Stealing
Stealing
- Please Note: Banes World is a PvE shard. Player to Player stealing is disabled, however the guide reflects the overall stealing skill due to guilds and the possibilities of guild wars.
Stealing allows you to pilfer items from creatures, containers, and other players. It is a high-risk skill — getting caught can flag you as a criminal and alert nearby players. Success depends on the weight of the target item and your skill level, while avoiding detection depends on where you are stealing from and how skilled you are.
Requirements
- Both hands must be empty — you cannot have anything equipped in your main hand or off-hand slots
- Thieves Guild membership is required to steal from other players
- You must be standing directly next to the item or creature (1 tile range)
How to Use
Use the Stealing skill from your skill menu. You will be prompted to select a target. You can target:
- A specific item — attempts to steal that exact item
- A creature or player — attempts to steal a random item from their backpack
Using the skill is a revealing action — it will break Hiding and Stealth. There is a 10 second cooldown between attempts.
Weight Limit
You can only steal items weighing 10 stones or less (including the weight of contents if stealing a container). Items heavier than 10 stones cannot be stolen at all and will produce the message: "That is too heavy to steal."
Success Chance
Your chance of successfully stealing an item is based on the item's weight compared to your Stealing skill. Heavier items are harder to steal.
The difficulty is calculated as the item's weight (rounded up) multiplied by 10, then checked against your skill in a ±25 window. In practical terms:
| Item Weight | 60 Stealing | 80 Stealing | 100 Stealing | 120 Stealing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 stone | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 3 stones | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 5 stones | 65% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 7 stones | 25% | 65% | 100% | 100% |
| 8 stones | 5% | 45% | 85% | 100% |
| 9 stones | 0% | 25% | 65% | 100% |
| 10 stones | 0% | 5% | 45% | 85% |
- Light items (under 5 stones) are trivial to steal even at moderate skill levels. The real challenge is heavy items near the 10 stone cap.
Stealing Stackable Items
When you target a stack of items (such as gold, reagents, or arrows), you will not necessarily steal the entire stack. The maximum amount you can take in a single attempt is:
Maximum Amount = (Stealing Skill / 10) / Item Weight
For example, at 120 Stealing targeting a stack of reagents weighing 0.1 stones each, you could steal up to 120 at once. At the same skill targeting arrows weighing 1 stone each, you could steal up to 12.
The actual amount stolen is randomized between 1 and your maximum. The difficulty check is then based on the total weight of the amount you are attempting to take.
Getting Caught
Even if you successfully steal an item, there is a separate check to determine whether you are noticed. Getting caught and successfully stealing are independent — you can steal the item but still be seen doing it.
The chance of being caught depends on what you are stealing from:
Stealing from Creatures or Players
Chance of Being Caught = (150 − Stealing Skill) / 150
| Stealing Skill | Chance of Being Caught |
|---|---|
| 60 | 60% |
| 80 | 47% |
| 100 | 33% |
| 120 | 20% |
Even at 120 Stealing, you have a 1 in 5 chance of being noticed when stealing from a creature or player's backpack.
Stealing from Fillable Containers
Fillable containers (such as dungeon chests and barrels that refill with loot) have a much lower detection rate:
Chance of Being Caught = 1 / (Stealing Skill / 2.5)
| Stealing Skill | Chance of Being Caught |
|---|---|
| 60 | 1 in 24 (~4.2%) |
| 80 | 1 in 32 (~3.1%) |
| 100 | 1 in 40 (2.5%) |
| 120 | 1 in 48 (~2.1%) |
Stealable Artifacts
Non-movable stealable artifacts (rare spawns placed in the world) can never result in you being caught. However, they require a minimum of 100 Stealing to even attempt.
Consequences of Being Caught
If you are caught stealing:
- Criminal flag — stealing from innocent players or certain containers flags you as a criminal
- Public notification — all players within 8 tiles receive a message naming you and your victim: "You notice [thief] trying to steal from [victim]."
- Perma-flag — stealing from an innocent player adds them to your permanent aggressor list, allowing them to freely attack you
Stolen Item Returns
When you successfully steal an item from another player, it is flagged as stolen for 2 minutes. If you are killed during this window, the stolen item is automatically returned to the victim from your corpse. After 2 minutes, the item is considered fully yours.
- This does not apply to stackable items or containers — those are not tracked for return.
What You Cannot Steal
- Items weighing more than 10 stones
- Equipped items — items being worn or held by the target
- Items from shopkeeper NPCs or player vendors
- Newbied or blessed items
- Containers (in the AoS era ruleset, unless flagged as stealable)
- Items from staff members
- Items from corpses
- Your own items
Stealing from Players
Stealing from other players has additional restrictions:
- You must be a member of the Thieves Guild (NPC guild) to steal from players
- If the Murder system suspends guild thieves with kills, murderers cannot steal from players
- You cannot steal while under the effects of certain transformations (Incognito, Polymorph, Animal Form, Disguise) when stealing faction or VvV sigils
Stealable Artifacts
Certain rare items spawn at fixed locations throughout the world. These can be stolen by any thief with 100 or higher Stealing skill. Successfully stealing one of these items makes it movable and yours to keep. You are never flagged as criminal for stealing world-spawned artifacts.
Tips
- Train Hiding and Stealth alongside Stealing. Using Stealing reveals you, but approaching your target while hidden gives you the best chance of getting into position undetected. Steal, then re-hide immediately.
- Light items are easy — focus on positioning, not skill checks. Most valuable loot weighs well under 5 stones, where even moderate Stealing gives 100% success. The real challenge is not getting caught afterward.
- At 120 Stealing, you still get caught 20% of the time from player packs. Never assume you are safe. Have an escape plan ready.
- Stealable artifacts are the safest form of theft. No criminal flag, no witnesses, and the only requirement is 100 skill. These are the bread and butter of a working thief.
- Empty both hands before attempting to steal. This is the most common mistake new thieves make. Unequip your weapon and shield first — the skill will refuse to activate otherwise.
- Targeting a creature directly picks a random item from its pack. If you want a specific item, you may need to attempt multiple times, as the selection is random each attempt.
- The 2-minute return window means speed matters. After stealing from a player, stay alive for 2 minutes and the item is permanently yours. Get killed before that, and the item goes right back to the victim.