Deal physical damage to the target.
Description
Thievery is a Skill in Final Fantasy IX used by Zidane to deal fixed damage to one enemy based on Zidane's Speed stat and the number of successful steals since the start of the game. Thievery has the potential of being Zidane's best skill and one of the best damage-dealing abilities in Final Fantasy IX, but can be an extreme grind to power up.
Obtained[]
Thievery is learned for 100 AP from Angel Bless and The Tower. Angel Bless is synthesized in Alexandria, Treno, Lindblum (after returning from the Outer Continent), Daguerreo, and Black Mage Village (the endgame) for 9,000 gil, a Mythril Dagger, and a Gladius. The Tower is found in the final dungeon.
Mechanics[]
Thievery deals fixed damage to one target as per the following formula:
Its damage is calculated as follows:
Steals done by Blank, Marcus, and Cinna count. They count even if the inventory slot for the stolen item is full.
For example, if the player has successfully stolen 100 times, and Zidane's Speed stat is 30, Thievery will do fixed 1,500 damage to the target, ignoring both the target's Defense and the Protect status.
When Zidane has Thievery available, he can use Grand Lethal while in Trance.
Use[]
Thievery can be Zidane's strongest ability if the player has been stealing throughout the game. However, as the ability takes hundreds of steals to become good, if the player only starts stealing consistently after getting Thievery, it would be a colossal grind to power up. Each successful steal adds ~15 damage on Thievery.
A powered up Thievery is especially good against Ozma, as it will not then matter if Zidane gets minied. Thievery is good against any tough opponent, like bosses. Zidane could even use it instead of his normal attack if Thievery does more damage, and stay in the back row for increased protection. This would allow Zidane to wield any weapon, such as for Soul Blade use, rather than prioritizing attack power. Thievery can be used in Ipsen's Castle where only weak weapons deal good damage.
Thievery takes much longer to power up than Quina's Frog Drop or Freya's Dragon's Crest.