Dragon’s Dogma 2 Vocations 101: The Thief

Welcome to Vocations 101, where we go through the Basic Vocations of Dragon’s Dogma 2 to help you decide which option suits you best! Note, these are mainly my findings playing the game; each player has their own style, so I always recommend experimenting. Without further ado, let us begin our second lesson: the Thief.

Introduction

The Thief, as may be inferred from the Vocation’s name, is all about speedy combat and cunning tricks, keeping enemies on their toes while zooming in and out of melee. Also, petty theft. While not as robust as the Fighter and lacking the ranged capabilities of the Archer, this dextrous class is in its own league when it comes to both avoidance and dealing damage. Additionally, the Thief may be the best Vocation out of the bunch for clambering onto those pesky giant enemies. It also has some of the most visually fun attacks on offer! So, if you want to swash some buckles, leave clever traps, and lasso foes like a rugged archaeologist, you’ve come to the right place!

Basics

Biting Wind:

Though it is the first ability you get, one should not disregard the excellence that is Biting Wind. On activation, your Arisen will channel every samurai movie and ninja anime, charging at your enemy with blades outstretched, making a clean slice while running past. If used when near the enemy, you will instead perform a combo of dashes and slashes. It’s a skill with great mobility, as it will have you zooming to and fro within the battle, but it may also be a bit tough to keep up with all of the movement, so it may take a bit of getting used to.

Enkindled Blades:

Enkindled Blades is one of the earliest elemental skills you will gain and is very valuable in the early game. Not only do you have an easy way to get some fire damage, but you can also free up your Mage to cover other elements! The duration is a bit short, but luckily you can just do it again, as it doesn’t require limited-use items like the Archer’s many arrow skills. As your blades hit enemies multiple times, you have a better chance of spreading your lovely stabby-flames onto them for even more damage, but this skill may be less impressive if your hired Mage has nothing but flames.

Helm Splitter:

Ah, Helm Splitter. Such an amazing skill with unbelievable damage potential, but oh, so silly. Once used, your Arisen will do a little hop into the air, performing a commendable roll while extending their blades, creating a cutting arc. So far, so good, the skill hits multiple times and can hit enemies higher up. However, the ridiculosity of the attack comes when used from a higher altitude: the higher you are, the longer your Arisen stays in the spinny ball of pain, possibly dealing a frankly rude amount of hits to any enemy in range, while looking like the world's most dedicated Sonic cosplayer. It is an amazing skill, it’s super fun to use, does great damage, and has you laughing each time. Oh, and it can help you avoid falling damage. What’s not to love?

Ensnare:

As with the Fighter, the Thief is most comfortable within dagger reach, meaning most flying foes can be a pain and a half since they often will avoid your pokes while peppering you with damage. This is where Ensnare comes in, as the skill has your Arisen pull out a length of rope attached to a spike, which they then promptly fling at your target. Depending on the enemy, this will result in you pulling them down to earth, trying to restrain a big foe with all your might, or being taken for a ride like a child holding a large, excitable dog seconds before a squirrel runs past. It adds a lot of flexibility to the Vocation, allowing you to forgo ranged fighters if you so wish, but it should be noted that the skill only works on one enemy at a time, and said enemies can always fly back up once Ensnared.

A Note on Preference:

While I often only give some ideas on cool or fun skills to try out, I felt the Thief required a separate note, as its skillset may be one of the more varied of the bunch. While my suggestions may work fine, there are multiple different routes one could take. For example, you could focus on explosive traps with the Powder Charge and Concussive Step skills, or live out your thieving dreams with Smoke Screen, Shadow Cloak, and Pilfer! There are many combinations, and each is fun and valid in its own right, these are simply the ones I found I used the most.

 

Weight and Party Composition

In Dragon’s Dogma 2, the weight of your current build can affect your experience quite profoundly: a heavy player will find themselves constantly running out of stamina and trudging on at a snail's pace but being absolutely unbothered by attacks that could send a lighter Fighter skywards. On the other hand, a Fighter lighter on their feet will have stamina for days and be able to climb, clamber, run, and jump with greater ease. There is no right answer to which encumbrance level is best, so experiment no matter what I say here.

Funnily enough, the starting gear is great for a Thief!

As I’ve said ad nauseam by now, the Thief is all about mobility. As such, a light build may be optimal! You’ll have plenty of stamina for clambering up walls and feet or for dashing in and out of combat. However, the drawback of being light is that enemies will also have a much easier time flinging you off, dragging you out of combat, or even pinning you down. A heavier build may help with this, but you may also find yourself regretting those extra pounds as your stamina bar drains after the first few grunts. My recommendation is to keep your encumbrance at the lighter end, with a maximum of Average load to keep combat speedy and stamina high!

When in a party, a Thief is definitively a damage dealer. Able to close in on combat, deal a fair bit of damage quickly, and change targets on a whim, the Vocation is a great addition to any party lacking melee damage. With its varied skills, the Thief can easily shore up any weaknesses the party has, though it does require someone to take the heat off, as they can’t take much in terms of punishment! A Fighter can draw aggro while the Thief does their thing, for example, or you can have a mage stocked with support magick to carry you through the fight. I often paired my Thief Arisen with a Fighter pawn to make sure I always had a tank at hand with the skills I needed, though finding a Mage with the correct spells from the list of hirees can be a daunting task.

Augments

Each Vocation can unlock a set of Augments which add some passive benefits for said class. What makes Augments amazing is the fact that once unlocked, you can use them with every other Vocation freely! As such, in this section, we look at the Augments that are especially useful regardless of Vocation.

In the case of the Thief, my absolute favourite was Gratification. This handy skill does one simple thing: you recover health each time you slay an enemy. The main usefulness of this is apparent, as gaining health when victorious is a big deal! This usefulness is enhanced, however, when you consider its use with other Vocations, such as the damage-weathering Fighter or fragile Mage! It's an Augment I had on almost constantly and often made the difference between me using up a health item or rolling the dice within combat.

Is it a hole in reality, or a Thief about to SPIN?!

And with this, I gift unto thee the hood and bandanna of the Thief, as you are now ready to stab, pilfer, and spin-slash your way to greater heights! You may not hit hard, but even the strongest tree can be felled with enough blows. Besides, with speed like yours, who needs damage? SPINNING DEATH BALL ATTACK!