There are plenty of reasons to love all of the protagonists in Octopath Traveler. However, if you’re a fan of snark and the vocal performances of Chris Niosi – the voice of Reigen Arataka in Mob Psycho 100 and Shaiapouf in Hunter x Hunter – you’re going to want to start with the thief Therion.
If you select Therion as your starter or if you just want to fully utilize one of Octopath Traveler’s many intricate systems, you’re going to want to learn how to steal from enemies and NPCs. While the thief class is a staple of RPGs, Octopath’s thievery is a bit more robust than other games in the genre. Here’s everything you need to know about this larcenous mechanic from increasing your success rate, to best utilizing the skill, to swiping some of the best items in the game.
A Party as Thick as Thieves
Naturally, Therion is the best rogue in the game due to starting the game with Thief as his starting class, and his Steal path action which gives him a chance to steal items from NPCs in the overworld. Tressa, however, also makes for a great thief if given the Theif sub-class, as it combines well with her Merchant abilities and her knack for gathering funds makes the fee to restore your reputation following numerous failed attempts much more manageable. H’aanit is also a great addition to the team as the chance of successful stealing in battle goes up the closer an enemy is to death (more on that later), and her Mercy Strike skill will damage an enemy without killing them. Ophilia sub-classed as a Scholar is an excellent addition to this party as well, as she is an amazing healer with plenty of options to deal elemental damage.
In the overworld, Therion’s steal success rate relates directly to his level. The more powerful he is, the higher the likelihood he has of swiping some incredible items from unsuspecting townsfolk. Therefore, it’s useful to start the game as Therion as this all but ensures that he will have the highest level in your party at any point in the game. Targeting the rare Cait type enemies in battle with mid-tier soulstone items is a great way to quickly gain a level boost, as the creatures provide tremendous amounts of experience if defeated in battle.
Stealing Basics
There are many things to steal from a lot of different people and monsters in Octopath Traveler. In the early game, you definitely want to pilfer any and everything you can from NPCs.
If you’re starting with Therion, be sure to keep the healing items you’ve stolen instead of selling them since he can’t self-heal (these items aren’t worth much anyway). Use your starting leaves (the game’s currency) to purchase armor and weapons to boost your durability and damage. But be sure to “window shop” first and see if you can steal them. The last thing you want to do is buy something you could have pilfered.
Obviously, you always want to swipe any item that has a 100% success rate, but you probably don’t want to take that chance when the odds aren’t in your favor. (Plus, do you really need to steal candy from a child?)
If you fail, your reputation take a hit. You can fail four times before ruining your reputation, as it costs about a thousand leaf (much more as the game progresses) to restore it at a tavern and give you more chances to commit theft.
If there’s something with a low success percentage that you must have, save before stealing. That way, you can reload and retry if you fail (a practice called save-scumming). It may take many reloads before you successfully steal, but it’s worth it (and cheaper than paying to restore your reputation).
Here’s a pro tip: In each character’s starting city, your reputation resets when you begin their chapter. Therefore, you can take a reputation hit for stealing and not have to pay a fee to restore it. For example, have Therion steal from NPCs in Flamesgrace BEFORE talking to Ophilia. Even if you’ve been caught and damaged your reputation, it will be cleared once Ophilia starts her quest.
Another pro tip: A number of NPCs can improve your steal ability if you Inquire or Scrutinize them, including one in Therion’s home city of Bolderfall.
Another pro tip: ALWAYS steal medium soulstones even if they have low percentages as they can one-shot Cait enemies.
Stealing in Battle
Stealing in battle is also advantageous most of the time. You always want to steal from enemies early in the game when it’s nearly impossible to get the Untouchable (money) and Decimated (JP) reward boosts. It’s also a good idea to always rob bosses as they tend to give pretty rare and useful items at any stage of the game. Once you hit the last third or so of the game, stealing does become a bit less important as you will have plenty of resources and healing items by this point. However, it’s still always a good idea to try to steal from rare and powerful enemies as they almost always provide some of the most useful items in the game.
Stealing percentages are inversely proportional to enemy health. After you break an enemy and whittle them down, your chances to steal improve (this is also true of Tressa’s Collect ability). So don’t try to steal in the first few rounds. As an enemy nears death, you may need to have other characters defend so they don’t accidentally kill an enemy before you can rob them. You can also improve your Steal (and Collect) abilities by boosting them with BP. Each BP point improves your success rate about 10%.
The Best Stuff to Steal
There are a few weapons and accessories that are ridiculously overpowered in Octopath Traveler, and stealing can help you get them very early in the game. Always steal equipment that is better than what you currently have.
Not all items are usable. Some are immediately sellable, including coins and coin pouches. A patron in Primrose’s hometown of Sunshade possesses a particularly valuable commemorative coin. If you can steal it from him you can sell it for a whopping 25,000 leaf.
The far and away best thing to steal in Octopath, is the secret Golden Axe. Located in the town of Clearbrook – Alfyn’s starting area – you can use either H’aanit or Olberic to battle a woman guarding a tucked away door. By defeating her, you can travel inside and attempt to steal the Golden Axe from an unassuming old man. While it is exceptionally difficult to take this weapon from him (3% success rate), it is absolutely worth the time and effort as this is one of the strongest weapons a Hunter, Apothecary, or Warmaster can use. Note, this must be done BEFORE you start Alfyn’s chapter.
Finally, the Beastly Scarf and the Dragon Scarf are two accessories that restore HP and SP each turn, respectfully. While you cannot directly steal these pieces of equipment (you can never steal anything with a 0% success rate), you can buy them from Tressa’s mother in Rippletide at any point in the game. While they cost 16,500 a piece, by routinely stealing from NPCs, enemies, and bosses; you can sell these pilfered products and quickly use your ill-gotten gains to buy these fashionable and functional accessories.
