Thief Merits

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2010-06-21
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Thief Merits
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 Alexander.Trixan
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By Alexander.Trixan 2010-12-29 15:07:56  
I need help thinking what merits to put on my Thief, any ideas?
So far I know I have to 5/5 Triple Attack but thats about it.
 Phoenix.Kirana
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By Phoenix.Kirana 2010-12-29 15:10:59  
5/5 flee
5/5 triple attack
5/5 feint
5/5 assassin's charge
(1/5 aura steal + 4/5 assassin's charge if you want the dispel effect)
 Quetzalcoatl.Natlow
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By Quetzalcoatl.Natlow 2010-12-29 15:13:58  
I went for 5/5 triple attack, 5/5 SA recast for group 1, and then for group 2: 5/5 Feint and 5/5 Assassin's Charge. 5 min recast is pretty nice on Assassin's Charge, although it's effects aren't as strong on Dancing Edge/Evisceration as they would be on something like Mercy Stroke.

I wouldn't say Ambush is really worth it as accuracy isn't really an issue nowadays, and Aura Steal just never really seemed worth it to me.
 Hades.Triet
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By Hades.Triet 2010-12-29 15:15:19  
Not exactly a job I play very often, but I did:

5/5 Flee
5/5 Triple Attack

4/5 Assassin's Charge
5/5 Feint
1/5 Aura Steal

some may put 5/5 SA or TA (depending on how you plan on using the job). If you plan on using THF to help control hate, then to TA. If you plan on solo'ing on THF then do SA (sleep bolt, etc) In my opinion I didn't find that 10 seconds for 5/5 was really worth it. So I went with a 4:10 Flee recast timer. *shrug*
 Phoenix.Wackatramp
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By Phoenix.Wackatramp 2010-12-29 15:28:05  
It all depends on how you use THF. I don't DD with mine but I solo/lowman (normally eva tank) a lot with it.

5/5 triple attack
5/5 sneak attack (depending on what I fight, sleep bolt + sneak attack)
5/5 feint
5/5 aura steal

If you DD, I guess do the assassin's charge or w/e. I did aura steal for 100% dispel + status steal. It's already served it's usefulness for me (T2 Vnm solo eva boost steal). Assasin's charge was just going to be another job ability that I would be too lazy to use.
 Phoenix.Mogue
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By Phoenix.Mogue 2010-12-29 15:45:54  
Am I crazy for getting rid of Feint merits altogether?

Because I did. :/

Not that I dont have 20 unused merits just sitting there, but it just seems completely pointless now.

5/5 Triple
2/5 SA
2/5 TA
1/5 Flee (i... like symmetry)

5/5 Aura Steal
5/5 *** Charge (hurr durr)
 Siren.Delirium
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By Siren.Delirium 2010-12-29 15:47:46  
Phoenix.Mogue said:
Am I crazy for getting rid of Feint merits altogether? Because I did. :/ Not that I dont have 20 unused merits just sitting there, but it just seems completely pointless now. 5/5 Aura Steal 5/5 *** Charge (hurr durr)

Absolutely!! Feint is an amazing ability and reducing the recast to 2 minutes just makes it that much better
 Phoenix.Mogue
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By Phoenix.Mogue 2010-12-29 15:49:47  
Siren.Delirium said:
Phoenix.Mogue said:
Am I crazy for getting rid of Feint merits altogether? Because I did. :/ Not that I dont have 20 unused merits just sitting there, but it just seems completely pointless now. 5/5 Aura Steal 5/5 *** Charge (hurr durr)

Absolutely!! Feint is an amazing ability and reducing the recast to 2 minutes just makes it that much better
Well I had 5/5 Feint for years, just no longer... I guess I'm just trying new combinations since otherwise these merits wouldn't be getting spent on anything.
 Siren.Delirium
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By Siren.Delirium 2010-12-29 15:51:39  
Honestly though, from my POV being away from game forever, feint is the one thing that helped insure my soloing capability to land those bolts everytime
 Sylph.Gredival
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By Sylph.Gredival 2010-12-29 17:24:10  
I would agree that accuracy caps so easily now that having feint isn't required even in high tier fights, but at the same time I personally never found aura steal useful past the first level and ambush is an even less useful acc boost compared to feint.
 Phoenix.Hagino
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By Phoenix.Hagino 2010-12-29 20:30:50  
Trick 5/5
TA 5/5
Feint 5/5
AC 5/5

[+]
 Bahamut.Raenryong
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By Bahamut.Raenryong 2010-12-29 20:52:36  
Trick 5/5
TA 5/5
Feint 5/5
AC 1/5
Aura Steal 4/5
I love stealing superpowerful mob buffs. AC is just nice for opening a fight with extra enmity on a TAWS (if I'm not the only tank-capable DD); I consider it very minor otherwise.
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 Phoenix.Mogue
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By Phoenix.Mogue 2010-12-29 20:56:23  
Bahamut.Raenryong said:
Trick 5/5
TA 5/5
Feint 5/5
AC 1/5
Aura Steal 4/5
I love stealing superpowerful mob buffs. AC is just nice for opening a fight with extra enmity on a TAWS (if I'm not the only tank-capable DD); I consider it very minor otherwise.
Haste from Wivres, Attack Boost from Scorps, Warcry from dolls, Def Boost from Crawlers, Eva boost from Mantas... The list of useful buffs to steal really goes on and on, particularly for solo/lowman.

I <3 My Aura Steal.
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By Sylph.Etoilemourante 2010-12-29 22:16:31  
Triple attack 5/5
Sneak attack 5/5

Assassin charge 5/5
Feinte 5/5

Thief my main job.
 Bahamut.Ukiyasan
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By Bahamut.Ukiyasan 2010-12-30 01:21:06  
I personally just don't see the usefulness of Feint anymore myself. Outside of abyssea, everyone's accuracy should be floored on any mob you fight if you are level 90. Inside abyssea, if you are THF, you should be using Razed Ruins for DEX, crit hit rate, and crit hit dmg... and you should still be floored for accuracy on just about everything inside abyssea.

Ambush has never shown any appeal to me.... it never will. So here is my suggestion on THF merits:

Triple Attack 5/5
Flee 5/5

A/C 5/5
Aura Steal 4/5
Feint 1/5 (Yes, I left 1/5 just for the RARE case that your accuracy isn't capped)
 
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 Alexander.Trixan
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By Alexander.Trixan 2010-12-30 07:15:43  
ugh so hard to choose from since everyone's set up is so different lol
 Siren.Delirium
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By Siren.Delirium 2010-12-30 07:35:41  
5/5 Personal Preference
5/5 Triple
1/5 Aura
5/5 Feint
4/5 AC

This has always been the stock theif set in my eyes. Although i've always wanted to go 4/5 Aura instead of AC just for the 80% chance to steal the buff.
 Bahamut.Dasva
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By Bahamut.Dasva 2010-12-30 08:17:49  
Never really saw a need to feint that often other than the supposed increased chance to steal. For awhile I really wanted to do aura steal more but now I find myself despoiling more anyways so yeah... so AC and feint your best bet

With the update SA and TA merits have gotten alot better since they can help increase your TH effect
 Asura.Eeek
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By Asura.Eeek 2010-12-30 09:26:42  
5/5 Triple Attack
5/5 Sneak Attack
5/5 Feint
4/5 Aura Steal
1/5 Assassin's Charge

I have the same mindset as Raen. I love stealing super-powered mob buffs. Unless I'm trying to plant hate on someone, or I want the mob dead faster, I tend to forget I even have Assassin's Charge. I've had 5/5 Feint merits for years, and I'm keeping them even though they're not nearly as useful anymore. Feint is still an incredibly powerful debuff and I want access to it as often as possible.
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By Sylph.Etoilemourante 2010-12-30 09:37:14  
its sure ppl who choice flee on merits understand nothing on thief job... or use thief for flee AH flee mog house...

If ppl think thief are TH only, plz dont help ppl here...


Thief are big potentiel for ppl are enought INT to find it...


For Feint its impossible to gauge for HNM, Dynamis Lord and other hard objectif , too at futur level 99... its not for use on mob decent challenge. Ambush are totaly too weak bonus and only on back... if your thief can ever on back , its ***thief...

And for steal aura its not bad but too bad on steal ability... when want steal 1 item and he steal shell 1, you can just wait 5min more and hope no more ***buff...


ya i know i speak low english, if dont undestand dont read and dont need blame so lol
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 Asura.Shamaya
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By Asura.Shamaya 2010-12-30 12:17:09  
I will agree that right now, more than ever, the overall best combo for utility and damage is,

5/5 Triple
x/5 Trick Attack
x/5 Sneak Attack

5/5 Feint
4/5 ***. Charge
1/5 Aura Steal

For SA vs TA merits, it really matters how you play, how strong of a DD you are, and what kind of things you normally do, I feel. Pre-abyssea, I changed my 3SA/2TA to 5SA under reasons such as: that my SA+WS was stronger, so I wanted it available more often, that at HNM's, I very often was not allowed to TA or couldn't (Ixion), and that I would like to grab more hate than give it in low man groups.

For what I do right now, perhaps I should change it back to a SA/TA mix. I find myself duo/trio tanking and I think it'd be better if I could TA more often. Especially since solo SA/TA increase the chance that TH will rise. And in abyssea alliances perhaps it is easier to get off a TA than an SA.


On Group II merits, 5/5 feint was so deliciously good pre-abyssea. Maybe things are a bit different now, but if you don't have 5/5 feint, it'll hurt a lot for times where you can't use it. 5/5 feint was pretty much necessary pre-abyssea. I'd be interested if people don't find it so necessary now. While 5/5 *** Charge would be really delicious, it's hard to call yourself a true thief without the 1/5 Aura Steal. The utility of the dispel is just super useful. Your dispeller might be busy or not situated nearby when you need the dispel. But it's especially good since it doesn't suffer light or dark-based dispel immunity that some mobs have. If you're solo or low-man without another dispel in the group, obviously aura steal is great.

There might've been some argument to ambush pre-abyssea, but then again post abyssea, who really needs the accuracy anyway. And as if the mob isn't going to be facing you half the time in a smaller group. Putting extra points in aura steal is just too inconsistent to really show good returns to utility or DD over time. Maybe you could put extra points in it for a short time if you see yourself spamming a fight over and over again where you could put it to use. I raised it to 4/5 for a time when my LS was doing JoL ever other day, since you can steal his Fluoresence boost to do insane dmg.
But *** Charge doesn't suffer these positional or situational problems. It's always strong. Not only can you use it for DPS, but it's also good for tanking if you want to seal more hate on yourself or someone else at the very start of a fight. Though I will admit that post-atma, it's a lot easier for a thief and other DD tanks to hold hate at the very start of a fight.
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 Bahamut.Ukiyasan
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By Bahamut.Ukiyasan 2010-12-30 12:23:13  
Sylph.Etoilemourante said:
its sure ppl who choice flee on merits understand nothing on thief job... or use thief for flee AH flee mog house...

If ppl think thief are TH only, plz dont help ppl here...


Thief are big potentiel for ppl are enought INT to find it...


For Feint its impossible to gauge for HNM, Dynamis Lord and other hard objectif , too at futur level 99... its not for use on mob decent challenge. Ambush are totaly too weak bonus and only on back... if your thief can ever on back , its ***thief...

And for steal aura its not bad but too bad on steal ability... when want steal 1 item and he steal shell 1, you can just wait 5min more and hope no more ***buff...


ya i know i speak low english, if dont undestand dont read and dont need blame so lol
Ok, HNMs are a JOKE at 90 atm.... I'm sorry but if you need Feint more than 1 time on it... you deserve to lose. So, Sorry, but 5/5 feint is a joke.

As for those that put 5/5 Flee over putting them in SA or TA.... the group 1 have always been debated... yes, SA and TA have alot more use now, but its a player preference. I agree that SA or TA would have more use now, and I'm probably gonna rework my group 1 honestly... but I still laugh at any THF that believes 5/5 Feint is a must.... accuracy shouldn't be an issue for anyone that isn't gimp. OK, granted there is that RARE occasion, in which case, I find it alright for 1/5 Feint. Ambush is alright if you aren't tanking I suppose, but again, EVERYTHING for THF is PERSONAL PREFERENCE and PLAY STYLE.
 Phoenix.Hagino
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By Phoenix.Hagino 2010-12-30 15:49:44  
You have to remember, feint isnt just for you, YOU may be acc capped but not everyone else fighting with you is. Sometimes you need to put it up for say someone to proc blue with a random weapon that doesnt normally use it?

I know feint has helped me alot as a thf as well when im swinging away with club or h2h trying to proc blue while soloing or lowmanning. Good example is while fighting yaanei with my thf with my rdm mule, blue was h2h so i switched to bare knuckles and triggered it with spinning attack. Did the same thing with bennu but with true strike. Feint has never been just for the THF.

The debate about aura steal i would say is personal preference. I dont personally use it for any reason, if the mob has a defense boost i kind of just power through it. Haste boost just have rdm dispel it. If you cant live with a mob having a boost for 15-20 seconds if the rdm is busy...I suggest playing better. Its nice to be able to steal buffs from the mob but its not really..needed? Duoed motherglobe with thf and rdm and all i did was fight slaves and aeolian edge MG to death so spikes wouldn't kill me, so theres always a way around it.

I also choose TA over SA on group 1 because i usually low man and tanking/soloing. I am rarely behind the mob because i can not be behind the mob. If there is another DD such as a warrior or random drk i TA them and pull hate off with accomplice or a second WS. Repeat until mob is dead.

I kind of got off topic from feint but im pretty much trying to say it isnt just for yourself. I know most people probably wont agree with me or will rate me down, it works for me and ive accomplished alot of things as a THF and i am proud of it.
 Ifrit.Darkanaseur
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By Ifrit.Darkanaseur 2010-12-30 16:04:41  
Phoenix.Hagino said:
Trick 5/5
TA 5/5
Feint 5/5
AC 5/5


That's what I have. I sure wasn't capped acc vs Rani among other higher tier NMs, so I was pretty thankful to have a 2min Feint.
 Phoenix.Wackatramp
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By Phoenix.Wackatramp 2011-01-10 13:30:48  
True enough. Feint most def. comes in handy. When I was soloing Seps, I'd get nailed with flash and eye drops wouldn't remove the blind. So I'd use Feint and I'd hit like normal again. Maybe not a big deal, but when you re soloing, you rely on little ***like that quite often. The the fact that full merits puts it down to 2 minutes. Pure win.
 Cerberus.Kylos
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By Cerberus.Kylos 2011-01-10 13:34:24  
I did these merits.

1/5 Flee
2/5 Sneak attack recast
2/5 Trick attack recast
5/5 Triple attack

1/5 Aura Steal
1/5 Ambush
3/5 Feint
5/5 Assassins Charge
 Luz
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By Luz 2011-01-10 13:34:36  
Phoenix.Wackatramp said:
True enough. Feint most def. comes in handy. When I was soloing Seps, I'd get nailed with flash and eye drops wouldn't remove the blind. So I'd use Feint and I'd hit like normal again. Maybe not a big deal, but when you re soloing, you rely on little ***like that quite often. The the fact that full merits puts it down to 2 minutes. Pure win.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Omg someone make a meme picture of that.
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By Tikal 2011-01-21 15:00:40  
Sneak Attack 5/5
Trick Attack 5/5

Feint 5/5
Aura Steal 5/5

I'm happy with my merits. Feint helps with triggers and supplements SCing nicely, and Aura Steal works great on certain mobs. Assassin's Charge always seemed useless to me since my THF has always been a utility job, not an output monster.
 Asura.Karbuncle
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By Asura.Karbuncle 2011-01-21 15:09:36  
Tikal said:
Sneak Attack 5/5
Trick Attack 5/5

Feint 5/5
Aura Steal 5/5

I'm happy with my merits. Feint helps with triggers and supplements SCing nicely, and Aura Steal works great on certain mobs. Assassin's Charge always seemed useless to me since my THF has always been a utility job, not an output monster.

It can be both if you let it :P or gear it right... or merit it right...

Either way, ON TOPIC! I went

5/5 Triple Attack
5/5 Flee Recast
-------------------
5/5 Feint
4/5 ***-Charger
1/5 Aura Steal

I don't recommend 5/5 Flee at all, was just my lul-choice. Anyway, I Don't use Aura-steal for the Absorbing, i use it for the Dispelling, so 1 merit does that more than well enough for me.

Assassin's Charge because now its more or less a added chance to proc Triple Damage on SA or TA :P, And because it really is a decent boost to WS Damage or damage in general.

5/5 Feint cause there are still some mobs in this game where it can be useful. Indrik for one, the Teir IIIVNM in Vunkerl, etc, And of course, The fights where mages need to proc (Hexa Strikes anyone!) that It can't hurt.

Triple Attack is obvious, You may as well just consider Category 1 merits as a max of 5, and the other 5 are automatically triple Attack. Basically if you don't merit Triple Attack you've lost my respect as a THF, there is no substitute for the magnificence of those merits.

As its been said a million times though, it does kinda fall heavily on how you play THF.

just don't merit ambush, ever. (Or Flee Recast like i did)
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