Steal better items.
Description
Master Thief is a support ability in Final Fantasy IX for Zidane that improves the chance of getting the rarer items from the enemy when using Steal. It costs 5 Magic Stones to equip.
Obtained[]
Master Thief is learned from Thief Gloves for 50 AP. The gloves are first obtained from Treno Auction House after the party has the Blue Narciss. They are also later synthesized in Daguerreo, but the items required are only available in the endgame.
Mechanics[]
With Master Thief active, Zidane's Steal has a better chance of procuring a rarer item.
After Steal has successfully hit the target, the chances for stealing from each slot is as follows:
| Item Rarity | Success Rate | Master Thief |
|---|---|---|
| Very Rare | 1/256 (0.39%) | 32/256 (12.5%) |
| Rare | 16/256 (6.25%) | 32/256 (12.5%) |
| Uncommon | 64/256 (25%) | 64/256 (25%) |
| Common | 256/256 (100%) | 256/256 (100%) |
Steal will first attempt the rare slot. If that fails, it tries the next most common slot. A successful Steal from an empty slot results in a failed Steal attempt. If the Master Thief ability is equipped, it changes the Steal rate for rare and semi-rare items to 32/256 instead, and allows Steal to ignore empty slots. With Bandit also equipped, Zidane cannot miss with his Steal.
Use[]
Master Thief is good to keep equipped, as not only does Steal procure items, it improves the damage of Thievery and all steals since the beginning of the game count. With Master Thief, Zidane can get the harder to steal items faster, especially in boss battles. It is a good idea to go get the Thief Gloves as soon as available from the auction, as to have Master Thief for the boss in Oeilvert who holds a good weapon for Freya as a rare steal.
There are only two items of note with the rarest 1 in 256 chance before access to Zidane's Master Thief: the Fairy Flute from Hilgigars in Conde Petie Mountain Path is not available from shops until much later, and the Demon's Mail from Tantarian, found much later than Tantarian can first be fought.