Why does the Thief guild have a stealing requirement? Because Thieves are supposed to steal from others. But what do we do with those stealing ranks we acquire? We use them to be able to shoplift better items so that we can learn stealing better to get more ranks so that we can meet our stealing requirement, so we can circle...And so the cycle continues, it seems. We don't get stealing to steal better, we get stealing to learn stealing better.

In addition to that, the main way to learn stealing is to shoplift. Shoplifting is virtually impossible to practice without getting caught eventually, which causes the Thief's bonus to drop, which causes the Thief to be caught even MORE, which causes the Thief's bonus to drop even more...do you see where this is going?

Something must be done about stealing. There is no point to stealing, there is no reward to stealing. Because Thieves are required to steal to advance, not only do they have to suffer the consequences of being caught and getting a bad bonus, they also have to pay extremely high fines -- a double penalty that no other guild is subject to.

We do not think it is unreasonable to ask that the stealing system be improved. Stealing, after all, is an integral part of the Thief guild, and as such, should be given the attention that it deserves.

Stealing must be tightly controlled. Stealing is not meant to be easy, by any means. The "double whammy" penalty is there for a good reason.

We do not wish to encourage stealing within the game. Stealing isn't supposed to be particularly rewarding. It is simply an aspect of the game that few people are happy with -- Thieves because they feel it is too difficult, and victims because they feel it is too easy.

If stealing were to be made easier, the 'victims' would be quite upset, as they feel it is already far too easy.

If stealing were to be made more difficult, the Thieves would be incensed.

There is no way to win, either way, so stealing is best left alone, at least for now.

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