Part 68: Job Profile: Thief
Job Profile: Thief
In-Game Description posted:
Thieves are very fast and agile, and they can swing their weapons lightning-fast. They also have the ability to pick locked doors. Their steal ability allows them to take items from enemies. Also, everyone will take less damage while escaping if they use Flee.
Unlocked: Wind Crystal
Weapons: Knives, Throwing Weapons
Shields: No
Armour: Light
Unique Command: Steal, Flee
Stats (Level 50):
Str 34 Agi 50 Vit 34 Int 26 Mnd 22
Stats (Level 99):
Str 63 Agi 99 Vit 63 Int 45 Mnd 38
Thieves are, technically, a physical class, just because they have no access to magic. This isn't a bad thing, and the Thief can hang with most physical classes throughout the game because, even though their Strength is only sort of above average and their lack of variety in weapons limits their attack, their Agility lets them hit a lot and just move fast in general. No other class in the game can match a Thief's speed, generally. The Thief also comes with the bonus ability of being able to steal items from enemies. Now, most of the time, this nets you a Potion or a Hi-Potion, but it can also get you elemental attack items, Phoenix Downs, and at least one good weapon. Besides, every free Potion you get is one less you have to pay for. If you steal in every battle, you can definitely give your party a leg up in free healing. The other command the Thief gets is Flee, which lets you bail out of a battle and take a defensive boost while doing it. Unfortunately, Flee replaces the Defend command, which deals a bit of a hit to the Thief's survivability and makes job level grinding a bit harder.
As far as things like endgame viability, the Thief is the only Wind Crystal class that doesn't have a later counterpart that fills the role better, and since job levels contribute to the success of stealing (and what you can steal), plus they give you extra hits and damage, the Thief has an advantage over later classes just by merit of being a Wind Crystal class. Thieves aren't my absolute first choice for party members, and I can see why somebody might skip 'em, but I really like having a Thief in my party and I'm liable to take one to the end of the game, even.