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Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

S

Sly-demise

Sorceror
Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

First you die a lot. Then you weep a tear thinking about that super valuable
item that was yours for a couple of seconds and still would have been had
you turned left instead of right. And finally you’re there, watching how
Demise’s most reputed and fearsome murderers run around like decapitated
chicken searching for the item you just stole from them and that for some
reason looks so damn good in your backpack.

I’ve had several different characters and have tried everything from Bards to
Necro-Weavers without missing out on Stealth Archers and Sampires.
Despite this, the character I enjoy playing the most is Sly, my main
character and a PvP Thief. Why, you ask? Because unlike most classes the
Thief does not care about being the biggest, the baddest, the top-damage
dealer. Having spent almost 400 points just to be able to stealth and steal,
he cannot be all that. Instead he accepts his physical weakness and adapts
to it just like that tiny underestimated mosquito that against all odds will still
manage to suck some blood out of you.

In this guide, which is based on my personal experience and therefore somewhat
subjective, I will attempt to give the best advice possible to you present
and future thieves out there. This is of course done in the hope that you as
well would like to share your experience, tricks and templates in your replies
to this thread. Remember though that a thief has his secrets and that some
tricks might only work for as long as nobody knows about them.​
 
S

Sly-demise

Sorceror
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Race

Unless you are in dire need of the 20 mana bonus that elves benefit from, I
would suggest you choose to be a human. The Jack of all Trades and Strong
Back abilities will allow you to always have some skill in Detect Hidden and
Tracking as well as let you carry more weight, which can be very handy for
grabbing the champ gold.


Stats

Whether you choose to run away or put up a fight, maxing out Strength and
having a high HP is greatly recommended. When it comes to Dexterity and
Intelligence it completely depends on what skills you choose to go for.
Dexterity makes you use bandages faster while Intelligence is helpful for any
type of spellcasting.


Skills

Hiding – Required if you wish to be able to hide for a longer
period of time. Note that smoke bombs do not work without this skill.
Recommended: 100 for 100% success chance.

Stealth – Crucial to any thief as it is what will allow
you to approach your target without being detected. The higher your skill,
the lower the chance of somebody revealing you.
Recommended: 60 for 100% success chance in medable armor.

Snooping – Snooping allows you to peek into people’s backpacks
and thus choose which item you wish to steal. Stealing can be done without
Snooping but the stolen item will in that case be a random one chosen
between those to be found in your target’s backpack.
Recommended: 100 for 100% success chance as failing will let your
target be informed of your attempt and make the theft more complicated. I
would not recommend stealing Powerscrolls without snooping first, except as
a last resort, as the probability of getting a valuable scroll is quite small.

Stealing – The skill that makes the thief a thief.
Recommended: 110 for 100% success chance of stealing Powerscrolls
and the possibility to get your hands on any stealable, even if not always at
the first attempt.

Ninjitsu – The only spellcasting skill which allows you to cast
certain spells without being revealed. Animal Form, Shadowjump and Mirror
Image are all of great help and I personally could not do without the first two.
Recommended: 107.5 for 100% success chance of getting into the
Llama and Ostard forms which grant you mount running speed. (You cannot
steal, cast spells or use special attacks while in Animal Form)

Detecting Hidden – As Yoink, a fellow stealther, would say:
“Detecting Hidden Kills”. This skill will allow you to reveal other thieves
(shame on you!) but also stealthers who, if you don’t get rid of them, might
get you killed later. Its’ most rewarding use might be when it allows you to
reveal invisible powerscroll carriers hiding in the champ area, waiting for the
scene to be clear in order to get their scrolls to a safe spot.
Recommended: As much as you can fit in your already filled template.

Tracking – The Jack of all Trades ability (JOAT) will give you
enough skill to track any visible creature in your screen as well as benefit
from the damage bonus that Tracking gives to Death Strike. In order to
locate stealthers, a higher tracking skill will be required. Also if you have a
thieving partner, you can track in order to know his location and avoid him.
Recommended: 100 if you wish to track down stealthers. If not, use
JOAT.

Magery – Several spells that can be useful for any template but
also Invisibility that can be particularly useful for the thief wanting to
dissapear quickly after a theft.
Recommended: I personally would not recommend this skill except for
using the invisibility spell. Not only do magery spells reveal you but they also
require you to carry reagents or wear an LRC suit which in my opinion makes
the benefits not be worth the trouble.

Spellweaving – Great spells for any person working alone, which
can often be the case of a thief. Gift of Renewal will heal you as were it a
boosted Hit Point Regeneration while Gift of Life will avoid you the trouble of
having to run to a healer upon death and missing out on a great thieving
situation.
Recommended: Around 50 for 50% success chance of Gift of Life.

Resisting Spells – In the storm of curses, paralyses and poisons,
Resisting Spells can be the skill to make you successfully get away after a
theft. Naked or semi-naked thieves will also benefit from 40 points in all
resistances which should not be neglected.
Recommended: 100 - 120.
 
S

Sly-demise

Sorceror
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Equipment

Alot of people like to play their thieves naked or semi-naked in order not to lose any insurance money when they die. I personally find the argument to be a little weak considering how your equipment to a great extent can be what keeps you alive. For those of you who would like to get your thief some good equipment and increase his survival chances, here are a few suggestions for items and mods that you might want to look for:

Skill Bonus – Being able to fit all the skills you want into your template can sometimes be complicated which is why it is good to have items to increase your cap. Items like the Shadow Dancer Leggings, the Burglar’s Bandana, the Shroud of Deceit and the Embroidered Oak Leaf Cloak will give you 85 extra skill points, and that is without counting the skill bonus to be found on jewels.

Defence Chance Increase (DCI) – Most commonly found on jewels and shields, DCI is the principal mod to look for if you want to have a good defense. Though you will need to have both hands free in order to steal an item, nothing stops you from equiping a shield right after your theft.

Hit Point Regeneration (HPR) – If you combine a Bracelet of Health with the Voice of the Fallen King, you will have 15 Hit Point Regeneration which is equal to 1.5 hit points healed per second. Add another five pieces each with HPR 2 and you will reach the cap of 25 HPR (2.5 hp per second). Not only does this passive healing require no attention, allowing you to focus completely on your theft, but together with Gift of Renewal it is also the only type of healing that does not reveal you.

Hit Point Increase (HPI) – This is capped at 25 points and has a maximum intensity of 5 on craftable items. When used with the right build you can reach an amazing 175 HP and gain those valuable couple of seconds you need to hide after a stealth.

Reflect Physical Damage (RPD) – Defense can be the best attack. If confronted to a melee fighter or archer, being able to reflect damage upon the enemy can be of great aid. The tiny second your agressor might have to spend on healing himself might be enough to get you to safety.


Joining the Thieves Guild

In order to be able to steal from other players, you will need to become part of the Thieves Guild. To join, follow these steps:

  1. Train your Stealing skill to 60 real skill (your skill without counting the items giving you a skill bonus).
  2. Make sure your account is 1 week old and that the character you wish to become a thief has at least 48 hours of ingame time.
  3. Find a thief guildmaster and ask to join the guild by saying the guildmaster's name followed by the word "join", for example "Theresa join". There is a thief guildmaster just South-East of West Britain Bank in Trammel. If the guildmaster tells you that you are too young or do not have sufficient skill, you have not fulfilled the first two points.
  4. If you have fulfilled all requirements you will be asked to pay one time fee of 500 gold, which can be done simply by dropping the gold onto the guildmaster. Once that is done, you will become a member of the big family that is the Thieves Guild. Do not forget the unwritten rule for thieves: Do not steal from other thieves!
 
S

Sly-demise

Sorceror
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Tactics

Getting Away
Even if getting close to your victim and stealing an item from him can be complicated, it’s not nearly as difficult as getting out of a theft situation alive. If for example you are planning on stealing powerscrolls at champ spawns, you should expect not only your victim to want your death but also his fellow spawners as well as any champ mobs standing close enough to target you.

After having used the stealing skill, whether successful or not, you will also have to wait for several seconds before being able to use another skill. Because of this skill timer, you cannot use the hiding skill to vanish right away nor can you go around the problem by using a Smoke Bomb as also that is affected by the timer.

Another problem you will encounter is that you cannot hide within a certain distance to a person or monster that is attacking you (the required distance is based on your hiding skill).
Here are a few suggestions on how to avoid these problems:

Run: If you can, transform into an animal and just run in the direction that seems the least hostile and the least probable to lead you into a dead end. I can guarantee you that running is something that can be trained and, if you do it a lot, you will probably notice that you avoid mobs a lot better than the person chasing you. When you believe there is enough distance between you and your enemy for you to hide again, make sure you’re at a complete halt before attempting to hide or you will be running when the stealth check is done and as a consequence reappear. If you have 50 or more Ninjitsu, using a Smoke Bomb will allow you to hide no matter the distance between you and your enemy, though you will still need to wait for any running skill timer to expire before being able to use one.

Cast Invisibility: As simple as it sounds. After stealing an item, immediatly cast invisibility on yourself and stealth away. Make sure you rehide using the hiding skill or move out of danger before the Invisibility spell expires.

Shadowstrike: Get a weapon that has Shadowstrike as a special ability, get your Stealth to minimum 80 skill and a melee fighting skill to a minimum of 70 or 90 skill depending on whether your weapon has Shadowstrike as a primary or secondary ability. It is recommended that you raise your melee skill as high as possible and get some HCI equipment in order to make sure that you succesfully hit your target. Keep in mind also that a weak monster might be easier to hit than a PvP:er.

Good things to know when stealthing
Walking through a creature in Felucca will reveal you. Always keep an eye on your character to make sure he has not been revealed as it is easy to accidently push through hard-to-spot mobs, like snakes.

You can run while stealthing, just not during the stealth checks that are done every specific number of steps based on your Stealth skill. If you can learn your run/walk rhythm, you’ll be able to run while stealthing.

When performing a Shadowjump, it may not go completely unnoticed. The sound effect you hear and the grey clouds you see anybody else can hear and see as well.

Opening a corpse reveals you. Opening your corpse does not. You can also pick up any items from the ground without being revealed including gold and powerscrolls.

Don’t listen to the people saying you can’t stealth while mounted. Get your non-ethereal mount to follow you. Hide, go into stealth mode and then get on your mount. You will now both be in stealth mode, meaning...you can both Shadowjump.

People can walk through you when you are hidden. The bad thing is this will give them a message telling them they shoved something out of the way thus revealing your presence. The good thing is, people with low stamina will not manage to walk through you and can be forced to stay in the company of horrific creatures.

Macros and Tricks

The Driveby
  • Create seperate macros for these actions:
  • Stealing
  • Use skill Anatomy (or any other non-revealing skill that demands a target)
  • LastObject
  • LastTarget

  1. Find a victim, open his paperdoll and double click his backpack. This can be done from a distance and avoid you from exposing yourself to danger too early. The victim’s backpack is now the last object you clicked and can therefore be opened with a simple use of your macro called “LastObject”.
  2. Stealth up to your victim and press your “LastObject” macro. If you have GM Snooping, you should now be looking inside your victim’s backpack.
  3. Press your “Use skill Anatomy” macro and target the item you would like to steal (insured and blessed items are not stealable). The item is now set as your last target.
  4. To steal the item, all you have to do now is stand 1 tile away from your victim and use your “Stealing” macro followed by your “LastTarget” macro. For it to become a Driveby, you need to stand at a distance from your victim, activate the “Stealing” macro, run by your victim and activate your “LastTarget” macro when your character is passing on a tile just next to your victim.

The Shadowhand
Dying after a theft does not have to be a bad thing if you’ve already managed to get rid of the stolen item.

  1. Team up with a fellow stealther and find a victim to steal from.
  2. Together with your partner, decide on a place where he could safely stay hidden and that is not too far away from the victim. Have him stand there and wait.
  3. Steal the item you want from your victim and run in the direction of your partner’s hiding place.
  4. Drop the stolen item just next to the spot you have decided on and continue running for your life while your partner picks up the item and calmly stealths away.

Coming up with new tricks is, in my opinion, one of the funniest parts of being a thief. There are many ways to get away with a theft and their effectiveness often depend on the thief being the only person to know of them. This is just a taste of how things can be done and I'm sure you will come up with several more ingenious ways of getting away with a theft.
 
S

Sly-demise

Sorceror
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Templates

Finally I would love for you to post your templates, perhaps with a small presentation of why you have chosen to go for the different stats and skills. As proof of good fate, I'll start this off by posting my template. The numbers within brackets are my real skill and stats.

Sly

STR 120 (150)
DEX 20 (15)
INT 90

100 Hiding
60 Stealth (30)
100 Snooping (90)
110 Stealing (100)
107.5 Ninjitsu (training to 115)
60 Necromancy
50 Spellweaving
100 Alchemy
100 Resisting Spells (90)

Strengths

785 Skill Points (only +5 from oldbieness)
170 HP
14 HP Regeneration (aiming for 20)
73 Reflect Phycial Damage (with possibility to reach 103)
80% Enhance Potions
30% DCI
 
G

Gathog

Sorceror
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Great write-up. Thanks a lot. I've a thief who has only managed to get killed a bunch. This will help out a good bit as far as tactics go.
 
Aegian Rayth

Aegian Rayth

Sorceror
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

This thread has motivated me to recreate my thief. I look forward to seeing you out there on the fields.

... though you may not see me... ;)

Great posts.
 
4

4thwisemonkey

Wanderer
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Thank you, master Sly. (=

[UPD] Oh and a tip I came up with just now. Reach Knight of Sacrifice by whatever means. Even if you thief character has enough spellweaving for gift or renewal. Being a knight of sacrifice (u have to sacrifice your fame to advance on the path of this virtue) allows you to ressurect yourself three times per one RL week. Surely that could be helpful. There's even more to it! All the items that are in your pack when you die are automatically placed back once you ressurect yourself with sacrifice. *hint hint*

more info --- http://www.uoguide.com/Sacrifice
 
M

Maltim

Wanderer
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

If it's at all possible, getting an honor virtue rank will allow you to use honor on yourself and let you pass through monsters without being attacked...for those times you have used up all your stealth options. Hey, it's not often, but it's pretty awful those rare times it happens.

Wrestling is great for survival against both casters and melee...the wrestling specials require no tactics to execute, paralyze (no one here carries exploding chests) and disarm are two extremely powerful moves.

I completely agree on magery with regards to stealth, but some people actually enjoy making a mage/thief template with EI and Med. Stealing regs then using them against them...personally I found the template a lot of fun, but not my style.

Also, it should be noted that in ML, detect hidden and tracking are difficulty based, and detect hidden is on a 10 second cooldown. I don't know the exact formula, but your dex, hiding and stealth all play into your ability to not get revealed. Apparently ML changes are a ways off, but just to keep it in mind =p
 
4

4thwisemonkey

Wanderer
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Yeah honor would be nice too but not an option for non-fighting thieves. You can't even get to knight and then drop your unnecessary battle skills because you have to keep gaining in honor. Otherwise it vanishes over time. Btw is there any difference between llama and ostard forms? Or is it just the looks?
 
M

Maltim

Wanderer
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Just looks.

And soulstones are your friend for combat skills =P
 
S

Sly-demise

Sorceror
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

Feersum Endjinn;581994 said:
Great Title.

Should be merged with Oak's thread and stickied :)

FE
Click to expand...

I agree :D I only created a seperate thread because it didn't seem probable that my text would fit in his reserved first posts.
 
4

4thwisemonkey

Wanderer
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

I'm about 2 months old, so... can't get and use soulstones yet. (= But thanx, that sounds good.
 
M

Maltim

Wanderer
Re: Sly's Guide to your Neighbour's Pocket

trying out your template right now Sly, it's fun as hell! I never knew spellweaving was this imba
 
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