Even though the tanks and mages usually get all the glory, thieves can be the most underrated members of most video game RPGs. Many are some of the most interesting villains, while others are devilish rogues with a heart of gold.
There have been all kinds of thieves through RPG history, but only a few have had the skills and charisma to get what they want and never get caught. Most of these thieves are some of the most capable threats to anyone’s belongings, and each has a reputation that’s stood the test of time.
10 Gaius (Fire Emblem Awakening)
While he’s definitely not the strongest thief in the world of RPGs, Gaius from Fire Emblem Awakening is definitely a well-loved and talented thief that many fans of JRPGs are plenty familiar with. He is a pure thief as the game starts, sneaking about to steal from royalty and getting wrapped up in an assassination plot before joining your party.
He’s endlessly talented, but hardly a thief that needs to gloat about his achievements. His signature trait is a love for candy, and he keeps sweets on hand at all times. He’s one of the most recognizable and famous thieves, leaving a legacy that’s talked about in taverns after the game ends due to his skills and reputation.
9 Edwin VanCleef (World of Warcraft)
Moving to western RPGs, most thieves typically end up being rogues that simply steal on occasion. This isn’t always the case, though, and one of the best examples is Edwin VanCleef of the Stonemasons Guild in World of Warcraft. VanCleef was a rogue who grew into a criminal kingpin, founding the Defias Brotherhood to run thieves across Azeroth.
But the fact that he became the boss doesn’t mean he’s a slouch. He’s a trained rogue with excellent stealth skills, and he maintains a strong grip over Stormwind by training others to fight like him. He has an established reputation as one of the greatest thieving villains the genre’s ever seen.
8 Loxley (Fallout)
The Fallout series is also home to more stealth-based snipers than straight-up thieves, but there are definitely a few people in the wasteland who simply wish to get wealthy without getting blood on their hands. One of these people would certainly be Loxley, a character from the original game making his way by stealing in the dystopian wasteland.
Loxley’s primary skills as a thief are traps, whether he chooses to disarm them or plant them himself. It’s one thing to understand how to sneak around, but Loxley deserves a special place on this list for having a better handle over the environments he invades as well.
7 Kasumi (Mass Effect)
Even before joining Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 2, Kasumi has an incredible reputation in the Mass Effect series. The Illusive Man manages to get a meeting together, but she only joins after the player helps her steal a graybox that belonged to a partner she worked with for a long time.
Kasumi is as talented as a combatant as she is as an elusive thief, mastering stealth technology and decoys to pull off incredible heists throughout the galaxy. Some people aren’t even sure if she exists in the Mass Effect universe early on, but her reputation manages to stretch further than many other thieves throughout this list.
6 Ringabel (Bravely Default)
While he’s not exclusively a thief and has a secret identity that’s less related to stealth, Ringabel ends up being one of the best options for the Thief classes of the job-swapping JRPG Bravely Default. He’s incredibly charismatic and a massive sweet talker, allowing him get plenty far with nothing but his voice.
He can take any job in the game, but his high dexterity and speed let him persevere as a Thief better than any other character in the entire Bravely Default series. As a result of this, it’s easy to see him as a thief of people’s hearts alongside their wallets.
5 Bernard (Bravely Default 2)
If you’ve ever wondered who the physically strongest thief is, mention should be made of Bernard from the more recent Bravely Default 2. This boss holds the Thief asterisk to help him steal from the people of his desert town, but he’s also just one of the most buff men in the entire Switch and Nintendo 3DS series.
Few thieves can bench press everything they steal, but Bernard easily could with arms strong enough to just tear through a safe without any equipment. There are more things that define the strength of a thief than his bare hands, but Bernard could easily be one of the strongest thieves in RPG history in the strictest sense of the term.
4 Wes (Pokemon Colosseum)
There’s an alarming number of thieves in the Pokemon universe, with so many villain teams being dedicated to taking Pokemon from others. Unfortunately, most of them end up being childish bullies rather than truly dangerous Pokemon bandits. However, Wes from the spinoff Pokemon Colosseum is a wonderful exception to this.
This trainer spends the entire game stealing Shadow Pokemon from others to purify them and add them to his personal Pokemon collection, something already impressive compared to other trainers sticking to the wild. Even the introductory cutscene shows Wes is capable of much more, as he literally blows up the Team Snagem hideout with a bomb as he gets away with the valuable Snag Machine.
3 The Gray Fox (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion)
The Gray Fox, leader of the Thieves Guild of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, is almost more myth than man. It’s extremely unclear who this mysterious leader is since he always wearing the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal. The fact it was stolen from a Daedric Prince hundreds of years ago as part of a historical heist adds considerably to the intrigue.
This character has a full cult built around him in the form of the Thieves Guild, claiming to be over 300 years old despite simply passing the cowl down from leader to leader. It’s a wonderful degree of fame that’s built entirely on each Gray Fox’s skills as a rogue.
2 Yuffie (Final Fantasy 7)
Yuffie is an incredible thief, and one of the only thieves in any video game to steal directly from you and your fellow main characters. When meeting her in Final Fantasy 7, she ends up stealing the party’s Materia and holds it hostage before eventually joining the party. She still attempts to make a contract with Cloud to take it all for herself after Sephiroth is defeated.
She is relentless, and one of the most determined characters cut from the thieves’ cloth since her entire life and personality are dedicated to stealing Materia. She’s successful in nearly every attempt, so if you end up in any adventure with her, try keeping your possessions close.
1 Joker (Persona 5)
No conversation about thieves in RPGs can go without the most iconic thief in modern gaming — the leader of the Phantom Thieves in Persona 5. Joker has tons more personality than nearly any other Persona protagonist, having a dramatic flair in his costume and a great amount of secrecy in his day-to-day life.
He certainly gets caught mid-heist a lot, but he manages to get away every time and can plan for emergencies like no other thief. This, alongside enough battle skill to get into Super Smash Bros series, has led him to be the top thief of any RPG.
