Thief's Evolution

Just making a quick post since I've posted enough text for one week. THF has jumped forward a GREAT deal this week...

This lootpool must be symbolic in some way. It was the last Omega lootpool I ever saw in Cetra ... signifying the end of that era, but also the beginning of another. Why? Read on...

Wish is a fun LS to be in because everything is much more lowman than what I'm used to in Cetra and from a lootwhoring perspective, it uses a points system and so is very fair in that you WILL get a return on your hard work.

By some miracle... my points were high enough to lot the body!!

It's like a dream come true to be honest, never thought I'd get that dream body... so insanely good for THF and I'm debating TPing in it on mobs I have no trouble hitting for damage (since triple attack +2.5% should outdo the str and atk thing in a TP build sense over time)... however, info on BG contradicts 2.5% TA and says it may only be 1% TA, though people aren't sure yet. I'd like to see some conclusive proof.

Seku, Shanian and me from Wish there in order. Congrats on your err Homam Heads guys! I would've brought mine along for 4/5 Homam but Bahamut's Mask looks better and is actually useful. SO! Yeah.

The second part of the THF upgrade involves perseverance and an annoying bird.

4-boxed kill, I was controlling everyone involved at that time so it was a VERY rough fight. Also notice my fail lot. Before I get people wishing me to die etc, that puts me at 1/33 so I'm hardly that lucky with it! So happy... Thief is getting so pimped. Now if only X's Knife would drop, hint hint!

Trotter Boots: most appreciative thanks to Miah (as always), Jexen, Tenbroya, Sakurawr, Muramasamune, Cipura, Klown, Bautier, Bigjon, Nemises, Ginge and Rienea who all helped for certain kills along the road. I appreciate it, guys! If I've missed anyone poke me ingame or something and I'll add your name here too!

Oh, and if you read this blog and/or can somehow tolerate me writing too much, gimme some comments! I always like to hear input and that. I realise nobody will read my huge Thief rant last post but still! It feels good to write it down.

Oh, and for the record, Homam Corazza is as freaking amazing as hoped.

Laters~
Raen Ryong

Eternity's End

I haven't updated in awhile but that's because I don't do much in the way of fillers! Today the blog will be victim to me ranting about many different things, not only restricted to FF.

However I did forget to take that many screenshots so there will be a lot of text this time around. My apologies~

First of all, I've been burning to write something comprehensive about THF for a while now, since there are so many misconceptions about the job going around. So here goes.

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The Thief Codex

Okay, first of all I have conducted testing on the Sneak Attack and Trick Attack damage formulae since they are so important to Thief as a job and understanding them is crucial. The following is what I have deduced;

SoloSA: (D + fSTR + DEX) * (critical) Pdif
SoloTA: (D + fSTR + AGI) * (critical) Pdif
SoloSATA: (D + fSTR + DEX + AGI) * (critical) Pdif

SAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {DEX} * {(critical)} Pdif
TAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {AGI} * {(critical)} Pdif
SATAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {DEX} + {AGI} * {(critical)} Pdif

Key:
D = Base DMG on weapon
fSTR = STR-VIT function
Pdif = ATK/DEF function
fTP = TP modifier of that hit
DEX = Total DEX
AGI = Total AGI
{} = First hit only

The issue with ffwiki's formulae has been resolved; they were correct as are mine, just written differently.

From my formulae, you are able to deduce that

During Sneak Attack or Trick Attack, 1 DEX or AGI = 1 fSTR = 1 weapon D. It follows that 1 fSTR = 4 STR for melee hits in most cases, so;

1 DEX = 4 STR = 1 DMG.
(note that 4STR is in fact slightly better than 1dex/1d because you also add 2atk -- minor, but it's there).

Further testing shows that each point of dex/agi is worth "pdif" and each point of d/fstr/wsc is worth "pdif * ftp", meaning the bonus is weaker than d/fstr/wsc on its own -- but remember that dex also gives wsc; agi does not. See "Dagger in the Dark" for more information.

Attack is also not as valuable as it would otherwise be during soloSA/soloTA/soloSATA because you are criticalling it anyway, which reduces the impact of adding further attack. During multihit WSs, Attack still helps subsequent hits a great deal so it becomes a balancing act of sorts.

Tests were performed on THF/SAM onehanding a Sirocco Kukri and using the weaponskill Wasp Sting (previously tested -- it indeed has 1.0 fTP and no WSC). Test mob was Savanna Rarab in West Sarutabaruta.

Basically, to sum up:

• 1 DEX or AGI on Sneak Attack/Trick Attack ~= 4 STR ~= 1 DMG.
  
• 1 DEX = 1 AGI for soloSATA potency.
• On SATAWS and TAWS, 1 AGI does add a great deal of damage but only to the first hit. DEX increases the WSC as well.
• Attack does not help soloSA, soloTA or soloSATA a great deal but is still useful in Dancing Edge.
• Wiki's formulae are WRONG, very clearly and easily seen in tests (damage using theirs would be ~300 lower than it was -- VERY clear)

Okay, now let's talk about other aspects of THF.

What type of DD is THF?

Thief is largely melee DoT-based on anything without a huge amount of defence, otherwise you are largely spike-based (by virtue of SA/TA and WS). In THF's early levels, it is mainly spike based for this reason but as soon as your attack and haste become decent, your melee DoT really pick up.

For stacking WSs (ie SAWS TAWS etc)... the lower your attack is compared to your opponent's defence and the difference between your levels, the more stacking it helps. Basically, the more buffed you are relatively, the less useful stacking becomes in terms of overall damage, and vice versa. Stacking is ALWAYS stronger of course, but in areas you are largely buffed, it is often more beneficial to do soloSA, soloTA and bareWS for more overall damage. All very situational! Think intelligently -- as you have to do on THF.

Shark Bite vs Dancing Edge is largely the same issue. If your acc/atk is reliable, go Dancing Edge. If not, Shark Bite. This is looking at it purely from a damage point of view of course, skillchain properties aside.

Meat vs sushi is a similar issue; Meat will almost always outdamage sushi as long as you can maintain respectable accuracy (usually using an accuracy body over Rapparee Harness etc). The Thief Paradox on gods and high level mobs is thus;

Thief is a low accuracy DD, and so needs sushi to hit. However, you need meat to damage respectably.
How to solve this paradox? I just stack accuracy and build for meat, and end up parsing very respectably (see a recent Proto-Ultima where I parsed above all of the other DDs and BLMs, using an acc/slight haste build + meat). This becomes a LOT more possible with Homam of course, and I have 2/4 useful Homam (Feet/Legs as of this moment)... Body would be a HUGE upgrade for this kind of thing, obviously.

Since you are largely DoT based, you want to emphasise this in your build. Ie, don't use Daggers like Stylet/Garuda's Dagger which only emphasise damage during WS or once every 50s-1min in the case of SA/TA. Focus on the DoT inbetween. Low delay IS important but I see so many Thiefs using trash daggers like Hornetneedle at 75 just because they have low delay. It is the delay/damage ratio that is most important! Sirocco Kukri and Blau Dolch are exceptionally strong in this respect, as is Mandau obviously. The only other obvious amazing endgame Dagger for THF is the X's Knife... an incredibly rare (0/4 at the moment and not expecting one until the /50 mark) and incredibly powerful dagger. It increases the power of criticals, including those forced by SA and TA and it has a high base D. I shouldn't have to tell you why this is so broken for THF. Shame it's so damn rare!

Mandau/X's Knife > Mandau/Blau Dolch > X's Knife/Blau Dolch > Blau Dolch/Sirocco Kukri > Else in my opinion.

Thief myths and the essential Thief problems

Myth #1

Starting with the myths. Haste is an incredibly good stat, but it is not incredibly good to the exclusion of all other stats, especially on Thief -- low accuracy (a problem covered later in this section)! A lot of Thiefs use a certain body piece thinking it will always trump accuracy. It won't.

Let's examine the prime symbol of this myth, the RAPPAREE HARNESS.

DEF:32 Racc+2 Haste+4%

0 Accuracy. On a low accuracy DD. Not so good. As accuracy is low, adding more accuracy is comparatively better than adding it at high accuracy. There are five situations Rapparee Harness is better than a 10acc+ body;

1. During Feint
2. Using sushi in most scenarios
3. When accuracy is otherwise capped or near to
4. When haste values are VERY high and accuracy is still sufficient (~40%+ in meripos with ~85%+ accuracy otherwise)
   
5. When recasting Utsusemi solo (less recast time)
   

The biggest thing I see even Mandau THFs doing is using it over Homam Corazza. NEVER do this outside of the scenarios listed above. 15acc is a huge advantage especially on a low accuracy job for overall damage, and 2.5% TA on top of that just boosts it further. Homam Corazza is an absolutely godly body for THF. Rapparee Harness is situational at best.

Myth #2

Another myth, and a very prevailant one. "Thief is not a DD". Not true at all -- it requires a lot more intelligence and initiative than most DDs and requires you to be far more adaptable, but it is very powerful when played properly. Of course it's not going to be amazing in every possible situation, but what DD is?

Thief has low accuracy and low attack and low base DMG and low STR. This means you must REALLY know what you are doing and not be lazy to make it work. Since this is not achievable without a huge amount of effort, most Thiefs do fail to damage. If you are a dedicated THF, you WILL do damage. A large fear of mine when I started this job was that it would be as second-rate as people say, but it simply isn't.

That means using a Fire Bomblet > Bomb Core for when you are not having to use bolts and having both SA and TA sets! Thief uses a lot of inventory space and requires a lot of micromanagement; deal with it! If this doesn't sound appealing to you, then Thief is not the job for you!

Myth #3

"Thief can only eat sushi". Not true, it just requires a lot of effort on the user to build for a meat build. On things like Kirin/Jailer of Love etc I can see it being ridiculously difficult to eat meat. This would come under the type of fights where Thief isn't very good, I guess. Still working on that.

Myth #4

"Don't give a Thief Haste, it'll mess up his SA and TA timing". I had to contend with this so many times when levelling. Learn to time your SA or TA. Activate your macro the second you've started the previous attack round (despite the attacks not happening simultaneously on your screen, they're processed simultaneously on the server so after you've seen the first hit the others won't take the SA or TA). Learn to time it.

Problem #1

Low accuracy, low attack, low DMG, low STR. Due to this as well as the pivotal role of DEX and AGI in dealing damage during SA and TA related things, Thief is VERY sensitive to gear choices. Think VERY carefully about what gear you are choosing for any situation; that AGI may be enhancing that first hit of your Dancing Edges wonderfully during TAWS, but what about the others? Is it better using War Brais +1 for 5AGI for the first hit or Dusk Trousers for +14atk over the rest? This is all situational but THINK about it and make different builds for different situations. Thief is far too sensitive not to do so. This leads on to problem #2...

Problem #2

Thief gear experiences a huge gulf. Let's examine good TP pieces for instance.

Body: Homam Corazza >> Enkidu Harness > Skadi's Cuirie > Pahluwan Body > Antares Harness = Scorpion Harness +1 > Scorpion Harness... and Rapparee Harness in there situationally.

Hands: Homam Manopolas ~= Dusk Gloves +1 (on Thief the accuracy on Homam Manopolas can equate with Dusk Gloves +1 for overall DD potential) > Enkidu's Mittens =~ Dusk Gloves...

Legs: Homam Cosciales > ... getting the point yet?

All of the top tier stuff is rare/ex, hard to get, expensive etc. And this is only looking at TP build! Check out all of that Hecatomb in WS build... then look at the next best alternatives. Yeah, not pretty. Thief requires prohibitively expensive and/or hard to obtain gear, and this gear is MILES above the alternatives. Heck, look at your top daggers.

Mandau: Relic
X's Knife: Insanely rare and hard to get
Blau Dolch: Very costly
Sirocco Kukri: Depending on your playtime etc, can be very hard to get

Thief has a very hard time with gear with little feasible alternatives. This is quite the problem. Get used to dealing with it, but look forward that due to Thief's gear sensitivity, getting these pieces will lead to a dramatic increase in damage potential!

Problem #3

Otherwise known as Dancing Edge. Multihits become exponentially stronger with acc/atk, more hits = more of an exponential increase. So let's give Thief, very low acc/atk, a 5(6 when Dual Wielding) hit WS. Yeah, it's a problem. This is why bodies like Hecatomb Harness are -generally- superior to Dragon Harness... despite the fact Dragon Harness will do a lot more a lot of the time, you NEED that accuracy on this WS. No way around it. It's good to have a separate WS macro for during Feint/low eva mobs though!

To summarise, Thief is a very powerful and fun DD, but also a very challenging one to play. It will take a lot of effort, intelligence, and micromanagement to bring out the best of this DD. Good luck!

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In other FF-related news...

After 14 months, I am no longer with CetraSanctuary LS. More accurately, I was kicked after a dispute with one of the sackholders (you can guess which). It is a testimony to the favouritism within the LS that one member who shall remain unnamed MPK'd the LS once during Dynamis-Xarcabard (Diaga on slept mobs for fun) and received a slap on the wrist whereas I received a full kick for a dispute with a sackholder. At any rate, it turns out the drops I thought were not counting against me were and the attendance records they kept of me was much lower than I had recorded, so my future was limited anyway.

Bitterness aside, I am very thankful to CetraSanctuary for the drops I did receive and regret it had to end this way. But meh, new starts. I am now in Wish LS and have already finished my Valor Paladin
AF2 set!!


Better screenshot coming when I can be bothered! Sexy anyway, I know.

Wish does things with a lot less members than I am used to, though this is not a bad thing at all! The group is more focussed due to less people and events like dynamis are more entertaining when you feel like you are contributing rather than monsters dying the second they are targetted.

I've also been levelling mage jobs recently! Yes, me as a mage. Who would've thought it? My BLM sucks but I'm okay with WHM and RDM I think! Except I forgot I didn't have Silena in Qufim against worms which was kinda embarrassing.

Getting there! And yes I know I need /rdm for my PLD really.. working on it!

Look at that hardcore white mage warcry. Feet are now Garrison Boots for the record, just were none up!

So what else has been happening. Oh yeah, Nyzul Isle; my static which I lead has hit a few problems with conflicting times and so we are being forced to do a lot less than usual. Still got to floor 40 this weekend though, with the following results;

My sister the Sakurawr wanted Askar Dirs sadly, though I got a nice new situational legpiece (isn't everything?) for THF! Tenbroya got a Radiant Lance for his level ... 30ish? Maybe? DRG. Not even a 75 job yet either, but he performed quite well as 60RDM~

Also have been focussing on my NPC a lot lately, level 61 now and nearly 62! Love my Sahyu despite her lack of an MP pool. Did the Vassago LB fight recently...

Something messed up the image quality there, but whatever. Redhead Mithra (so hot), sword/shield, Soothing Healer, heavy armour look. The fight itself was quite easy as a level sync'd 50thf/nin; only got hit by attacks which bypassed shadows.

Rushed out to Kreutzet after maintenance to assist an LS member...


Grats to Amrik on your new dagger~ hellish NM but a great drop.

Finally did the COR AF3 fight with THF/NIN THF/NIN BRD/WHM as the setup, Requiem of Sin style. Get one THF to kite around the big deck on your left (around the stairs) while you pull the other and kill. Very easy win.


It's actually snowing there but you can't really see it Pretty dramatic. Realised afterwords how much cooler that would be if I had turned the names off!

Other than that, nothing too exciting. Sorry about not so many screenshots this week, I'll try to take more. Gonna try my luck with Simurgh... Trotter's please!!

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Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer

Been playing the Neverwinter Nights 2 Expansion, Mask of the Betrayer recently and I finally understand the game mechanics and battle engine (impressive I know)! It actually had a really good storyline unlike the pre-expansion campaign which I did not like so much... time to finish that original campaign now. Basically... and spoilers ahead so be warned.

When you die, if you are atheist, ie one of the "Faithless", your soul becomes imprisoned within the Wall of the Faithless until it is eventually consumed and becomes nothingness. Akachi, a high priest of sorts serving Myrkul, God of the Dead at that time. However, when his lover died, he was aghast, knowing her faith as an atheist. He pleaded with his God but Myrkul refused to make an exception for her. So he cast off his faith and gathered an army consisting of undead, celestials, dragons and other races, and led an assault on the City of Judgment to save his lover's soul... hence how he came to be known as the "Betrayer". He successfully freed her soul but his crusade was lost and he was imprisoned within the City of Judgment and tortured horribly, until all that remained was a spirit hunger, a spirit desire...

... a spirit hunger that becomes imprisoned within your character at the start of the campaign, which you can either choose to feed or suppress, giving you different powers either way. I suppressed it and fought against it, and gained incredibly powerful healing abilities as a result. You have to actually feed it to stop yourself from dying though. Eventually, it turns out that the one who basically exposed you to the spirit eater contagion was the incarnation of Akachi's past lover, seeking you to lead a second crusade against the City of Judgment and free his soul...

The climax of the game has you leading said crusade into the City of Judgment, into the Bascilia of Lost Hope and Eternity's End, the real name of the City... and finishing at the Wall of the Faithless and in your own soul. The final battle is against all that remains of Akachi's hunger and its different aspects (appearing as different opponents periodically throughout the battle), Remorseless Instinct, Infinite Despair, Unrelenting Fury and Insatiable Hunger. After defeating him, you can choose to destroy him or reform the Mask of the Betrayer (you are his Mask basically -- a Mask for the hunger that lies within and should eventually consume you) and so finally end the curse and set things right... however this "good" ending is rather bittersweet because it is noted that Akachi and his love are doomed never to see each other again. This crusade was to be their last act of love~ bittersweet.

Great game though.

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Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic

Also been playing another game recently which is quite old, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. I used to play it so much with one of my good friends, though we've drifted apart much to my dismay though he doesn't seem to care at all. Looking back at some of the dates of the saved games of the matches we played against/with each other (it's a TBS -- turn-based strategy), it stretches back as far as 2003~2005. Scary stuff... really scary.

But yeah, I've digressed enough about stuff most people won't even care about, especially given the notable absence of pictures! The title of this weeks blog entry could mean many different things, decide for yourself!

Laters~
Raen Ryong~