When a thief is "searching for traps" must he/she be at the front of the party?

franco

For the thief's "Find Traps" ability to work does he/she need to be at the front of the party?

CaptRory

No, but it helps.

Searching for traps has a limited range. And requires you to go slowly as it takes time to cycle through attempts. So my rogue usually leads the way if I know there are traps in the area.

TJ_Hooker

Also, there is some delay between turning on Detect Traps and actually finding any. I believe checks are made once a round, so it can take up to 6 seconds (assuming you're playing 30 FPS) to actually find any traps. It can actually get pretty tedious, as if you want to be absolutely safe, you'll have to move in relatively small intervals (I'm not sure what the range on Detect Traps actually is), and wait 6 seconds between every time you move. Or just quicksave a lot.

CaptRory

I usually just quicksave a lot, and when I trip a trap, reload and comb the area XD

ZanathKariashi

Just put invisibility on your thief and leave them on find trap duty, a good bit ahead of your party, until you're sure everything is clear. Invis lasts for like 8-24 hours, so it's plenty of time to ease your way through a dungeon (especially handy if you have a 2nd thief in the party, who can disarm the traps as you get to them, and not have to recast the invisibility).

KidCarnival

Invisibility is not cancelled by disarming traps.

smeagolheart

I have been using formations where the thief is up front next to the tank so that his find traps ability can be me useful to the party. I've got him surrounded by people that can help him out if he gets attacked and have him armed with a ranged weapon.

secretmantra

I usually leave the thief further back behind the warriors until I am in an area likely to have traps--then bring them up and move more methodically, so they have time to find them.

Oxford_Guy

KidCarnival said:

Invisibility is not cancelled by disarming traps.

Nor is Sanctuary, if playing a cleric/thief.

AFAIK using Open Locks and oopening a door *does* cancel Invisibility, though, so be careful! I don't think Sanctuary is cancelled, though, but it doesn't last as long and you can't backstab from just Sanctuary.

[Deleted User]

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Yovaneth

The better (IMHO) alternative to both Invisibility and Sanctuary is to run a Hide'n'Detect script. Yes, the thief comes out of Shadows when e.g. lockpicking but is hidden at all other times. This is a fairly simple script snippet I've used in the past - my current one is somewhat more complex than this.

// **********************************************************************
// * Segment Name: gs_HideAndDetect.baf
// **********************************************************************

// * HIDE AND DETECT TRICK
// * [Allows a Thief character to be BOTH hidden and detecting Traps 90% of the time]

// Manual control on or off
IF
HotKey(H)
Global("dai_SetHide","LOCALS",0)
THEN
RESPONSE #100
SetGlobal("dai_SetHide","LOCALS",1)
DisplayStringHead(Myself,4188)
END

IF
HotKey(H)
Global("dai_SetHide","LOCALS",1)
THEN
RESPONSE #100
SetGlobal("dai_SetHide","LOCALS",0)
DisplayStringHead(Myself,34120)
Continue()
END

// If action is turned on (dai_SetHide=0)
// * If not already detecting traps, and hidden, detect traps and start the timer
IF Global("dai_SetHide","LOCALS",0)
ActionListEmpty() // If nothing is queued to be done
CombatCounter(0) // and combat is over
Class(Myself,THIEF_ALL) // and I'm a thief
!ModalState(DETECTTRAPS) // and I'm not detecting traps
ModalState(STEALTH) // and I'm not hiding in shadows
THEN
RESPONSE #100
SetGlobalTimer("gh_Thief","LOCALS",18) // Hide in shadows lasts approx 18 seconds (three rounds)
FindTraps()
END

// * If my hide in shadows check timer has expired -> hide!
IF Global("dai_SetHide","LOCALS",0)
ActionListEmpty() // If nothing is queued to be done
CombatCounter(0) //and combat is over
GlobalTimerExpired("gh_Thief","LOCALS")
THEN
RESPONSE #100
Hide() // Hide in shadows
END

// * If not already hidden -> hide!
IF Global("dai_SetHide","LOCALS",0)
ActionListEmpty() // Standard checks...
CombatCounter(0)
Class(Myself,THIEF_ALL)
!StateCheck(Myself,STATE_NOT_VISIBLE) //and also not invisible/improved invis/hiding
THEN
RESPONSE #100
Hide()
END

mashedtaters

One of the most exciting things (for me) when I first started playing was getting blown up by a trap. It's usually because I would leave my thief in the back and my tanks (heavy fighters) up front. My thief would detect a trap just as my tanks would trigger it. At first it scared me, but then it just made me laugh.

It definitely adds to the tension when you're low level and running away--then the auto-mapping kicks in, and a character goes the wrong way without you noticing.

Once this happened to me, I swear:
In my mind, I'm thinking, Hey, where's Minsc?
Then: "Evil 'round every corner...careful not to--" BOOM. Fireball. Dead Minsc.
It was pretty ironic. Apparently Minsc stepped in evil.

franco

@mashedtaters. you're making a strong case for putting the thief up front. I was thinking of putting the thief second, just behind the main armored tank so he/she wouldn't get peppered by arrows for example in the Nashkell mines. Too bad he can't hide in shadows and detect traps at the same time.

mashedtaters

franco said:

@mashedtaters. you're making a strong case for putting the thief up front. I was thinking of putting the thief second, just behind the main armored tank so he/she wouldn't get peppered by arrows for example in the Nashkell mines. Too bad he can't hide in shadows and detect traps at the same time.

I know, you're right. It took me a long time to play through the first time, mostly because I would die and have to reload so much. I laughed maniacally every time, though, so I guess that means I had fun.

If you prefer to NOT get blown up (unlike me), then a smart thing is to do like @CaptRory and @smeagolheart said: save a lot and keep your thief near the front, with the appropriate thief AI selected for him and the AI on. A good trick for this strategy is to keep potions of haste and invisibility in your thief's inventory. When the going gets tough, it's easier for him to strategically withdraw (chicken out) so that Minsc can come in and righteously kick butts of evil. This becomes more difficult in extremely small places, but I have found it to be an effective way of actually not dying all the time.

smeagolheart

franco said:

@mashedtaters. you're making a strong case for putting the thief up front. I was thinking of putting the thief second, just behind the main armored tank so he/she wouldn't get peppered by arrows for example in the Nashkell mines. Too bad he can't hide in shadows and detect traps at the same time.

that's how I do it. I usually put main tank, then thief, then off tank with boots of speed preferably so he can race around the thief if needed.