Whats a good 30+ job for a theif

[Garland]

I don't know what server you're on, but my post, while bitter and cynical, wasn't all that far from base. Regardless, my first two sentences serve as a disclaimer. Lionx was right on the money, and so are you. I was just trying to convey the reality of FFXI life. If you can, by all means sub the right sub, but don't be surprised if you're asked to sub ninja at non optimal level ranges. You'd be amazed at the lengths lowbies will go to emulate high level gameplay. The common sense that "What works at 75 doesn't always work at 15" isn't common. Common sense is very uncommon, actually. Anyway, my apologies. Misinformation wasn't my intent - only humorous cynicism.

[BurntPeanuts57]

I don't know what server you're on, but my post, while bitter and cynical, wasn't all that far from base. Regardless, my first two sentences serve as a disclaimer. Lionx was right on the money, and so are you. I was just trying to convey the reality of FFXI life. If you can, by all means sub the right sub, but don't be surprised if you're asked to sub ninja at non optimal level ranges. You'd be amazed at the lengths lowbies will go to emulate high level gameplay. The common sense that "What works at 75 doesn't always work at 15" isn't common. Common sense is very uncommon, actually. Anyway, my apologies. Misinformation wasn't my intent - only humorous cynicism.

lol ok thanx guys

[chionos]

For thief, /ninja really is the way to go for many many situations. Especially considering that thieves shine at pulling. Pretty much all I do all day long.
SKY: perfect dodge pull Mother Globe, flee pull zipacna, flee pull faust(although he's fast as hell)
Dynamis: Thief is absolutely necessary to pull here, and even as thf kiting around 20 mobs until they're all slept is difficult, especially demons in xarcarbard.
Limbus: While I duel pull with an awesome war/nin, some of the zones are a lot easier to pull with thief
Other than for treasure hunter, thief's endgame purpose is pulling.
/nin is also an absolute must for thief solo. Especially if you can get your :ichi and :ni timing down perfectly. Any other sub as thief I would get slaughtered on Decent Challenges and wouldn't even be able to contemplate taking on Even Matches, but with /nin I can solo VT's. Rdm/Nin Drg/Whm Blm/Nin(or w/e) Nin/Whm and Whm/Nin(underestimated) are the only jobs combos that come even close to soloing what I can(I don't count Bst of course nor jobs that can bust out a bunch of damage w/ 2hr like mnk...that's not soloing)
That said, even though /ninja is a must-have for thief, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have other subjobs available. I have Rng Nin War Sam Drk available for various situations. /Sam for instance is great at Sky Gods like Kirin that are kited. meditate to 300% tp then run in and Spirit's Within for 750+ dmg + SA + TA. I've outdamaged the other melee at Kirin a few times which I wouldn't be able to do as /Nin(unless I used opo+sleep pots which is silly)
/Rng is good in some situations like spotting Zipacna in sky and w/ capped Archery/Marksmanship I can be usefull at events where a mob's kited and melee attacks are hard to land.
/War is great for spike damage on weapon skills, but it feels clumsy and isn't as fast as /nin. warrior as subjob would probably be seen more if thieves didn't have to always pull and if mobs didn't use so much aoe that shadows absorb. /war + brd double minuet = 2k+ satade or satasb
/Drk is not as useful as the other subs, but in certain circumstance in which thief isn't a very useful job(like a diabolos type of battle) the slight slight slight chance of landing a stun means you have a slight slight slight chance of getting in(as opposed to not getting in at all). dark knight as a sub job is also somewhat like /war in that you get some abilities that will increase your ws output, though I'd never go thf/drk to xp or anything.
Beastmaster's another subjob thief can use in at least one situation that I know of. The uncapped Ouryu fight is a lot easier when the worms are controlled, and since thf uses chr+ anyways for dancing edge, and since thf isn't as useful at dragon fights as in others(because Sneak Attack runs the risk of a spike flail) a thief that could charm a worm would be infinately more beneficial than a thief that could basically only give ouryu tp in exchange for very little dmg and maybe a TADE on the tanks every once in a while.

The point is, most jobs are going to have a subjob that suits them more than others, but to be the best at what you do, have options available for every situation that comes up. This is especially true endgame, but it's good practice to start at a lower level and it will help in your understanding of the game and in understanding your own character/job's workings.

[Lionx]

Um..most AoEs..shadows dont really absorb...

[Lawr]

Samurai

[Yeargdribble]

What chionos was trying to get across in his walloftext is quite correct. You cannot really pick a single sub job for anything. Almost every job will have several situational subs.

Instead of trying to figure out what is the BEST of anything simply choose what you like and learn about it as you go. If you enjoy a specific job you will probably care enough to find out what the best subs and strategies are for that job. Seeking the best is a quick path to burnout.

Also don't think of advanced jobs as something you have to progress to at level 30. All of the basic jobs are still good past 30.

[chionos]

Um..most AoEs..shadows dont really absorb...

Yes they do. Not 100% of course, and not all of them, but enough to make it worthwhile. For instance, DL strategy is based completely on pretty much everyone going /nin. As such I've gone to DL 5 times in the last 2 months and not died once because I kept shadows up, while those around me that didn't have /nin or didn't both recasting utsu died quickly to DL's massive aoe. Just because you still take damage from an aoe with 3 shadows up doesn't mean that those shadows didn't absorb anything.