Thf at post 60 [Help me out!]

[CubsWoo]

but I just don't see something like "get the dragoon" as something that's often said.

fixed it for ya

 

[Elemmire]

dragoon haters T.T DRG + THF ftw against bats and flies and the sorts T.T

 

[onions]

Never prime a sata in hopes of skillchaining at the start of a fight. It's better to have cold timers by the time the fight starts so that you can gain tp instead of standing there disengaged. Plus it's dangerous. "If you're good" usually ends up being "If the server likes you." If it doesn't like you that particular second, you prematurely blow your sata.

If you time your repops and have been with the party more than 10 minutes you should be able to precharge and have TA ready everytime. I haven't blown a precharged SATAWS since I started doing it, I never miss WS's, i dont know where this server stuff comes from. i have a SA, a TA, a SATA, and SATAWS macro. my SATAWS macro (1.5 wait) fails more than me precharging SATAWS. The one thing you have to remember is watch the BRD & WHMbecause Cure and Song lag WILL fuck it up. Easy remedy though. Timing. Takes practice.

In a ninja party, priming does the party more harm than good. The problem ninjas encounter isn't keeping hate during the first 15 seconds of the fight. It's keeping it in the face of barrage and a weaponskill, or a magic burst. Thus, the ninja doesn't need a primed trick attack. They need hate when hate spikes happen, and that means giving the tank all you have right before the magic burst. Again, when TAWS isn't enough and it goes for the BLM because they firaga'd for 1200, you didn't do your job. TAWS does not come close to doing the same damage that SATAWS does, even if both equipment sets are extraordinary.

Start of fight with 300 damage worth of hate then another TAWS is more than enough hate. Have you ever done a TAWS?? It usually does from 200 less than a SATAWS to the same amount some times. Add that to the initial TA (300+) and the seperate SA (300+) thats more damage. The mob WILL NOT go after the BLM after this unless your NIN SUCKS and is getting hit over and over.

Once you plant a TA onto a ninja, it's over. The meleeing partner has no chance to turn the mob, and thus you perpetuate the suboptimal by priming trick attack. Ta + a later TAWS < SATAWS in terms of hate control, because SATAWS transfers hate exactly when hate is needed. NO shadow depletion. No damage depletion. It's incredibly easy to rip a mob off a ninja with a provoke and a weaponskill. That's the beauty of the nin-thief relationship. If your skillchain is taking your mob from 90% to 5%, you're probably fighting too low. Ideally you should skillchain at the start of fights, use only one Sa and Ta per fight, and exit the fight with around 80% tp. Thus, the best thieves working with the best parties don't whore their Sa and Ta. It stays cold and ready for the skillchain only, and the party doesn't need any priming to help it along.

Their is NO reason anybody but the tank should use provoke after 60 THF. If the mob doesn't turn just use TAWS instead of both. Just takes timing (just like precharging a SATAWS takes timing)

The thief who primes on the pull almost invariably gets waited on sooner or later, because their TA timer is too hot to skillchain. You should NEVER be unable to skillchain when both partners have 100 tp. Ever. That 150-300 extra damage at the start of the fight is not worth waiting 30 seconds for TA to cool down in order to skillchain. And it happens. I know it does, because I used to do it and it is unavoidable. A thief has to know when to put their abilities on the shelf and save them, even if it initially makes sense to try your best to use downtime to your advantage.

30 seconds for TA to cool? If you and your SC partner are short on TP and you precharge TA (the right way) you never have to wait that long. I always disengage to pull before the fight is over (10% health or so, lately 25% in some parties lol, have to to pull chain 6+) and TA right away. My static friend has seeen me TA at start of fight and TAWS 2 seconds later. THF is all about TIMING. Granted this all changes if your fighting VTs, as a THF strategy has to change depending on the mob.

Short, how does a great thief use assassin? Well ideally, they don't. Suboptimally all these techniques probably work well enough though.

Assassin is a great Job Ability, learn how to use it, learn to love it. Pere's way is the better way on some mobs (weapons post 74 are too weak for my way) but try different things. Timing! I was also spoiled for 15 levels with a RNG who could SC better than just about anyone I have played with. Also had a NIN who kicked ass and a BRD who kicked ass.

 

[Peregrine]

When push comes to shove, it is easier for your weaponskill partner to provoke+weaponskill (or barrage and weaponskill) than it is for you to attempt to land primed abilities with a window of less than 10 seconds. Ideally fights don't last long enough for your timers to cool back down, because the skillchain takes the mob from 90% to 30%. Ideally pulls don't last long enough for you to prime 40 seconds of buffer away. That's godawful-slow. Sometimes I exit fights with my timers still double-digit hot from a skillchain that started when the mob was at 90%+. And that's on low IT mobs. I couldn't possibly hope to prime anything in those parties. Crap dies too fast, and I'm expected to pull as soon as I can.

SATAWS onto a tank is the ultimate thief + party technique from levels 30-75. Assassin is an alternative, not ideally your bread and butter. Even if you're partying with a paladin. If you will simply accept your role in this game, things will become much clearer. No more frantic timer manipulation. No more sweating as that clock ticks down. No more worry. Just save your abilities for the skillchain. That's all you need to bring them out for.