Hi.

I'm thinking I'd like to try out a thief. I've seen the thief builder tool and have searched through a lot of the helpfiles but I have a number of questions as I try to figure out what a good balanced build looks like. Any advice would be really helpful regarding must-have skills or combos that are highly recommended or very commonly taken...

1) Do most people follow a single path to the end, or do most people mix and match quite a bit? Are there certain skills (thresholds) you'd recommend hitting for each path to make it worth it--if so, which are most important as a strong PKer?

I'm thinking of making a (primarily) binder, but not clear on how far it's worth going in that path or others. Also open to other suggestions as a moderately experienced player but totally new to thief class. I want a strong PKer, as much as is possible for thieves. Thinking about a villager, perhaps, for what it's worth.

2) How useful is climb? Where are some examples where it can be used? Can it get to you places like arial city or around the south bend of Hamsah outskirts, etc.?

3) Do most people take shield block? Would it generally put you at a disadvantage not to take it? Costs a lot.

4) Does blackjack operate differently than garrotte or weapon butt blackjack? Should a character only take one of these, or does it benefit a binder-focused thief to have various options to knock people out? Are they affected differently by the size of your opponent (what would be best for a gnome that might be fighting bigger opponents regularly)? Which is most reliable?

5) I'm unclear on when people can see what you're doing as a sneaking thief. Can people see you when sneaking and hidden, anytime you look at them? Thus, is eye of averice a pretty critical one to take?

6) How important is improved hide?

7) Advanced lockpicking/locksmithing...especially when having around average intelligence, are they really useful/needed for getting decent higher level treasures or access to high level areas out there?

Thanks for answering any or all of these questions or for your general thoughts and how to pick from the many options. I know a lot of it is personal preference, but also some insight on overall balance and usefulness can really help reduce the learning curve.

The level of customizations in this game make it really awesome but are also sometimes overwhelming. Gotta rely on you veterans for help!