Useless Thieves?

[Drewtaru]

Yeah, hijacking the thread again to talk about DRK...

I still think that DRK/THF from 30 to 50 is a viable alternative to DRK/WAR. At that level range, the only thing /WAR gives is Berserk and Provoke, and /THF gives SA, Steal, and TH1. Only Berserk and SA actually increase damage done. Berserk does gradual damage over time, SA does sudden damage at one point. SA also guarantees a hit once per minute, which IMO is useful for a job that doesn't hit that many times in a minute (a DRK gets around 7-8 attacks in one minute, having one of them a guaranteed hit is useful). You are right that from 50-60, Berserk and Double Attack are far more powerful than just Sneak Attack, however.

Also, DRK does get an accuracy-boosting ability: Souleater. Yes, it does add some accuracy, I've proven that (checked a mob before turning it on, was either high or normal evasion, used Souleater, it was normal/low evasion). No idea how much, though.

Your point about souleater isn't helping your "but drks have bad acc and that guaranteed hit every minute is a Godsend" argument.
It's also quite selfish to think like that. Take, as an example, you end up with a thief in your party. If the drk doesnt have a warrior sub, then who is to be the first voker so the thief can sata the tank? Everone has multiple roles in a party, having to invite someone extra to fill that role is just not efficient party building. As a DRK/WAR, 2 roles = damage and 1st provoke. As a DRK/THF (pre-60), damage only.
True there is that chance where you will have a party that does not have a thief, but for the most part, there will be one.

 

[Drewtaru]

oh and back to the topic at hand.... thieves^^

Fyrus, we were never meant to be damage dealers like DRKs. So dont let the fact that you're not as strong as him get to you. We pull, we control hate, we gain TP fast and we do moderate-high damage ENDING a SC. Next to samurai and rangers, i believe thieves to be the fastest at gaining TP. Problem is, gotta save that TP for SATA to cool. I've done skillchains where i'd have 100 TP in 30 secs.. and have to wait another 30 sec for sata to cool down.

And assassin is sweet. As a 59 thief my sata viper bite would do around 400 dmg to raptors in Cape Teriggan averaging, highest maybe 550 or so. When i got 60 though, my viper bite was doing 600s averaging and highest being 740 or so. Might have been the uber bard i had that was debuffing the hell outta the mob and buffing the hell outta me. I hit a dancing edge for 959 dmg once, after that i partied in same place without a bard and i struggled to break 700dmg on dancing edge.

 

[Fyrus]

...I've done skillchains where i'd have 100 TP in 30 secs.. and have to wait another 30 sec for sata to cool down...

I get that in quicksand caves all the time. Usually Drg would be ready, I'd have the TP but I would have to tell him to wait. A few times I would accidentally prime SATA before pulling so it would be ready again shortly. Thats all fine and dandy unless you told the Drg to start sc when the line was formed

Before VB I use to kinda use WS whenever since I would rarely be in a SC. So that took a while to get down pat >_<

Fyrus, we were never meant to be damage dealers...

Sadly I learned this a while ago, when I was researching SATA.

 

[Reality]

Also, DRK does get an accuracy-boosting ability: Souleater. Yes, it does add some accuracy, I've proven that (checked a mob before turning it on, was either high or normal evasion, used Souleater, it was normal/low evasion). No idea how much, though.

gonna have to cry foul on this one

i've never been told, or heard from any of the skilled high level drks i've met in my FFXI career that Souleater has a hidden accuracy boost.

never seen this posted on any drk forums either, as this would definitely be a noticable mention at some point

 

[Sethala]

gonna have to cry foul on this one

i've never been told, or heard from any of the skilled high level drks i've met in my FFXI career that Souleater has a hidden accuracy boost.

never seen this posted on any drk forums either, as this would definitely be a noticable mention at some point

Here's the main thread on Alla about Souleater:

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.html?fjob=6&mid=1100109729700091383&num=10

Do ctrl+F and search for Accuracy to find a few posts that mention this. I think it's rarely mentioned because it's such a rare thing to notice (Accuracy isn't shown under any menus, so it's impossible to know what your current accuracy is), and because it's hidden - nothing in the game mentions it. If you want to test this yourself, go into any zone that has mobs that have normal or high evasion. Turn on Souleater, and check again. If it doesn't change, you might have to try adding more/taking away some +Accuracy gear until you find out about how much +accuracy you need to make the mob con differently, then turn on Souleater and take off some gear.

As for what Drewtaru said...

Yeah, I know that bit at the end sorta contradicted what I said before that. I was just pointing out a fact. Regardless, if you find yourself holding up the SC as a DRK/WAR, try going DRK/THF and use SA to get an extra hit. I also know that Provoke is sometimes needed if you're in a party with a THF; that's why it's such a good thing that you can change subs after you find out what's in the party and adapt - if there's a THF and no first provoke, switch to WAR sub. If there's no THF, or someone else is already subbing WAR, go ahead and use /THF. I'm not saying that /THF is better than /WAR from 30-50 in every party, just that it's a possible alternative.