Steal is Locke's unique character ability in Final Fantasy VI. It allows him to attempt to steal items from enemies, including a number of rare items, weapons, armor, and relics. As with many character abilities, Steal can be upgraded with relics; the Thief's Bracer doubles its chance of success, while Brigand's Glove transforms the ability into Mug, which lets Locke steal and attack the enemy in one turn.
The success rate of stealing items depends on Locke's level contrasted against the target's level. Enemies each have a common and a rare steal slot, though many enemies only have the rare slot filled, meaning the chance of stealing an item from them is low. Rare slots normally contain desirable equipment that make Locke a desirable character to bring for a number of battles if only to obtain the item.
In addition to the main use of the ability, stealing is require to progress Locke's scenario in South Figaro. During this time, Locke steals from targets to obtain their clothes for disguises.
Harvesters, Punishers, Mugbears, and Dadaluma can steal from the party, but it works like Steal Gil. If the monster(s) or the party escape, the party loses the stolen gil. If the enemy is defeated and the battle is won, the party will regain the stolen gil in the battle results.
Obtained[]
Steal is Locke's default ability. Gogo can also use Steal by equipping it in Gogo's ability menu.
No other characters can steal naturally. However, the Thief's Knife, equippable by Locke and Shadow, has its user attempt to steal when attacking, at 50% rate.
Mechanics[]
Steal's success rate is:
This value is doubled if Locke has a Thief's Bracer equipped.
Enemies have two steal slots. The first is the common slot, with a 7/8 chance if a steal is successful. The second is a rare slot, with a 1/8 chance. If there is no common item in an enemy's common item slot, this means there is only a 1/8 chance Locke will steal the item, as the steal lands on the empty slot 7/8 of the time.
Use[]
Locke stealing clothes from a Merchant.
Steal is useful for obtaining certain rare items from enemies, notably bosses. Early on, the relics Gigas Glove and Dragoon Boots can be stolen, and later on, additional rare Muscle Belts relics are also available. Later in the game, the Ultima Weapon and Ragnarok weapons can be stolen from Rest and Lady, respectively, though this is largely pointless in game versions that have no post-game content.
In most cases against normal enemies, Steal will retrieve basic recovery items, including items that heal dangerous status effects. This can still be a good use of Locke's turn if he is paired with characters such as Edgar or Sabin whose character abilities provide a strong source of damage. Otherwise, if the party relies more on Locke's damage, it may be preferable to avoid stealing unless necessary in a long dungeon crawl.
There are two ways to improve the chance of stealing. The most basic is to equip Thief's Bracer and double the success rate. The other is to use the Lore, Dischord, lowering the enemy's level and thus improving the success rate (for both Steal and Mug).
With the Brigand's Glove, Steal can become Mug, which is a much more turn-efficient ability as it performs regular physical attacks alongside. Brigand's Glove is useful for improving Locke's efficiency in battle, but players may prefer to use relics such as the Genji Glove or Master's Scroll instead that improve his damage output further.
Gogo can be given the Steal ability to provide some added utility, especially in parties that lack Locke. If used in this way, it is likely Gogo will not be the party's main source of damage, and as such, Gogo will not benefit as much from Brigand's Glove.
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