Thief (Tactics)

Warriors who can steal anything from anyone. Their skill is legendary.

Description

The thief is a job from Final Fantasy Tactics. It is one of the fastest jobs, second to the ninja, with the ability to move further than other jobs on their turn and has a high evasion rate. It is the only regular job capable of stealing, ranging from gil to pieces of equipment and even experience points. It can also unlock the ability to poach monsters, converting them into items that can be bought at the Poacher's Den.

In The War of the Lions version, the player can recruit Balthier, who has the sky pirate special job that uses the Plunder action abilities, which are improved versions of the thief's Steal abilities, boasting higher chance of success. Zell is a specific thief the player will face in a story battle, though acts like a generic unit and can even be invited to join Ramza's company.

Gameplay[]

Overview[]

The thief's key role is to steal rare equipment from enemies, though this can be blocked by the support ability Safeguard learned from the chemist.

To increase the success rate of stealing, the player can boost the thief's Speed, as well equipping abilities such as Concentration, Attack Boost, or Brawler, which a high Bravery monk can have while guaranteeing high damage.

It is also recommended to prioritize stealing weapons due to rarity and the amount it reduces the now-unarmed enemy's attack. However, starting at chapter 2 Balias Tor, human enemies found in random encounter may scale around level 30 by level grinding to have armor only available in later chapters, such as a black robe.

For the Steal Heart ability, the user needs higher magick power to ensure the target will fall for them (the enemy must be of the opposite sex or a monster); the player may increase the success rate via magick attack-boosting equipment or through the black mage's Magick Boost support ability. This strategy can also be used with the time mage's Slow, Stop, or Immobilize spells to allow more chances to steal (as well as Teleport for better positioning for steal's accuracy/height limitations).

The thief is the only job, bar Luso's game hunter, capable of converting slain monsters into items to be redeemed at the Poachers' Den; the Byblos, a secret monster unit recruited in the Midlight's Deep, also has innate poach. Many rare equipment pieces are exclusive to poaching certain monsters, such as the Chantage and the holy lance. The thief's Sticky Fingers can be used to pick items thrown at them and add to the inventory; this allows thieves to counter ninja's Throw.

While the thief is not very useful on its own as a main job (due to poor stats other than speed), it is, nevertheless, key to unlocking better jobs (the dragoon and the ninja) and obtaining certain pieces of unique equipment through stealing. These include the blood sword from Goffard Gaffgarion that can drain life, Genji equipment (although in War of the Lions Messam Elmdore has the Safeguard ability), or via poaching monsters, which the Poachers' Den is available for these items in chapter 3.

The squire's JP Boost will also help for reaching job level 5 faster as part of a prerequisite for ninja, which will improve steal rates due to superior speed (and do an extra attack with Dual Wield, either with the knight's Rend for two attempts, or have more damage/versatility with Equip Swords) and elemental ranged Throw.

Unlocking the thief is useful for any unit thanks to its 4 movement tile ability and evasion, which can be enhanced by its Movement +2 or the knight's inexpensive Equip Shield and Parry abilities, which aegis shield (magick evasion) and main gauche vastly improves in chapter 3. Steal Gil is immediately available for only 10 JP and can be reused to continuously make money off enemies and farm for more JP.

A ninja unit with the Steal job command is more effective than the thief itself, as it boasts superior offensive stats, higher speed and evasion, as well increased base movement and jump stats, making it a more capable unit with a formidable fighting presence and utility to snatch the opponents' equipment.

Unocking[]

Leveling thief to level 4 will unlock the dragoon in the War of the Lions, while leveling it to level 5 along with separate level requirements for archer and geomancer will unlock ninja. The level requirements are a little lower in the original PlayStation release.

Stats and equipment[]

The thief's most notable stat is its high Speed, making it the second-fastest job behind only ninja. It also boasts an impressive 25% Physical Evasion stat, which along with a medium HP, gives it good survivability. Thief also has good Movement and Jump at 4 each. Its base Physical Attack is medium, and both magick stats are low.

Thief has access to basic equipment, with only knives as weapons, an inability to equip shields, and hats and clothes as standard armor.

Abilities[]

The job takes 4,520 JP to master.

Steal[]

Main article: Steal (Tactics)

Name	Range	Effect	Speed	JP Needed
Steal Gil (Gil Taking)	1	1	Now	10
Steal Gil (Gil Taking)	Pilfer gil from the target. Amount: Level x Speed Success Rate: 200 + Speed
Steal Heart	3	1	Now	150
Steal Heart	Capture the target's heart, enthralling them. Effect: Charm. Success Rate: 50 + Magic Attack
Steal Helm (Steal Helmet)	1	1	Now	350
Steal Helm (Steal Helmet)	Purloin the target's equipped helmet. Success Rate: 40 + Speed
Steal Armor	1	1	Now	450
Steal Armor	Purloin the target's equipped armor. Success Rate: 35 + Speed
Steal Shield	1	1	Now	350
Steal Shield	Purloin the target's equipped shield. Success Rate: 35 + Speed
Steal Weapon	1	1	Now	600
Steal Weapon	Purloin the target's equipped weapon. Success Rate: 30 + Speed
Steal Accessory	1	1	Now	500
Steal Accessory	Purloin the target's equipped accessory. Success Rate: 40 + Speed
Steal EXP (Steal Exp)	1	1	Now	250
Steal EXP (Steal Exp)	Filch experience points from the target. Amount: 5 + Speed Success Rate: 70 + Speed

Reaction abilities[]

Name	Description	Trigger	JP Needed
Vigilance (Caution)	Assume a defensive stance. Effect: Defending	HP Loss	200
Gil Snapper (Gilgame Heart)	Receive gil equal to the amount of damage taken.	HP Loss	200
Sticky Fingers (Catch)	Catch thrown items and add them to the party inventory.	Throw	200