Stealing is a skill you learn on Zidane's Vision, the Saboteur, and it works on any enemy that can be fought normally. What is stealable is large: 41 pieces of gear that no shop, chest, quest or drop gives, plus 14 bosses that can be robbed.
FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE steal guide setup
Zidane's Vision kit for theft is:
| Ability | Rank | AP | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steal | MR 1 | 15 | Takes an item from the target |
| Mug | MR 5 | 20 | Steals and deals damage at the same time |
| Discerning Eye | Awakening 1 | 20 | Shows what the target is carrying |
| Treasure Hunter | Awakening 3 | 50 | Guarantees a rare item when Steal succeeds |
| Thievery | Base passive | 30 | Raises damage dealt by up to 50%, scaling with how many times Steal has been used |
Two rules from the game decide the setup. The abilities of the Vision you wear work without taking AP, so Discerning Eye, Treasure Hunter and Thievery only need Zidane on the hero, while Steal and Mug come from his Mastery Rank and must be equipped one by one with their AP cost. They stay equippable under another Vision, so a hero can carry Zidane's theft abilities while wearing someone else's Vision. Zidane's Sanctum is on Dirnado.
The gloves decide how often it works. The Brigand's Gloves cost 4,000 gil in the shops of the Crystal Tower and the airship and raise the success rate of Steal. The Genji Gloves are the better pair, and the reason Gilgamesh has his own storyline: he steals them in Siren's Tower in chapter 1, and the fight on the airship deck wins them back.
14 bosses can be robbed
| Boss | Where | What it carries |
|---|---|---|
| Antlion | Grandport | Earth Scroll I |
| Cutting Edge Magitek Weapon | Battlefield | Potion |
| Gargantuan Gigantuar | Colosseum | Mist X-Ether, Magicite Cryst as the rare steal |
| Gigantuar | Gronoa and Pharm | Mist Turbo Ether, Magicite as the rare steal |
| Gilgamesh | Siren's Tower and the airship deck | Ether, Shuriken, Mist Turbo Ether, Fuma Shuriken or Elixir as the rare steal |
| Hexadragon | Crystal Tower | X-Potion, Carmine Armor as the rare steal |
| Intangir | Dragon's Maw | Mist X-Potion, Elixir as the rare steal |
| Iron Giant | Battlefield | Potion, Phoenix Down as the rare steal |
| Mahadeva | Mysidia | Mole Doll as the rare steal |
| No. 999 | Zoldaad Castle | Calm Armlet |
| Roundworm | Gronoa | Smoke Bomb, Angel Ring as the rare steal |
| Sandworm | Zoldaad | Earth Scroll II, Golem Core as the rare steal |
| Test Subject No. 9 | Zoldaad Castle | Mage's Shard |
| The Hunger v5 | Zoldaad Castle | Earrings |
The Angel Ring and the Carmine Armor have no other source in the game. Many bosses are fought only once, so equip Steal before the fight rather than after it. The rest of the optional fights are on the optional bosses page.
Magicite is a stealable drop
The cactuar family carries magicite as its rare steal: a Magicite Shard from Cactuar, which lives on Dirnado, Gronoa and two more places on the world map, a Magicite from Gigantuar on Gronoa and Pharm, and a Magicite Cryst from Gargantuan Gigantuar in the Colosseum. With Treasure Hunter on, every successful Steal on them is a piece of magicite. Every other source of magicite is on the magicite page.
The rest of the loot
The three golden shells exist to be sold: Small Golden Shell for 2,500 gil, Golden Shell for 5,000 and Large Golden Shell for 10,000. Gil itself can be stolen too, with Vaan's Vision — Gil Farmer at Mastery Rank 1 for 10 AP, Gil Farmer on Stagger at Mastery Rank 3 for 25 AP, which triggers on every stagger the hero lands, and One for the Road at Awakening 3 for 30 AP, which gives his own skills a 50% chance to do the same. A gil steal succeeds two times in three.
The game does not show item steal or drop rates. What each enemy carries is listed in its Libra entry in the in-game bestiary, so check before you fight something you cannot come back to. Treasure Hunter guarantees a rare item when Steal succeeds, and its wording only covers Steal — Mug is the way to steal while you are also doing damage.