[Konda]

I relly want to start taking my thf to 60s, and maybe uncaps. However, whenever I've tried in the past, I've always had problems landing SA and especially SAWS.

Do any THFs out there have any tricks or tips on landing the major contributor to DMG in pvp?

Also, shud I be gearing for EVA, Racc, DEX? atk food or sushi? recomended equips?

Any advice regarding bettering myself as THF in pvp would be appreciated.

[Temadian]

be invis and sneak up on them =( only real way to do it, can be tough any other if you dont got the timing for it, but when I used to do thf, my TADE would always out damage my SADE, even though I had far more dex as elvaan. I would tell any up and coming thf on hades, master TA and people will hate you

[Stolin]

Konda :
I relly want to start taking my thf to 60s, and maybe uncaps. However, whenever I've tried in the past, I've always had problems landing SA and especially SAWS.

Do any THFs out there have any tricks or tips on landing the major contributor to DMG in pvp?

Also, shud I be gearing for EVA, Racc, DEX? atk food or sushi? recomended equips?

Any advice regarding bettering myself as THF in pvp would be appreciated.

Landing SA+WS takes a ton of practice but its certainly possible to land it consistently. You just need to get used to the lag and learn how to time SA+WS while chasing someone, etc. Keep backing up while getting TP if your target is trying to spin around you while attacking you. Don't try to get behind them until you're ready to SA and WS. You need to be really quick with it, too.

Another tip would be to keep SA/TA on as much as possible even if theres no one in sight. People will run in the group trying to get a couple cheap shots and run back out which will give you an opportunity to land SA or TA without the runner knowing you have it on. Its so much easier to land SA or TA if your target is oblivious to the fact that you have it up.

I'd recommend always eating attack food and gearing towards evasion.

[Tainted]

I tend to reserve SAWS for when I'm chasing somebody or when somebody starts casting anything.

When I chase somebody, I use sprint, run ahead of them by maybe 2.0 if you're using distance plugin, then SAWS. It almost always lands perfectly unless they switch course, which they usually don't. This takes a little bit of practice to get the rhythm, but it will come easily.

I've played fighting games for a long time so I'm used to just doing stuff out of muscle memory when I see something happening in a game. This is why I can SAWS people as they're casting something so easily and so quickly I think. This one definitely takes practice to catch faster spells, but it's probably the most efficient unless they see it coming and move.

I rarely ever use SA by itself though unless I'm going to hide and attack or if I'm chasing somebody, and then I just use the same method as SAWS while chasing them. TA, good luck with that one. You can try to get it off but you'll have to be pretty lucky for it to land. No matter how much skill you have or how well you time it, it is still completely dependent on two other variables than yourself. Does your TA partner move, or does your target move.

Either style of gearing yourself if acceptable, it all depends on your play style. I personally use pretty much a full evasion build because I like to be up front stalling, diverting damage, etc. There was a JP taru on Cerberus, Nadas, who would use full dex gear. I'd say he had a good +60ish dex, maybe more. His normal SAs were doing 400 damage to my thf since thf doesn't have the greatest def in the world.

Whichever way you go just remember that THF is a sneaky assassin. A THF will run away as soon as the scales tip out of her favor completely. A THF is a support job, your primary goal is to work in the background not to make yourself the sitting duck unless you absolutely have to. To be a good THF, you have to be a selfish person, you can't be a hero. THF can and must make use to everything around them. A THF must always be prepared for almost any situation that will arise. You want to carry every type of bolt, you want to carry tonko, you want to carry staus inflicting weapons. Speed and disabling an opponent should be your main goal, not trying to deal a lot of damage, because you won't deal a lot of damage. You are the trickster, frustrate them. Steal, mug, sleep, you set all the traps, you control the flow of your victim. What really helps me with my jobs and ballista is general is thinking about what would my character be doing in the opening CS for the game. My PLD would be up front cutting orcs, while my THF would remain in the shadows probably looting valuables off of fallen corpses instead of fighting. Using your imagination a little to think about it will probably give you a much better idea of how you want your job to be played.

[Konda]

Tainted :
When I chase somebody, I use sprint, run ahead of them by maybe 2.0 if you're using distance plugin, then SAWS. It almost always lands perfectly unless they switch course, which they usually don't. This takes a little bit of practice to get the rhythm, but it will come easily.

I used to do this with Boost and asuran in uncap. I normally have petras, so try and avoid relying on sprint whenever I can. The biggest problem I normally have on THF is getting GB to score. Im normally the GB whore when Im on SAM, and nobedy else seems to be able to get it as much well, not when I go on thf :/
the way I see thf in ballista is the score whores. they can get petras from opponents, and can sneak around well to score. whenever I try this, it never seems to work the way I want it.
daggers, im guessing Darksteel kukri+1/ the 5% crit one?

[Tainted]

Have to rely on other people for GB as THF normally unless you get into a solo/assassination situation.

I use darksteel kurki+1/hornet needle. Though I would use chicken knife instead of kurki just for delay.

[Konda]

does Chicken knife proc in pvp?
Chicken/HN will take forever to break stoneskin, although they are fast. i think the extra base dmg on dst kukri+1 will make it a bit better in pvp.

[Tainted]

I've never had it proc, and the two less base damage won't make much of a difference at all. With either dagger the last thing you want to do is attack somebody with stoneskin, especially someone with phalanx. It's like trying to ride a unicycle up a steep hill covered with ice, the wind blowing against you, and carrying 200 lbs. on your back. The delay difference though really makes a difference in stopping jobs that rely on utsusemi, and in some cases other mages.

[Konda]

looking as this so far... from recomendations

chicken/HN/thugs/ammo
emp pin/specs/velocity/dodge
SH/????/BQ/Marksman
bullseye or Royal knights or lolnomads/elvaan SE belt or precice/crow or raven/AF

hands, i have no idea... AF for the dex steal? battle gloves for EVA and acc? pallas for str and hp?
also not sure about what to use on back. i have 3 choices, and ive listed them

[Tainted]

I'd use raven for hands, or its cheap low cost low level alternative, scentless armlets. For back I use behemoth's, but another good choice is bat's cape. I'd try to invest into one or the other instead of a piece that isn't as good. and for head I actually opt to use silk headband +1 over emp. Maybe it's because I'm too cheap to buy emp, so I tell myself that the HP and defense matters. Everything else generally looks okay, you still have the choice of going for a little more flexibility with HP and ATK and DEF like I do, or all out evasion which works really well into somebody eats sushi.

[Temadian]

chicken doesnt proc in ballista, i always did the darksteel+1 and HN, and pffft, I rarely missed TA, Im too used to always moving from other mmorpg, even as a caster, and usually dance around the person i plan to TA while they dance around the person they fighting, it takes timing and its not depended on luck, just not being suck

Kakeshi on hades was trying it out a lot after I told him about it and was getting decent at it, just ballista died there so /shrug, thf with definate potential gone to waste on a no ballista server :dontgetit

I tried out thf on siren, went so bad lmao, I kept trying to play around with the gear I used to use and just not a good match in general, we were one short in a 6 vs 7, thf af is good for hands but I used to play around with the jaridah? forget spelling =p and if you plan to do an eva build, I used to use nomad+1, the attack and hp wont do you as much good as agi and eva imo, except I do think thf have huge defense role, instead of just score whore, mug / steal the hell out of top scorers and if they anger easy, will lose track of scoring and go into rage

[Tainted]

In any kind of game where you have to fight another person, no matter what you do, luck will always be a factor. To think otherwise just shows that you probably don't know what you're talking about, or you're playing against the computer who will do the same thing over and over regardless if you catch on to their attack pattern or not.

[Temadian]

only going to say, if you see the person is going to not be in range for the TA to land, back up out of melee range and wait, patience is far more important as a thf then rushing in and getting that kill

[Zhouer]

I go for as much Eva as possible without sacrificing too much Dex.

[Konda]

Well, I got round to taking THF to some 60s. I did pashow and Mountains last night/this morning.
this was my setup:



unfortunatly no forest belts on AH, but I still had most base HP on our team @.@

SAing people was a bit hit and miss, people like to move around FAR to much! I landed a few SADE on rng who were shooting etc. I also found that long WS animation like Rampage lets me get SADE off np.
Being thief has alot to do with being in the right place at the right time imo.
I did however, die about 4-5 times each match. this is mainly because at least 2 RDM showed up for each team, and the diagas were flying

In both matches, I managed to nail 2 running SADE, two of which were kill shots. SADE was doing ~450-500, which im pretty pleased with.

I did notice a couple of things: 1) DRG never, ever ever miss, or at least this one didnt. she had a rdm bum chum who would diaga me and she would rush in to penta > jump
2A) my bolts were a bit hit and miss unless a job was wearing -eva, or had a really poor evasion rating. I dont know why, but I kept missing the COR/BLU with acids which was pretty annoying.
2B) I was using kabobs, which made my melee dmg alot better, but left my Racc a bit lacking. idk if i should use sushi with sword belt+1 and dex ring or keep what I have atm.
3) I play too much front line. Im used to being mnk and sam/rng and going toe to toe with the melee. playing a thf who lives is taking a bit of getting used to, lol.

was about 4 THFs in both matches (people who are normally THF in 60s) so my performance must have been pretty good because I got:
in both matches.

oh, and im also looking at Thunderer's Mantle, which is pretty hawt for thf imo. ill let the price settle a bit, and buy one. Or I might just camp it.
any thoughts on Thunderer's from THFs?.
also, any comments/adivce welcome about gear/strats etc