The Complete Evolution of Thieves 

Locke's not a thief, he's a TREASURE HUNTER!

Rikku is - in my opinion - the best idea they had for the Job. By blending the Thief with the Chemist they took two Jobs with limited mechanics and created something that was both thematically cohesive, powerful, and fun to play. Unlike previous entries Rikku doesn't have to become a Ninja which would clash with her Al Bhed identity, and it's a role which is fundamentally mundane -- as in it doesn't turn Rikku into some kind of mage to give her more power. Besides that, her Thief abilities pay for her Chemist side of her kit, you don't have to conserve materials or constantly go back to shops to stock up when you can periodically steal to get what you need so you can constantly have fun with the Use/Mix commands. Also pretty significant, you're not depending on Rikku to steal gear in FFX. Not only because "Steal" can be used by anyone technically but most potential items to steal pertain to Rikku's own kit or are otherwise widely available utility items. She's been constructed in such a way to not be a tax on your team you need to put work into just to acquire specific late-game equipment. Just great design all-around.

I think Sakaguchi identified with the thief job. It was always featured prominently in his games from Zidane to Locke to being a very useful class in ff5.

The Thief role gave us some awesome characters.

I love how Rikku and Tidus get along fairly well in the middle of X, and how he constantly stands up for her. In a group where everyone is secretive, the two of them were transparent and understanding of each other quickly. PS: Spoiler alert---------Rikku was a thief, she was trying to steal Yuna from the pilgrimage! That's about as canonical thief as it gets!

I love Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX. Zidane Tribal loves stealing rare items from enemies and bosses as long as he equips both Bandit and Master Thief.

Like a true theif, Rikku stole my heart in Ffx. Low-key wanted her to end up with Tidus at times

Thief in FF for me will always be associated with FF XI. SATA (Sneak Attack + Trick Attack), Treasure Hunter (TH) and Flee brings back so much nostalgia. TH and Flee were used for NM hunting while SATA onto a Dragoon was some of the most fun gameplay I had with MMOs.

Surprised you didn't mention the extra utility of thief where if they are the lead in the party they can just open any locked door without needing keys or anything etc.

Thiefs in FF3 also automatically opens doors without keys. It's only relevant in a few "key" dungeons, but it's a start.

Locke is a must whenever available in ff6. I love his character and hes great in combat.

Locke was always my favourite thief in all of final fantasy, not because of his ability to gain loot but because 8 hitting enemies with valiant knife and ultimate weapon was really fun!

Bravely Default Thieves could also do a sickening amount of damage with Godspeed Strike, the attack ignores defense and uses their high speed stat and acts as a great DPS tool throughout the early and mid-game and can still put out competitive numbers even in the late game

Final Fantasy 9 starting with a thief is both a blessing and a curse The steal rates are so horrible sometimes but lord getting some equipment early makes the game so much easier

I could swear Yuffie starts with Throw, not Steal.

Everyone loved having a THF friend on FFXI. Their treasure hunter ability was invaluable!

Like many others here, my favorites to this day are Locke and Zidane. They embody the job itself, as well as offer some great quips and one liners. Only one of them has a consistent look though, no one game can seem to agree on Locke's outfit. :D

Yeah mixing thief with a sort of alchemist role really makes Rikku and her mix skill the best gameplay wise.

Zidane has a neckerchief. Much more sophisticated and debonair than a mere bandana.

I love listening to this guy's videos. He puts so much work and research into all of them, and it's relaxing and peaceful listening to him talk. :)

I don’t ever comment on videos. But I am disappointed that you didn’t mention ff8. Yes, no one had jobs. But that didn’t stop diablos from giving thief skills to the member who equipped the gf. It warranted at least a note in the evolution.

Zidane from Final Fantasy IX is the best thief hands down, period.

Love how in depth you are in your vids!

I hope we get to see an evolution of Ninjas, I really loved this job specifically

The agility/speed stat also affected the damage of Thievery. You could increase the damage just by using equipment that increased the stat.

My fave if I can’t go Ninja out of traditional jobs. Blue Mage Ninja/thief Dark Knight Mime, Dancer all in that order. I hope we see a job system turn based ff again

Also, no recognition of at least Paul from Final Fantasy 2, probably the earliest canonical thief in the series? Not sure if in game he has much that's Thief specific, but he deserves an honorable mention in that his whole shtick is being a great thief. I think he DOES help you find a secret passage at one point, an early example of something you note became something in FF5 with Thief in the job system

"Say the line, Final Fantasy Union!" "...meant that the version of the job we saw in FFXI was the most comprehensive yet..." "YAAAAAAAY!"

Dude I love your videos definitely relit a old flame I’m all about these games again thank you 🙏

On this case I'm a bigger fan of the Thieves from the Bravely games and Tactics Advance, I love the concept of a thief that can steal unmaterial stuff like MP or Skills

I love the thief's in the series!! I'm hoping we have a new one in XVI!

Let me tell you something about nineties gaming: So a mate of mine told 11 year old me friday out of school, that in FF7 you could steel a exclusive sword for cloud from a specific random enemy, so i've been trying to steel it all weekend, only to hear and see my friend laughing hard about it on monday morning that it was just a joke of him. Still love thieves tho. I miss those pre internet gaming. Finding out everything yourself, joke or not XD

Did I just miss it, or did you forget Vaan in FF12? /FF12 inspirations from Thief in general

I hated stealing in FF9. You basically had to in order to keep up with the best weapons, but it made battles last forever.

Off-topic, but I still have a crush on Rinoa and Quistis despite being in my 30s.

Neat! I use the Thief class when i saw playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and let's just say i have a blast stealing the enemy's weapons, armour and skills.

I thought yuffie starts with throw

The thief job ended with Zidane. There is no more legendary way to end the thief job that what Zidane clearly states: After all only he could: Beseech the wondrous moonlight, to grant him his only wish, to bring his beloved Dagger to him.

Excellent vid. Love to see my fav job getting the spotlight.

thief, as in many setting, when used properly-- is integral to controlling the flow of combat in FFXI and D&D/Pathfinder when played correctly

Is there a reason you skipped FF XII and FFXII: TZA? While there wasn't a specific Thief job class, Vaan, Balthier and Fran all start with the Steal ability; also, the mechanics of Loot and Weapons stealing were frustrating and fun at the same time. A disappointing omission😔

THF was my favorite original class in FFXI online. Sneak attack and trick attack was a very enjoyable party dynamic combo considering the lack of solo options during the earlier years of the title. I enjoyed the added crafting mats when solo farming with the thief class. FFXI online was such an excellent game in so many ways. It felt overwhelmingly massive, I don't ever get that feeling with games these days. They all seem small and linear. Squeenix nailed the fun factor with that game. I would like to see a full update and remake of FFXI online without all the crazy updates, auction house economy and another dedicated solo class option.

Locke is still my guy to this day!

I see u havnt made one of these in ages, which is totally understandable there really enjoyable to watch they must take U tones of time to make But on the off chance ur just putting it on pause, bro I'm sure a TON of us would love to see samurai and berserker. Hell I just wana watch U do all of them Hope U have a good one

Yuffie never join with steal materia but instead comes equipped with trow materia

Final Fantasy Tactics Thief blows all other thief in the FF Series out of the water. With high speed, he can easily strip enemy of everything they are wearing, which no other thief can do. And leveling up as thief will perma increase speed with a small margin.

The best thief from final fantasi franchise is Zidane tribal FF 9

"Its star may not have raised as highly as White Mage, or Monk." To be fair; that is part of Theifs shtick, never sticking too long in the limelight, and doing their best work under everyone's radar :v

Zidane and Locke are arguably my most favorite thieves in FF....sorry, I meant treasure hunter for Locke

I really loved having thief or steal command because how much rare items can only obtained by stealing

Because of my Dexterity and Dual Wielding in FFIII it was my strongest job under Ingus. Melted the endgame first try!

15:15 "...which saw the green color scheme return for male characters, and a purple color scheme now adopted for female characters..." A correction here: green is the player party's thief palette, and purple is the enemy thief palette; every job's palettes are reversed for enemies, green/purple, red/blue, yellow/orange. Gender is unrelated. (although Adelle in Tactics A2 does have a pink/purple color scheme)

that shirt @ 1:17 is sick

Counter point on FFIV not having any character associated with thief. In this game, some jobs were combined on characters. Prominent examples include Archer/WHM to Rosa, WHM/SMN to Rydia, and WHM/BLM to Fusoya. I always felt that Edgar was a BRD/THF. Like you said yourself, thieves have always had a perceived cowardice and Edgar did have access to a "hide" command. Hide is very prominent for thieves in many games... D&D most notably.

Congratulations on the 260K subs!

8 Bit Theater's thief is one of my spirit animals.

Good for you for correcting yourself by not calling Locke the T word

Great video as always. Some ideas for other classes u could do is Ninja, Samurai, Summoner, or Bard.

No mention of Vaan? Balthier? XII as whole? But Yuffie gets a mention?

Sorry but Locke isnt a thief. He's a "treasure hunter" hehe

I always like to compare how thirves in FF and DQ games both evolved and differed from game to game.

Zidane is the best thief ever!!!! Locke, is also a valid choice...;)

Theif=Thief Edge=Egotistical thief Locke=Thief in Denial Yuffie=Happy theif Zidane= 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 Thief Rikku=Inventor Theif

20:57 "New Text Line"😅😂😂

Thieves in turnbased battle systems almost always make me wish for positioning systems as backstabs seem like such a natural fit. I guess Bravely Default 2 tried to kind of simulate this with techniques revolving around sleep. It *did* end up having one of the most effective thief classes in the job's history, but not because of these sleep skills. Instead, Godspeed Strike (an attack based on speed that deals damage once and then again a bit later) had such ridiculous damage scaling that it was possible to burst down bosses with just that move alone.

Just one simple request, will you ever make an Evolution of Beastmaster video?

I'm glade the finally did the thief

Saw Yuffie @1:00. It reminded me how overpowered she was if you invested into her with stat increase with morph farming. Her ultimate is overpowered and is a secondary Omnislash.

I really want to see the evolution of chocobo

Correction. Yuffie isn’t a thief. She’s a ninja that takes things.

I think a lot of the development of thief in more modern media has been subsumed into the idea of an assassin from a dps perspective. I think single class paradigm are spent and the main sub tertiary design of war of the visions does a good job of diversifying the idea of thief as a tool that one has as opposed to the identity of a persona Locke and zidane do a great job of this.

What about an episode about the Machinist! Love the video ❤

Can we get an "Evolution of Summoner" sometime?

well in ff xiv we have still only one scouting job so we could still get a thief class

I really want to know. Why in the blue dickens do you always ignore Chocobo's dungeon 2? Does the team just hate the game or is it because the tittle didn't include Final Fantasy?

The DS version of FF3, yeah at high job levels using certain weapons, they can MURDER enemies due to the insane number of hits they can get.

my favorite job in tacticts Advance is thief and archer. The hero party is just a group of bandit who blinding people and strip their clothes and gil before leaving (right in front of the judge). oh, and you have helmet and accessory we take it too. or whm and 1 other over leveled character to constantly heal enemy who hit the overleveled character for high exp and steal it later to farm level easy. constantly healing enemy and reviving the K.O. just to take the exp again (1 battle can last for eternity). yeah we are the hero party. here to save (ruins) the world. best isekai experience

Yesss my favourite ffvi character locke is on her and even my favourite ffVII girl yuffie is on here because I love yuffie Kisaragi, I would love to see a origin on locke Cole from ffvi one day.

Rikku stole the thumbnail spot from Zidane.

Rikku, not a canonical thief? She's atleast as much of a thief for ffx as Kimahri a bluemage. The only character who's job was clearly defined in ffx was Lulu as a blackmage.

It's a *real* comprehensive guide when you see ffbe :0

Yuffie's not a thief, she's a ninja

Tbh most of the skills listed as evolutions for the class in FFXI were staples from the archetype in other MMOs of the time such as EQ, WoW and Guild Wars. Matter of fact Guild Wars 2 still has my favorite take on the archetype and is the only game that really managed to fully integrate its theme in its gameplay.

Soooo im calling it now Zidane is the Best Thief (haven't started watching yet)

After how well they took advantage of the 3D real-time environment in XI with Thief, I was really disappointed to see XIV's iteration wasn't even a full job and lacked all of the fun utility like enmity control and treasure hunting that its XI counterpart has.

Sneak Attack > Trick Attack FTW!

Locke is a TEASURE HUNTER not. Thief

But Locke is a TREASURE HUNTER

Now I'm wondering how much you could get out of a Ninja focused one, since there's overlap already here.

Any clues or hints for the next class?

Please please please do a video about the elements in all FF games

Fantastic stuff as always Team FFU!

Wait, is Last Mission a separate game? This is my first time hearing about this.

New Text Layer

Love FFXIV to pieces but I always wished that you could be a rogue without having to eventually become a ninja. Nothing against ninja I just prefer the thief aesthetic.

So FFXI Thfs relic gear being blue might be a nod to Locke. Interesting.

Should do the samurai class next

Can you mention Final fantasy in the title? I thought this video was gonna be about a videogame series titled "thieves" or something then I read the description and its bout final fantasy..

Colour of thief clothing in FFTA isnt tied to gender but instead to differentiate allies and enemies. Allies wear green, enemies wear purple 😁

After Locke, the thief devolved lol