Thief Protection Guide

General Protection

The first thing you need to know is how to spot a thief: Be wary of people who are not holding a weapon or spellbook in their hands, thieves need their hands empty to steal. Be wary of people not participating in a fight. Be wary of people trying to get close to your character, thieves need to be directly next to you to steal. Be wary of people with the title 'scoundrel' as that's the level that thieves often wind up at. Be wary of people with NPC names, or 'default white' hair as they could be wearing a disguise kit. Be wary of people without a guild tag, as thieves often try to hide their identities.

If you think there's a thief nearby, you can leave the area or you can take extra steps to ensure that your valuables are not accessible to them. Keep your weapon equipped. Don't drink potions or cast spells, which cause your weapon to be moved to your backpack. A thief cannot steal from a hidden target, so if you have the ability to hide you can keep your items safe that way. Barring that, you can lean on the added security of a Tinker Trapped Box. If a thief opens one of these, the trap will trigger and kill them. You can safely drop any items inside it knowing that they are generally safe from thievery with the additional annoyance that every time a thief dies to your trap, you will have to leave and go re-trap the box. That said, most thieves will not open trappable containers in a player's backpack. Review the "How They Work" section of the Tinker Trapped Boxes article.

Disarm Thief Protection

Honestly, there is no good protection against it happening. if you have a good weapon and they are gunning for it, they will get it unless disarm fails a few times for them. There is no delay from when you are disarmed, to when the thief can steal the weapon. Your best protect is noticing a disarm thief around and choosing to put your good weapon away and come back with something less desirable. They will leave eventually if you don't have anything of value. Or you can bring multiple weapons to keep switching when you get one stolen. Always best to try to kill a thief with a mage. So be pro-active and switch weapons out if you see them around. only real defense.

Champ Protection

The scripts used by the server population are incredibly impressive. An automatic way to steal a PS in a blink of the eye. The script will automatically search anyones bag beside them and if there is a PS, it will auto steal it in a split second. (you will barely even see it in your bag) Hiding helps, but right before the boss dies, someone will detect hidden and you will be vulnerable. The best defense is right before the boss dies, run around like a crazy maniac. Remember, you do not need to be right beside the boss to get a PS. So stay away from any groups of people and stay on the move. Your only goal is to not be beside a thief when you get the PS or Relic. If you get one, immediately run a little further away then palm it on your cursor and have a friend gate you out. or just run and recall away from everyone (since your already on the move, you should be gone in a second)

Lastly, if you are doing the champ with a group. Anyone that did not get something should go immediately into defensive mode. Looking to see if thieves are chasing anyone or if anyone is currently grey.

Bank Protection

There is nowhere safe in UO. Bankers can be killed, you can be killed in town, and thieves can disarm you right at the bank. It is based on an 8 tile rule. NPC's will not automatically call guards if you are 8 tiles or more away while committing a criminal act. So they can attack freely or steal freely at that distance. When doing any valuable transactions at West Britain Bank, make sure you are inside or on top of the bank to trade safely. Never go afk at a bank and remember that even West Britain Bank is not entirely safe as there have been instances when a player has taken advantage of certain game mechanics to grief the "safe" zone at WBB.

Pet Thief Protection

Obviously, your first course would be to either kill or run from the pet thief. If you don't want to fight, then recalling out while calling "all follow me" is your best bet. In town, they will just attack and lure your pet away if afk. (it gets expensive after awhile balling them back, never worth it to afk at a bank)

Dead pets are not safe either, so never leave one around. They will be netted onto a boat and sailed away to a trap. But it is more expensive for a pet to be stolen in this way, due to the net cost.

Thief Mindset

If you have a thief standing a few tiles away from you, odds are they are sizing you up (if you have something of value) I.E. a good weapon or a pet. They are waiting for their moment, such as when you recall. Always be aware of your surroundings. If they are lurking around you specifically, you are most likely the target.