MapleStory/Thief

File:MS Hermit.png

Thieves are a very popular but expensive class. They have their likenesses with archers and warriors. Though probably being the most expensive to handle, they gain the most money in the process after magicians. They excel at killing enemies quickly, and thus gain lots of mesos in the process. The downside is that the Thief class demands precision when allocating stats, as they can be screwed up very easily.

There are two types of thieves: Assassins and Bandits. Assassins are quick ranged attackers. They are quite Meso efficient and have good damage potential, but cost much more than bandits. Bandits are quick melee attackers and are quite powerful among the 2nd jobs. They aren't as Meso efficient as Assassins and do not have the benefit of ranged attack but make up for it in much greater raw power (after around level 90, there is no way that any assassin can catch up with Bandits' damage), although dagger scrolls have a potential to cost quite a bit.

Pros

• Both bandits and assassins get some cool and useful skills such as Savage Blow, Haste, Assaulter, Triple Throw and Flash Jump.
• They have the second highest avoidability and accuracy after archers.
• Assassins can take out mobs efficiently with Avenger.
• Assassins are extremely mobile and have good range.
• Both are good at bossing at 4th job.
• "DEXless" assassins can easily hit the highest damage of all classes between levels 20-70.
• Because of their damage, Thieves are popular choices in Party Quests.

Cons

• Average HP and MP, getting 2-hit-killed by monsters at high levels.
• Assassins (especially "DEXless" ones) are comparatively unpopular due to their stereotyped KSing.
• Very unstable damage until mastery in 2nd job.
• Good stars and armours are extremely expensive. Claw and Dagger ATT scrolls are some of the most expensive in the game.

Equipment

If you are new to MapleStory or starting on a new server, you should consider skipping armor every five or so levels. Thief items are pricey, so save for future armor. Dexless thieves, Hybrid sins, and STR bandits cost more for scrolls, weapon, etc. Becoming one of these as your first character will be challenging to keep up with buying armor and weapons on your own. If you like a challenge, definitely choose one of these paths.

Beginner

After creating a new character and starting as a Beginner, do all the quests and level up to the required level to make your job advancement.

Beginner AP

Originally, when new characters were made, players had to randomly generate the starting AP of their character. This required knowledge of the stats used by the desired class, as well as patience, to achieve the optimal stats.

Now when you begin the game as a Beginner,you can place AP into any stats that you want, and when you make the job advancement your character's AP will be set to the minimum stats to become that class. Any additional AP will be available for you to apply.

As a Beginner, the your AP is best applied to STR (yes, all of it) until you reach your first job advancement. You don't need DEX as you have a high chance of hitting every monster on MapleIsland.

First job

Head to Kerning City and find Dark Lord in the basement of one of the buildings. Speak with him to make the advancement.

After the advancement your stats will be reset to 4 STR, 25 DEX, 4 INT, and 4 LUK. You will also have ?? AP to spend, but read on before doing so.

Planning your Thief

You now have three choices for building your character:

1. Become a regular thief with DEX and LUK.
2. Become a STR bandit having LUK, DEX, and STR (not recommended as it is weaker in higher levels).
3. Be DEXless, which is better for Assassins and Bandits (although when a bandit reaches level 70, the usefulness of going DEXless is destroyed; STR bandits are better for end game content).

Dagger Rogue (Pre-Bandits)

File:MS Dark Lord.jpg

Dark Lord, the thief master of Maple Story

LUK bandits have more LUK than STR bandits, because STR Bandits have to have several points into STR to equip their weapons. Since they have more LUK, LUK Bandits typically do more damage than STR Bandits, due to LUK having much more substantial effect in their damage equation. However, LUK daggers generally cost a bit more than STR Daggers. The two also even out at levels 80 and 120, when they can acquire Khanjars and Dragon Khanjars, which have 7 and 12 attack clean, respectively. Str bandit have 10 less str then lvl but cap at 75.

The first few STR daggers have a speed of "faster" compared to most LUK dagger's speed of "fast." However this distinction is very minor as the only difference between "faster" and "fast" daggers is that without Dagger Booster, "faster" daggers perform normal swings faster. With Dagger Booster, there is no difference between a "fast" and "faster" dagger. They have the exact same speed properties for normal attacks and skills.

LUK daggers also seem to be far more common, and this greatly helps when it comes to that all important time of having to re-equip. STR daggers on the other hand; when it comes 70+; have a suddenly enormous shift in price and zoom right up along there with Fairfrozen and Kage. Overall most people say going the way of LUK is a more rewarding (if not harder in the early stages) path.

Claw Rogue (Pre-Assassin)

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Thieves that use claws are called "Assassins" (the second job title, also known as "'sins"), and are long ranged attackers. They are widely regarded as one of the most powerful classes in the game.

Equipment

It should be noted once more that Assassins tend to be very expensive. Tremendous amounts of Mesos are required to maintain a strong Assassin. The price of stars, scrolls, claws, potions, as well as other random items and equipment can be daunting. Sins do not have the MP regeneration of a mage, and as such burn MP Potions constantly. Also, unlike Bowmen, Assassins can barely knock back monsters, giving them a wider range to throw stars.

Assassins are a very common class on GMS (Global MapleStory), and prices for their equipment are inflated. Claws and Scrolls cost upwards of millions of Mesos, and the highest attack stars, Crystal Ilbis, can now sell for up to 90 million Mesos. However, due to constant changing economies, prices of stars differ. The price an Assassin pays to have decent equipment is basically offset by their large amounts of speed. With Haste maxed, an Assassin can travel across an entire map quite quickly, killing monsters along the way.

Funding

However, money concerns are not unique to Assassins. Archers depend primarily on Double Shot, which uses the same amount of MP as Lucky Seven. Magicians equipment is sometimes as much or more than Assassins, though Sins must cover the cost of stars. Furthermore, it could be argued that Bandits cost far more to maintain than Assassins. The Bandit skill Savage Blow does more damage compared to regular attacks, but costs 27 MP per cast opposed to Lucky Seven's 16 MP. Bandits also spend much, much more money on HP potions for two reasons: One, their melee attacking style naturally forces them to take more damage from monsters and two, they lack the Assassin skill Drain, which is a tremendous money saver.

If you are unfunded but still want to do crazy butt-kicking damage and blast through levels, "Pure Luck 'Sins" can do this easily: their high damage makes training fast and they can make some quick money. But equipment is highly limited; the bathrobe is a must have. You may want to keep it or change to the sauna bathrobe at level 30. But it is better to sell it off for a high price.

Tip: To save money as an assassin, especially in the earlier levels, recharge your stars more often instead of buying new stacks. To do this, go to the pots shop and click on the use tab on your side of the window. Next to the stars there will be an orange button with 'Rech.' on it. Simply click this button and you will have a full stack of stars again. The price to recharge is right next to the price to sell them.

First Job

When you reach level 10, head to Kerning city. Find the fusion jazz bar next to Mong (about two thirds of the way across the map from the left) and head to the basement to find Dark Lord hanging upside down. Speak with him and become a Rogue. After doing so, speak with him again to get the "Beginner Thief's First Training Session" quest. You'll now have a direction to go, and some new equipment to help you level. Dark Lord will have given you both a Beginner Thief's Wrist Guard (claw weapon that throws stars) and a Beginner Thief's short sword (a dagger). Both items are Thief only and unable to be traded.

Now that you've become a Rogue, your skill choices are very important, so be careful. First you want to pick your offensive skill, so you probably want to test out the two weapons to get a feel for them. Claws only throw stars from a distance, and at this stage you'll have minimal range which makes things a little annoying. Although the short sword acts the same as before, your damage will be increased significantly. For both weapons, imagine them attacking twice as fast (or faster in the future) with the help of one of the skills you can invest in (Double Stab or Lucky Seven).

Assassin's buyers guide

Get the weapons from the shop and train at the locations suggested below. When you hit 15, head to Kerning and begin Nella's quests. She gives you a Bronze Mischief (level 20 glove) that you can upgrade with an opal and some mesos (they give you a LUK bonus and a +2 Weapon Def. bonus after you do that). Up until this time, you might want to try making or buying new claws at 15 (4,000 Mesos for Steel Titans), and maybe upgrading them as well (i.e. titan to mithril titan, or gold titan if you can afford it). Then purchase Meba (60,000 Mesos) and scroll it to +7. If you're a bandit-thief (Sindit) then stay with the most up-to-date weapons (try to get above average if cheap).

If you are a DEXless sin (which requires a lot of money), you should start by getting a +7 Garnier and use it until level 35. At that time, try to acquire a Maple Claw, then Maple Kandayo at level 43, and Shinobi Bracer at 55. At level 64 try and get a good Maple Skanda if your Shinobi Bracer is not scrolled. Also, try to get a high LUK sauna robe (22+ LUK).

Training locations for Dagger Rogues

• Level 10-15: The best place to train at these levels is the Slime Tree (not tree dungeon). Which is located 2 portals west of Ellinia, and it’s the farthest tree on the west side. Spamming Double Stab is not suggested here since it won't be necessary, unless you have enough mesos for it (from a funded character, for example). Henesys Party Quest is also a good option.

• Level 16-19: All funded bandits can now quickly kill pigs now, so go do so at Pig Beach. While unfunded bandits can also train there, they won't make much profit, so stay at slimes. Mushroom Garden is also a very good training area.You can also train at HPQ which gives 1.6k exp per game(try getting someone who can lure(take all the monsters and move them away from the bunny) for an easier time. Another easier way is just go and kill green mushrooms (if your a luk bandit).

• Level 20-24: Now, all bandits, rich or poor, can train at Pig Beach and can start party questing at kerning, but it is suggested not to start that until around level 24. Double Stab spamming bandits will find their 1 hit KO rate much higher with a better weapon. Poorer bandits will have to rely on what they find for a while. If you want to KPQ (Kerning Party Quest) then you should go around level 25 if you want some good damage or a little earlier if you’re funded. Also, if you can 2 hit KO a Horny Mushroom, training in the dungeon will be fast exp if you can find an unpopulated area.

• Level 25-29: At this point, all bandits should have maxed Double Stab. If you want you can start party questing in kerning, as you are level 24 which is a good level for party quest in kerning. Or if you have enough money, go train on green mushrooms with Double Stab (and perhaps some follow up normal attacks), and hope a pan lid drops. If you lack a lot of mesos, either go normal Green Mushrooms, or make some mesos at Jr Sentinels (which drop 60-90 mesos per kill!), which will surely supply you with additional money. If want to burn potions go to the mini-dungeon in Ant Tunnel II where you will find the exp is great.It is also recommended to do the quest at the abandoned subway at the construction site north of kering.It also gives good exp.

Training locations for Claw Rogues

• Level 10-13: Go outside Kerning City and meet up the octupus beware the power of the (Assasins)

Another option for levels 10-14/16 is to kill orange mushrooms, they give more experience than slimes and can generally be killed in 3-4 hits. If you put your level 10 skill point on lucky 7, regular pigs can be killed using only 3 stars. Henesys Party Quest is a good option.

• Level 14-16: Go up the levels of Henesys Hunting Grounds. HHG 3 is generally the best open empty spot. Since it is very difficult to find pigs in numbers without the ribbon pig alongside it go and travel across all towns except for Perion and kill everything killable. Another good leveling location is the map East of Kerning City, where you can easily kill

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Third Job

Go to El Nath, and head to the house on the big hill (Chief Residence). Head to Arec, and talk with him. After a chat, head back to Victoria, and head to Dark Lord in Kerning City. Talk to him to get knowledge on where you have to go next. Head to Monkey Swamp II, and go to the Door Of Dimension. It will be marked as a NPC on the minimap. Head inside, and power up and put on your best gear. Fight the Dark Lord's evil side, and head out with the Black Charm.

The next step is simple. Go back to the Dark Lord, and exchange the Black Charm for a Necklace of Strength. Give this item to Arec, and then head to Sharp Cliff II, and go inside the door at the top-right corner. Talk to the big rock, and answer the 5 questions. (Note: You need a Dark Crystal). Once you answer the 5 questions, you get a Necklace Of Wisdom. Head back to Arec and give him this item.

Hermit Armor/Weapon Guide

• Level 71-80: At this point you should have illbis or atleast 5 sets of steelie. At this lvl you should have or get a 6+ atk Wg. Stay with your Dark/White Identity and get a 40+ atk Scarab and scroll it. After all that go and train at Wind Raiders to make some fast leveling and good exp. Try not to buy any other equips at this point, because you will need it for future claws, which are very expensive.
• Level 81-90: If you got your 90 stuff before, great, if not... well go buy full red osfa (best bonus) including the hat. Stay with the Scarab, its' luck bonus will do wonders while Black Mamba and Casters are overpriced plus Zakum exclusive.

• Level 91-100: Stick with the 90 stuff, the 100 gear is only available from Pianus and at this level he'll be way too hard to fight. Start saving up for the Craven and prepare to sell your Scarab. Keep your money high around these levels, you can go broke fast. At level 91~92, if you have the money it's definitely worth buying some Casters with a weapon attack of 52+, especially if your scarab is below 50 weapon attack. A 10 attack glove is a must at this level, otherwise you'd be out damaged by hermits 2 levels.
• Level 101-110: Now go get the 100 armor. Don't bother getting the Dragon Geshuda for its bonus of dex. Get the Garina stuff or stick with osfa just don't use the katinas but you can use the level 100 gloves and boots if you can find them.

• Level 111-120: Use Garina and take the purple dragon sleeve. Congratulations on becoming a Night Lord!

Alternative Assassin armor/weapon guide

This guide is for a funded assassin or one who has a lot of money by level 25-30 please note that this version is much more offensive so stationary bosses with area affect skills (zakum, pianus) with probably be to hard to take on until level 100. Overall this path is quicker to level with. (By the time you start here you should have tobis)

• level 30-34: Buy all luck bonus armor and get the gloves fully upgraded or stick with dark wolfskin. Buy snowshoes and scroll it 7 times with jump 100% scrolls.

• level 35-39: Buy the green knucklevest and blue pants get the arbion from john's present quest. Ludi pq all the way until 40.

• level 40-49: Buy 5 luk cleave and dark shadow and buy 2 luk pants get an avarice that has at least 23 atk and 3 luk. Get a dark or red pilfer that gives +3 luk if you have bought all the other stuff.

• level 50-59: Buy a maximum powered dark slain and a +4 luk sonata buy pants that give at least +3 luk then you have to save save save! (Buy steelies during this time period if you have enough).

• level 60-69: Buy a 6 luk Identity that’s probably all you have money for now anyways. (get steelies if affordable).

Hermit training guide

• Level 71-80: Stay on STD's or Zombies and even H/Voodoos Would be great! Maybe team up on Werewolfs (WARNING: Do not use Avenger on Werewolves, being swarmed with attacks that do up to 20% of your HP is least thing you would want), until you max out avenger don't go for anything stronger than you are. At level 77~78ish you can head to Death Teddies if you have been only putting points into Shadow Partner (or if your shadow partner is level 21+, since at that point it will last for 3 minutes), which are godly exp but deal over 1000 damage physical and around 1400 damage with their magic attack.

• Level 81-90: This period of time is known as Assassin hell due to the fact that at these levels monsters are hard to train on for the experience they give, and the fact that you will be spending millions for just a couple levels. Try to team up with a Fighter and take on Lycanthropes (that’s what I did but you might have your own idea so follow this guide at your own risk/will), or head over to Death Teddies (Go to Ludi, enter toy factory, keep going down until you reach a map called <crossroads of time>, then go in the portal on the right. Go through 2 maps, the first filled with soul teddies and master soul teddies and the second filled with clocks and dark clocks, then you'll be at my personal favorite map for Death Teddies (DTs)).

• Level 91-100: Finally break the link of hardness and go mad at the ludi clock tower on vikings and pirates. Dark yeti-pepe isn’t a bad idea either, along with heading to aqua road to murder squids. Zakum pq wouldn't be to harsh if you can take on Bains, but Zakum itself not recommended until level 110+ due to low health levels. Alternatively: train at HH (Headless Horseman). If you have good Magicians and a +8 att Work Glove you should be good.

• Level 101-119: You can head over to the mushroom shrine for Dreamy Ghosts. At level 110 these are absolutely amazing with 3200 exp per kill. You can also go to Jr. Newties and use the famous sniping spot to train but finding a spot is not easy.

Chief Bandit Armor/Weapon Guide

• Level 70: Definitely keep your Silver or Dark Identity, as both have the same or more luk than the Bloodfox respectively. Get the Dark armor set, as they give the maximum amount of luk, and get a decent level 70 weapon, with at least 3 luk and 83 weapon attack, or if you have a low meso amount, stick with your deadly fin, although training will be slower, and there will be a big difference in attack.

• Level 80: If you have a Dark Pirate Hat with more than 4 luk, then switch hats. If you don't, stick with your Dark Identity. Change your entire armor set, and consider getting a 10-15 attack work glove if your wallet is full. Scroll your level 80 weapon to +4 or more (93 weapon attack and 4 luk). If you have money for an ATT scrolled shield, it would be a good investment, but luk bandits may be lacking funds to buy shields due to unscrolled ATT shields having STR requirements.

Note:

• If you have less than 20 million, you could get a workglove and scroll it with 100%s.
• If you have 20 million to 50 million, I wouldn't recommend one, as unless you use your entire budget, you could probably get a 6-8 attack one.
• If you have 50 million to 100 million, buy a couple of 60% glove attacks, make a work glove and scroll it yourself, although it will slice a clean cut off your budget.
• If you have 100 million+, then get a workglove with at least 12 attack.

• Level 90: Get the Dark Set again, and get the level 90 dagger (+ 4). You should have a workglove by now, and scrolled capes and shoes. If you don't want to spend your mesos on the top and bottom, at least get 100% scrolls or cheap 60% scrolls and scroll your armor, unless you're planning to sell the level 90 armor off.

• Level 100+: By this level, you will probably know what armor and weapons you need to get next.

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Dual Blade Information

For more details on this topic, see MapleStory/Dual Blade Guide.

Dual Blade characters can be created by doing every quest you can.