Steal Steal , also known as Sneak , is an ability that has appeared in most " Final Fantasy " games since " Final Fantasy III " . It is primarily used by the Thief class , and involves stealing an item from an opponent . Its upgrade , Mug , deals damage and steals in the same turn . In some games , if a player steals an item from an opponent , it will not drop items after battle . Appearances . " Final Fantasy III " . Steal is part of the Thief job class . Items stolen depend on Job Level and the enemy , as follows : Each Job Level also comes with its own Steal Rate for each item , as follows : When stealing from an enemy , it will always attempt to steal from the rarest item first , then go down the list until either an item is stolen , or the steal fails . " Final Fantasy IV " . Steal , also known as Sneak , can only be used by the Ninja Edge . Steal has a Charge Time of 0 . He can only steal items which are commonly dropped . If he fails , there is a chance he will take damage . Edge is able to steal multiple times from the same enemy . In the " Advance " version , Edge can upgrade Steal to Plunder , which is similar to Mug , by equipping the Hanzo Gloves . The formula for stealing is as follows : The cap is limited to 95 / 100 . The Steal command is part of the Sneak glitch that works in the certain versions of the game . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . Steal returns in the sequel of " Final Fantasy IV " , and it is Edge ' s exclusive ability . It functions the same way as it did in the prequel . Edge ' s Steal ability has been upgraded to Mug . The ninja Tsukinowa has Steal , which functions identically to its appearance in " Final Fantasy IV " . Steal has a Charge Time of 0 . Items can be stolen multiple times from the same enemy . " Final Fantasy V " . Steal is the Level 4 ability in the Thief class , learned for 50 ABP . If a character equips the Thief Glove , his or her success rate doubles . " Final Fantasy V " is the first game to feature common and rare steals . Most often , a character will steal a common item , but there is a slight chance of stealing a rare one . The initial steal rate is 40 % , while with Thief Glove , it becomes 80 % , and there is a 5 / 128 chance of stealing a rare item from the enemy , if they have one . " Final Fantasy VI " . Steal is Locke ' s special ability . His success rate is defined as : This value is doubled if Locke has a Thief ' s Bracer equipped . There is a 1 / 8 chance that Locke will steal a rare item , and a 7 / 8 chance he will steal a common item . If there is no common item in an enemy ' s common item slot , there is a 7 / 8 chance Locke will fail to steal . The hidden character Gogo may also use Steal . Dischord can be useful in increasing the success rate of the Steal command . Harvesters , Punishers , Mugbear s , and Dadaluma can steal from the party , but it works like Steal Gil . If the monster ( s ) or the party escapes , the party loses the stolen gil . If the enemy is defeated and the battle is won , the party will gain the stolen gil in the battle results . In Locke ' s scenario at South Figaro , he can steal clothes from Cadets and Merchants to disguise himself . " Final Fantasy VII " . Steal is the ability on a level 1 Steal Materia . As the Materia levels up Steal is replaced by Mug . The Steal command steals an item from the enemy , whereas Mug inflicts damage as well . The Steal effect can be applied to Magic , Summon and Command Materia with the Steal as Well Support Materia . The formula for working out the steal success rate uses the attacker ' s level , the target ' s level , the item ' s number , and a random element is also used . The sum works out the difference between the user and the target ' s level , and then adds forty to it and capped at 100 . As an example , if the user ' s level is 50 , and the enemy ' s level is 25 , the result is 65 . The next step includes multiplication and division . The answer to the first equation is multiplied by 512 , before being divided by 100 , before the result is truncated to reach a whole number . In the example earlier , the result would be 332 . The next step is to include the item ' s chance . In the example used above , the enemy is a Tonberry , an enemy one cannot fight outside the Battle Square . The only item a Tonberry has is a Turbo Ether . In this case , the Turbo Ether has an item chance of eight . So it would be 332 multiplied by eight , and divided by 256 . This is 10 . 375 , and then truncated to reach 10 . The final part of the equation adds the random element . This means a number between 0 and 63 is randomly selected . If the random number is less than or equal to the Chance , then the item is stolen . In this case there are eleven results that end in the item being stolen , and 54 of it not being . This means there is a 17 . 1875 % chance of stealing the item . If an enemy has more than one item , it does the calculation on the item in the first slot , and if it fails , it repeats the calculation in the next slot , and then on until an item has been stolen or it fails in all of them . This means that if a user ' s level is high enough , they will encounter problems stealing items in slots after the first one . As an example , the Bagrisk has a Soft in its first slot with a chance of 32 , a second Soft with another chance of 32 , and a Vagyrisk Claw as its third and final with a chance of eight . The Bagrisk is level 19 . If the user is level 50 , 50 add 40 minus 19 is 71 . 71 multiplied by 512 , then divided by 100 is 363 . 52 , truncated to 363 . The first slot is 32 ; that multiplied by 363 , and then divided by 256 is 45 . Using the random formula , there are 46 chances of stealing , and 18 of not . The percentage of stealing it is 71 . 875 % . Assuming it does not steal , it moves onto the second slot , again 32 , with the same 46 out of 64 chance of stealing . This gives a 20 . 2148 % chance of getting this item from the Steal . The final item has a factor of eight . Eight multiplied by the Lv factor of 363 , divided by 256 gives 11 . 34375 , truncated be 11 . If this was in the first slot , there would be twelve in 64 chance of stealing , and 52 of not , which is a 18 . 75 % chance of stealing . Being in the third slot after the Softs gives a 1 . 4832 % chance of stealing . If we assume the player ' s level is 78 ; 78 add 40 minus 19 is 99 . 512 multiplied by 99 , divided by 100 , and then truncated is 506 . Multiplied by 32 , divided by 256 , and truncated , is 63 . A random number between 0 and 63 is always less than or equal to 63 . This means there as a 100 % chance of stealing from the first slot . Therefore the second Soft and the Vagyrisk Claw cannot be stolen . If the Sneak Gloves are equipped , the Lv difference will be set to 100 thus the Lv factor will always be 512 . So using the original Tonberry example , the lowest possible result is 512 multiplied by eight , divided by 256 is 16 . So no matter what the player ' s level , there is always at least a 17 in 64 chance to steal the item . As established above , against a Bagrisk a Lv factor of 512 is more than 506 , thus one will never steal the Vagyrisk Claw with the Sneak Gloves equipped . The Master Command materia will grant the Steal command , and not the advanced Mug command . There is also a Steal as Well Materia that adds the steal function to a paired Materia . Steal is also an enemy ability known by Vice and Prowler which takes an item from the target ' s inventory ( but not items that cannot be sold or thrown , and if no valid items are available then nothing will be stolen ) . If the user then escapes , they escape with what they stole ; however , if they are defeated the player wins the item back . After stealing the item , neither will attack , but will stay in battle and do nothing until they escape . The Prowler has a quarter chance of stealing on his first turn , whereas Vice has only a sixth . Both enemies also have Grind which appears to do the same thing and also steals an item . There is a quarter chance the Prowler will do this on his first turn and a sixth for the Vice , again . The Magic Pot will counter with Gimme if the player does not give him Elixirs , and will randomly take an item from the player ' s inventory . The enemy has to be killed to get it back , else it will escape with it . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . Steal is an ability that comes with the Steal Materia . When used Zack takes a moment to charge the attack , then attempts to steal an item . Equipping the Brigand ' s Gloves guarantees a successful steal from an enemy . Steal costs no AP to use . " Final Fantasy IX " . For the first time characters can Steal more than once from the same opponent . Each opponent has between one and four items available and their list is set . Some items are easier to steal than others . The Master Thief support ability makes it easier for characters to steal rare items , and the Bandit support ability perfects the steal success rate . After an enemy has been stolen from , it still may drop items upon defeat . Steal can be used by Zidane , Marcus , Blank , and Cinna . Zidane is the only one permanently playable . Steal is important for Zidane ' s Thievery skill , as its damage increases along with the total number of successful steals the player has made including those by Marcus , Blank and Cinna . Without Bandit , the formula for Steal hitting a target is as follows : If Attack is equal or greater than Defense , Steal is a success . If Bandit is equipped , this step is ignored and Steal will always hit the target . After Steal has successfully hit the target , the chances for stealing from each slot is as follows : Steal will first attempt the rare slot . If that fails , Steal moves on to the next most common slot . A successful Steal from an empty slot results in a failed Steal attempt . If the Master Thief ability is equipped , it changes the Steal rate for rare and semi - rare items to 32 / 256 instead , and allows Steal to ignore empty slots . Therefore , with Bandit and Master Thief both equipped , if the target has a common item , Steal will have 100 % success of stealing one of the items . " Final Fantasy IX " also has foes that can steal from the player , the Vice and Magic Vice . Once an enemy steals an item from the player it can ' t be retrieved even when the enemy is defeated after that . Despite stealing playing a major role in this game , few enemies and bosses have unique items ; most of those can be usually bought in shops or synthesized eventually . " Final Fantasy X " . Enemies go back to having common and rare Steal items . However , enemies have infinitely many items available to be stolen as well . The first time a character steals they will always succeed , however the chance of a successful Steal is halved after every successful Steal on the same enemy . The Pickpocket ability makes it easier to Steal rare items , and Master Thief guarantees Steal of rare items . All characters can learn Steal as a Special ability , though and Rikku already comes with it when she joins . Steal dismantles and destroys minor machina enemies . Stealing 200 times with Rikku in the " Final Fantasy X HD Remaster " version earns the A Talent for Acquisition trophy . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . Available on the Thief dressphere , Steal is the primary command ability , but the user can also learn Sticky Fingers , which guarantees stealing an item ; and Master Thief which steals only rare items . Steal doesn ' t dismantle and destroy minor machina - class enemies . " Final Fantasy XI " . Steal is an ability that is used by the Thief job class . It is available from early in the game , level 5 . Contrary to early belief , probably through false understanding gleaned from other games , the Thief does not actually steal anything that is on an enemy ' s normal loot table . Steal is used almost exclusively for monetary personal gain , but when thieves go to fight Maat for their last Limit Break , they will automatically win the fight if they are able to steal . Most character classes actually have to defeat Maat in order to move on to Levels 71 - 75 . Through Merit Points , thieves can enhance this ability with a trait called " Aura Steal " , which allows them to literally steal a beneficial status effect from an opponent . " Final Fantasy XII " . Steal is a Technick the player acquires at the beginning . The license for the Steal costs 15 License Points , and is known by Vaan , Balthier and Fran upon acquisition . Each foe has a set of common , rare and very rare item that can be stolen . If the steal is successful , the player will acquire either one or a selection of these items , with the chance of getting a certain item depending on its rarity . Once something has been stolen from an enemy one can ' t steal from that enemy again unless it re - spawns . There is an exception for the " green bar " neutral enemies ; stealing from a neutral enemy , then zoning out once and returning will have returned the enemy to its neutral state , restoring its steal item . Related are enemies with cutscenes during the battle , such as the marks Rogue Tomato ( the player can steal another item when it leaps off the cliff ) and Gilgamesh ( the player can steal another item whenever he draws out a new weapon ) . Stealing is unaffected by battle Chain . The only way to improve the chance to steal better items is to equip the Thief ' s Cuffs accessory . All stealable items are divided into three categories : With the Thief ' s Cuff accessory , the chances increase to : Rare Game enemies only carry one item , usually belonging to the " Low " chance category . The game first checks for the chance to steal the rarest item . If stealing the rare item fails , the game next checks the moderate chance item , and if that fails , the game checks for the most common item . If this step fails as well , the steal fails . Normally only one item can be stolen , but the Thief ' s Cuff also enables one to steal multiple items at once ; the game first checks for the rare item , and if that is successful , the game still checks for the other items as well , and the player has a chance of getting items from multiple categories simultaneously . However , once something has been stolen , the player can ' t steal again from the same enemy , not even with Thief ' s Cuffs equipped . Stealing successfully 50 times will unlock Vaan ' s Master Thief , sprite and title , in the Sky Pirate ' s Den . In the " International Zodiac Job System " version , the Steal license costs 20 LP and can only be used by the job classes Machinist , Archer , Black Mage and Red Battlemage ; the Black Mage must acquire the license for the Esper Zalera first , and the Red Battlemage must acquire the license for the Esper Hashmal . As an exception , Vaan , Balthier and Fran have this Technick no matter what job they choose , due to the fact they already have it when they first join the party . The player can ' t steal items , but learns various steal skills that allow him to steal an opponent ' s speed , strength or stamina . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . Steal is the command ability for the Thief job class . Unlike other games , the Thief has the ability to steal specific items from enemies , including their weapons and armor , and also their " heart " , EXP and gil . The steal rate depends on the character ' s speed stat , meaning the higher the speed , the higher the chance . In the " " port , the Sky Pirate class has upgraded versions of these abilities called Plunder . " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " . Steal is an action ability for the Thief job class . Unlike other games , the Thief has the ability to steal specific items from enemies , including their weapons and armor . They can even steal their abilities and Judge Points . Thievery is the command ability for the Thief job class . Unlike its predecessor , Thieves can only steal Loot , which can be used to make items in shop s and buy them , items , accessories , the usual gil , or the victim ' s Smash Gauge . Steal is also an ability for the Sky Pirate class , where it randomly uses one of the above steals except for stealing the Smash Gauge . Vikings are able to use the Brutality command , which includes moves allowing the Viking to mug gil , items , or even armor . " The Final Fantasy Legend " . Steal is an ability that has 5 uses and steals GP from the target , and ability exclusive to Pirate . " Final Fantasy Legend II " . Steal is an ability that has 10 uses , it also increases a Robot ' s HP by 9 and Agl by 2 . The amount of GP stolen is equal to the users Agl x5 . This ability can be used by Chafer . " Final Fantasy Legend III " . Steal is an enemy ability that steals GP equal to what the enemy drops . This ability is used by Werepig , Nitemare , Viking , Thief , Burgler , Brigand , and Outlaw . Steal is an ability available for the Bandit crown , Steal is the normal command ability from the start , but the Bandit class can also learn Plunder , which attempts to steal from all enemies ; and Pillage which steals an item from an enemy guaranteed . " Bravely Default " . Steal is a Thievery ability learned by Thieves at job level 1 . By default , it has a 25 % chance to steal an item from an enemy . The Master Thief specialty support ability of Thieves doubles the success rate of stealing . " Final Fantasy Dimensions " . Steal is the level 8 ability of the Thief class , requiring 130 AP to master . It requires 2 slots to equip and use , and when used the user will attempt to steal the target ' s item . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy " . Steal comes in three levels of power . Each time an enemy is defeated in BMS , Steal will attempt to steal an item from the defeat enemy with a success chance dependent on the level of the ability , 10 % for Lv1 , 20 % for Lv2 , and 30 % for Lv3 . Steal will only successfully activate once per stage . The item Brigand ' s Glove guarantees it will succeed , but as with all items is consumed when the stage ends . Faris , Locke , Zidane and Vaan learn all three levels of Steal , and any character can learn Steal Lv1 through usage of the Thief ' s Tome item . " Final Fantasy Explorers " . Thief can use Steal to steal items from opponents . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Steal is an ability usable by Rikku ' s card . For the activation cost of Dulling Rikku and discarding another Rikku card , Steal places two cards from the top of the opponent ' s deck into their Break Zone , then the player controlling Rikku draws a card . Rikku also bears an unnamed ability usable by paying a Wind CP and Dulling Rikku , that discards one card from the opponent ' s deck . Numerous other Thief cards bear an ability similar to Rikku ' s Steal , discarding the top two cards of the opponent ' s deck , some for a cost of CP , others when they are played to the field . Etymology . Steal is to take the property of another without right or permission .