thief merit points

[Alaik]

STR vs DEX has been a very hot topic since merits came out. The general rule of thumb is if you will ONLY have THF as your melee, then DEX is (only slightly) better, if you plan on levelling any other, STR is the way to go. Outside of benefit we debatedly benefit more from fSTR then any other job since or dmg rating is so craptastic, but on the other hand, outside the DEX's crit rate and acc is needed. (Assuming we get outside abyssea/no atma content of higher levels), inside abyssea DEX is used for SA and WS mods and STR is +att, that's about it.

Group 1 SA and TA are.... marginal, so flee is an option IMO, even though I merited TA.

Aura Steal? You made me cry abit Arcon. It's a 5 minute timer. Of course you'll laugh all the way to the bank if SE makes Aura Steal a usable ability and it comes on a 30 second timer, steals no items and you're now ganking buffs while we feinters are just giving the WARs and WHMs a hand.

EDIT: My relevant THF merits.

HP 12/12
STR 8/8
Crit Rate 5/5
Spell Interrupt- 5/5
Dagger 8/8
Sword 8/8
Marksmanship 4/8
Parry 4/4
Evasion 4/4
Triple Attack 5/5
Trick Attack 5/5
Feint 5/5
Assassin's Charge 4/5
Aura Steal 1/5