Thief

For the Thief Staff see: Thief (Staff)

The Thief (盗賊 Tōzoku) is recurring combat/utility physical class in the Fire Emblem Series. Wielding Swords or Knives as their weapons of choice, the primary role of Thieves is to Steal and manipulate locks imposed on doors and chests. Enemy Thieves are capable of destroying villages, and unlike most other enemies, they often leave battles after accomplishing their self-motivated jobs of pillaging villages and/or looting chests.

History in the Series
In their original inception in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Mystery of the Emblem, Thieves are unable to promote, and due to being frail combat-wise, are commonly tasked to perform support roles through their lock-picking skills.

The advent of Genealogy of the Holy War sees the Thief (シーフ Shīfu) class being able to promote for the first time in the series. Thief Fighters act as the promoted form of the class and are reputably capable fighters on the battlefield.

In Thracia 776, the Thief class is again able to promote into the Thief Fighter class. This incarnation of the class is particularly special for Lara; depending on whether the necessary requirements are met, she can promote from a Thief into either the Dancer or Thief Fighter classes. After this title, the Thief Fighter class is retired, though the later Rogue and Trickster classes fill the same niche of a promoted class that retains all functions of the original Thief class.

In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga thieves are reverted to not being able to promote. In the game, there are two versions of the thief class: a playable version in the mercenary class category, and a NPC/Enemy version in the criminal class category. The enemy version has a slightly higher strength cap in exchange for a slightly lower speed cap.

In Fire Emblem: Binding Blade, thieves continued to be unable to class change.

Thieves are given a new promoted form in The Blazing Blade: The Assassin class, losing the ability to Steal in return for the Lethality skill. In The Sacred Stones, Thieves are given the further option to promote into the Rogue class alongside Assassin.

In Path of Radiance, Volke is the only Thief who can promote into an Assassin. This promotion is done without an item, and is part of the main plot, in which Volke either leaves or is rehired as an Assassin for a fee of 50,000 gold.

There are no playable Thieves ( 盗人シーフ Shīfu) to promote in Radiant Dawn, effectively making it an enemy-only class. All playable characters in the Thief class line come pre-promoted as Rogues or, in Volke's case, as an Assassin.

In Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem, remakes of the Archanea Series, Thieves once again do not promote. However, they are allowed to reach up to Level 30.

In Awakening, Thieves are given the further option to promote into Trickster alongside Assassin.

Thieves are known as Outlaws in the localised versions of Fates and are treated as a Nohrian class. Outlaws wield Bows instead of Swords and Knives. They are given the further option to promote into Bow Knight alongside Adventurer, the Bow using equivalent to the Awakening Trickster. The Hoshidan counterparts to the Outlaw are the Archer class in terms of Reclassing, mirroring Outlaws' bow usage, and are similar to the Ninja class in terms of utility, even sharing the Locktouch skill with the later class.

Combat
The Thief class primarily focuses on agility in combat, and can dodge the majority of enemy attacks. However, their low Strength impairs their utility as combat units as they can rarely inflict heavy damage on foes. When raising a Thief, it is recommended to have hardier units cover them while the Thief concentrates on weakened foes. They are somewhat like weak Myrmidons and score well in the Skill, Speed and Luck departments to offset their lower Strength, Defense and Resistance. Though weak, their high speed means they will double most opponents. Thieves with a high Skill rating can perform regular critical hits. A well-raised Thief can hold their own in combat, dealing heavy damage while remaining almost completely untouched.

Thieves with low offensive capabilities are still useful as support units. Thieves have higher Movement than other infantry units, making them good for quick assaults or reaching objectives quickly. They can see farther than other units in Fog of War battles, making them perfect for scouting. They can also pilfer supplies from the enemy with their ability to Steal, robbing enemies of assets such as medicine or staves and. With sufficient Strength, they can even steal weapons (depending on the game), especially valued if they can steal unique enemy equipment. These, alongside their ability to open doors and treasure chests without keys, make them valuable assets on any player's army. However, as they are physically frail, it is advisable to not leave them unguarded at all times.

When promoted into an Assassin, apart from the normal boost in all parameters, the Thief gains more points in HP, Resistance and Defense than any of their other stats. They lose their ability to steal from enemies, but retain the ability to use Lockpicks. They also gain the Lethality ability, thus making Assassins much more combat-oriented than Thieves. Rogues, conversely, keep all the abilities of the Thief class, becoming even more effective in that regard. Their price to pay is possessing weaker combat stats as compared to Assassins. However, they have a critical bonus, which, while not being as large as the Assassins, is still hefty when compared to that of Thieves.

Uniform
Save for Lara and Thieves from the Tellius Series and from Genology of the Holy War, all Thieves throughout the series have had the same uniform; common clothing with little/no armour, a cloak to use as a disguise and a bag or sack containing their plunder (this isn't shown during battle sequences or cutscenes). Except those already mentioned, most Thieves come with minute differences between games; like in Fates, Outlaws are shown with a quiver of arrows. While generic male Thieves are shown with their hoods up, female Thieves wear a cloth headpiece to conceal their hair to avoid notice, although, this is only shown on map sprites and concept art.

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Mystery of the Emblem

 * Rickard - A Thief who greatly admires Julian.
 * Julian - Former member of the Soothsires.
 * Dahl - Leader of the Raman Thieves.
 * Barm - Boss in Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga.

Genealogy of the Holy War

 * Dew - Thief who assisted in the rescue of Adean.
 * Patty - Daughter of Brigid and the younger sister of Faval.
 * Daisy - Sister of Asaello and the substitute character of Patty.

Thracia 776

 * Lifis - Leader of the Lifis Pirates.
 * Lara - Member of the Magi Squad.

Binding Blade

 * Chad - An orphan raised in Araphen along with Lugh and Raigh.
 * Astore - A spy from Ostia who is Igrene's long lost husband, Gorlois.
 * Cath - A thief who has a strong hatred for nobles.

The Blazing Blade

 * Matthew - A spy from Ostia.
 * Legault - Former member of the Black Fang, known as the "The Hurricane."

The Sacred Stones

 * Colm - Thief from Renais and the childhood friend of Neimi.

Path of Radiance

 * Volke - A mercenary assassin who works under the drive of monetary gains.
 * Sothe - An orphaned stowaway seeking a lost, unnamed companion.

Awakening

 * Gaius - A thief from Ylisse with a strong addiction to sweets.

Fates

 * Niles - A sadistic former criminal under the service of Leo.
 * Nina - The collected, albeit delusional daughter of Niles.
 * Anna - A sly lady with an obsession with expanding her wealth through a host of get-rich schemes.

Trivia

 * Every naturally-occuring thief-class character in Awakening - Gangrel, Gaius, and Anna (and all three characters' potential Morgan) - is a redhead.
 * Thieves are often portrayed with a pack slung over their backs, as well as some manner of hooded cloak or cowl.
 * Thieves wielding bows in Fire Emblem Fates is likely a nod to Robin Hood, a historical outlaw/archer.

Gallery
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