply there.

Level 15: Treasure Hunter

A passive skill that increases the chance of item drops by monsters.

Level 20: Gravity Resist

A passive skill that contributes to resisting spells that weights you down.

Level 30: Evasion Bonus II

Additional evasion bonus.

Level 45: Treasure Hunter II

Additional item drops.

Level 50: Evasion Bonus III

Additional evasion bonus.

Level 55: Triple Attack

A passive skill that allows you to attack three times sometimes.



(V) Weapon Skills:

There are three major weapons that a thief must master during their course of
leveling. Those three weapons are Daggers, Swords, and Hand to Hand. The reason
why it is important to rotate those weapons is because weapons skills are
capped at each level. When it is blue, it means that it is capped and therefore
it's a good idea to use another weapon to level that particular skill up.

While thieves are more proficient at daggers, swords and hand to hand can be
very useful at the very beginning. Out of all the early weapon skills that a
thief will get, Combo (hand to hand), and Fast Blade (sword), are the only ones
that stack with Sneak attack and Trick attack. When used with Sneak or Trick
attack, they will add onto the damage that the weapon skill will already do.
Combo and Sneak Attack alone are capable of dealing heavy damage. The biggest
draw back however is that thieves are very slow with hand-to-hand combat.
Elemental weapon skills, such as Gust slash will not stack with Sneak or Trick
attack.

Daggers
Level 10: Wasp Sting
Macro: /ws "Wasp Sting"
Add poison to your next attack.
Note: This weapon skill will stack with Sneak and Trick attack, however it does