Stealing & Poaching

Stealing & Poaching

Mastering the arts of Stealing and Poaching in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance can grant you access to powerful equipment, rare items, and valuable gil early in your adventure. This guide will walk you through the mechanics and strategies for effectively utilizing these often-overlooked systems.

The Art of Stealing

Stealing is performed by a Thief unit and allows you to pilfer items directly from enemy units during battle. Success rates depend on several factors, including the Thief's Speed (SPD) and the target's SPD, as well as the item's rarity. Equipping your Thief with Speed-boosting gear is crucial for consistent success.

Required Abilities & Units

• Thief Job: This is the core job for stealing. Any unit can become a Thief by mastering the appropriate abilities.
• Steal Ability: Learned from the Thief job. There are several tiers of Steal abilities:
  • Steal Weapon: Attempts to steal the enemy's equipped weapon.
  • Steal Armor: Attempts to steal the enemy's equipped armor (body, head, shield, accessory).
  • Steal Accessory: Specifically targets accessories.
  • Steal Gil: Steals a small amount of gil. Useful for training or if you're desperate for cash.
  • Steal EXP: Steals a small amount of experience from the target.
• Good SPD Stats: Prioritize units with high natural SPD growth for your Thieves, such as a Viera Fencer/Thief or a Hume Soldier/Thief.

Stealing Strategy

1. Identify Targets: Before a battle, check the enemy roster to see what equipment they are carrying. Focus on enemies with desirable weapons, armor, or accessories.
2. Isolate the Target: Try to draw the target away from other enemies or disable them with status effects like Sleep, Stop, or Confuse to make stealing safer.
3. Boost Your Thief's Speed:
   • Equip items like the Dash Boots or Ninja Tabi.
   • Use abilities like Haste (Time Mage) or Smile (Juggler) to increase your Thief's turn frequency.
4. Reduce Target's Speed (Optional but Recommended):
   • Use abilities like Slow (Time Mage) or Greased Lightning (Ninja) to lower the target's SPD, increasing your steal chance.
5. Positioning: Thieves need to be adjacent to the target to steal. Plan your moves carefully to avoid being surrounded.
6. Save Scumming (Optional): For particularly rare or difficult-to-steal items, consider saving before attempting the steal and reloading if it fails.

Notable Steals & Locations

Many powerful items can be acquired through stealing. Here are a few examples:

• Early Game:
  • Broadsword: From early-game Soldiers. A decent upgrade for Marche.
  • Leather Vest: From various low-level enemies.
• Mid Game:
  • Mythril Sword/Armor: From various human enemies in mid-game quests.
  • Barong: From certain Bangaa Warriors. A strong blade for your Bangaa units.
  • Diamond Armor/Shield: From higher-level human enemies.
• Late Game/Rare:
  • Gastra: A powerful sword often found on high-level enemy Marche units in specific quests.
  • Genji Armor/Shield: Extremely rare, found on powerful human enemies in late-game missions.
  • Ribbon: A highly sought-after accessory that grants immunity to many status effects. Can be stolen from specific Viera units in certain quests.
  • Cactus Hat: From Cactuars. A good early-game accessory for SPD.

The Art of Poaching

Poaching is a unique mechanic that allows you to obtain rare monster-specific items by defeating certain monster types with a specific ability. These items can then be sold for a high price or used in synthesis to create powerful new equipment.

Required Abilities & Units

• Hunter Job: The primary job for poaching.
• Poach Ability: Learned from the Hunter job. This ability must be set as a reaction ability.
• Fighter Job (for Humans): The Fighter's "Counter" reaction ability can also trigger Poach if the unit has Poach learned and set.

Poaching Strategy

1. Learn Poach: Train a unit (preferably a Hume or Viera) in the Hunter job until they learn the "Poach" reaction ability.
2. Equip Poach: Ensure the unit has Poach equipped as their reaction ability.
3. Target Specific Monsters: Identify which monsters drop the items you want. The type of item dropped depends on the monster species and sometimes its level.
4. Defeat with Poach: The unit with the Poach reaction ability must land the killing blow on the monster. If Poach activates and the monster is defeated, you will receive a poached item after the battle.
5. Check the Pub: After a successful Poach, visit any Pub in Ivalice. A new option, "Bargain," will appear, allowing you to collect your poached items.

Notable Poached Items & Monsters

Poaching is the only way to obtain certain synthesis materials and valuable treasures. Here's a list of some key monsters and their potential drops:

Remember that some items are only available as a "rare poach," meaning they have a lower chance of dropping. Persistence is key!