Since its release, FFXI has never stopped amazing its players with new characters, features, and content. Despite being an old game, new and old players are finding this game interesting, given the wide range of races, jobs, and weapons.
This article will discuss the Thief job in FFXI. The guide includes an introduction about the job, some important aspects to know before starting, abilities & weapons, leveling guide, race selection, and advantages of using Thief in FFXI. Let’s get started!
Thief Job in FFXI
The Thief in Final Fantasy XI deals non-buff support damage. Specifically, it will be used as a damage dealer who closes the skillchain. Playing a thief has advantages and disadvantages. The longer trip will pay off at the upper levels. Be ready for parties at level 14 and below to reject you and give you a tough time. The thief class is not intended to fight at the front like the warrior class. In a party, their role is to manage hate, which decides who the monster will target. The Thief has the ability to steal hate from any player they want in order to keep control of the combat.
Important Things to Know About Thief
Thief acts more like an Assassin than it is a Thief. There is nothing much like thief behavior in this job, except for two job abilities called Steal and Mug, which can steal a significant amount of Gil from NMs and other things. Here are some of the important things that every player should know before starting to play with Thief. Learning about jobs in FFXI can be tricky; players need to acquire all the knowledge about the other jobs as well. Luckily, there are lots of useful job guides available on the internet.
Thieves have the best evasion of any profession, access to ranged weapons, and movement speed enhancements like Flee, so they become superb pullers.
The thief job is critical in FFXI to be used in the endgame.
It is one of the most survivable jobs in the entire FFXI game. Players who don’t like dying can easily opt for this job.
Additionally, the Thief has Sneak Attack and Trick Attack. They are essentially the only weapons. Thief ever employs and are fairly assassin-like.
Out of all the skills a thief will acquire, a sneak attack is the most useful.
Thief is mainly a support-role job that never takes hate.
In reality, the Thief is a support role job that can hold hatred control at a maximum, close incredible skillchains, pull, and enfeeble its targets with its marksmanship. However, several players mistakenly view the Thief as a damage dealer.
Thief is one of the best jobs in FFXI for hunting infamous monsters and gathering goods to sell for money (due to its Treasure Hunter characteristic).
Abilities & Weapons
Gil Finder
This is one of the passive skills of a Thief. The Thief turns into a Gil collector thanks to this power, which multiplies the Gil that monsters drop when they are killed.
Treasure Hunting
This skill of the Thief job increases the chance of dropping items from the monsters.
Evasion Bonus (up to three levels)
Your evasive skills are improved by the Thief passive skill. However, this doesn't raise the numbers next to your combat abilities under "Evasion". You will get an additional Evasion bonus at higher levels.
Perfect Dodge
For 30 seconds, you can use this power to deflect all melee attacks that are aimed at you. As a Thief, you will only be absorbing enough hate to turn the mob against you if your tank is unable to maintain hate, so it isn't very useful in a group.
Other notable traits are：
Triple attack
Aura Steal
Assassin
Ambush
Resist gravity
Some notable abilities of Thief are：
Steal (basic Thief trait)
Flee
Sneak Attacks
Collaborator
Mug
Hide
Assassin’s Charge
Leveling Up With Thief
Level 1-10
If you pick up a Sword or some Knuckles, Thief isn't difficult to solo these beginning levels in FFXI. Try to buy a Jack-o-Lantern if you have the money to do so. They last three hours and will increase your accuracy, ranged accuracy, and evasion by 10 each. Try substituting Warrior or Monk based on the weapons you are using if you have a support position. Make it a routine to grab Signet before going out. Through defensive and evasion benefits, it will not only make soloing much simpler but also allow you to reset HP without losing TP and give you conquest points to spend on types of equipment.
Level 10-20
Unfortunately, these are your most difficult levels, and it is nearly a guarantee that you will never play Thief again due to these levels. But it's well worth it if you can put up with them. Thief is similar to a Warrior from Lv. 10 until the end of Lv. 14, but with less attack power and even less defense. In FFXI, the Thief starts to do a good job at level 15. You receive Sneak Attack and Treasure Hunter, two features that are essential in leveling. As long as you are immediately behind the mob, Sneak Attack gives critical, 100% precise damage for your subsequent attack and also factors in your dexterity. The best application is with a weapon skill like Combo or Fast Blade. Remember that. In these stages, you'll take on the roles of a puller and a damage dealer. Make sure your party is aware of your non-tank status if you are a warrior sub.
Level 20-40
These levels are much more enjoyable. You'll be performing the same thing you did in the previous levels from 20 to 29, with the exception that at level 25, you'll unlock Flee, which is excellent for avoiding links or simply getting about. But once you reach Lv. 30, you acquire Trick Attack. Thieves exist only to perform this particular job role. If you execute this attack correctly, you will deal the monster around three times as much damage as you normally would, including all of your DEX and AGI points. It's also 100 percent accurate. With all of that, you'll end up doing 200 damage, and the tank in front of you will get every iota of hate. After gaining Viper Bite at level 33, your damage is increased by 1.5 times. In other words, you can deliver around 300 damage instead of the usual 200. You will get 480 damage if you close a Distortion skillchain.
Level 40-60
You'll continue acting exactly as you have since level 33 until Lv. 60. You unlock Hide at level 45, and it has three useful functions. One is to end all hostility. If you use Flee, you can drop everything; if you use Hide once you're past an enemy's line of sight. Another usage is to temporarily become invisible for free. While the third and best usage is to use it to create an initial "Voker-free SATA," SATA (short term for Sneak Attack and Trick Attack) must come before Hide. You begin your limit-breaking and artifact quests in these levels. The gloves, pants, and feet components from Thief's AF are helpful, but the other two are not. In any case, getting your hat piece is necessary in order to get the others, and your body piece is useful. Get them all after that. Regarding your Genkai quests, you have the easiest time completing these levels.
Level 60-75
At 60, the profession of Thief has a new incredible characteristic: Assassin. Yes, the Thief in FFXI indeed performs as an Assassin. It makes it possible to play Trick Attack without using Sneak Attack. So much more damage will result, and no more initial 'Vokers will be required. The job becomes much more enjoyable as a result. And just plain great now that you're free of that unnecessary line-up. You then acquire a new pair of twin job skills called Accomplice and Collaborator at age 65. These two job skills strengthen Thief's capacity as a hate controller.
Level 75-Endgame
There are two main uses for the Thief job in FFXI. The quality that stands out the most is Treasure Hunter. By the level of 75, every Thief has TH2, and most are anticipated to have the Thief's Knife, which adds TH3 to their total. You should eventually join Dynamis and obtain your Assassin's Armlets so that you can have the highest possible level of TH4, which will greatly increase the drop rates for all of the other events you participate in. The second quality of Thief is the major event puller. This is frequently risky, and there are times when the Thief is asked to pull the sacrifice, which entails getting killed for the benefit of the group. If not, Thief is only utilized as a damage dealer and occasionally as a hatred control.
Benefits of Thief
As aforementioned, Thief is an ideal job for the endgame, where you will get rewarded for your patience while leveling up with Thief. It can be an Assassin, and the main role of this job is to control hate and deal damage at the higher levels which will come from Sneak Attack and Trick Attack.
Conclusion
In FFXI, a Thief job has a mind that can take responsibility as an Assassin. It’s a versatile job that can benefit you in the endgame. This guide aimed to provide insights about Thief in FFXI to new as well as old players. Hope you find this guide useful.
