*******************************************************************************
   ______  _________ _______  _______  _______  _______  _______    _______ 
  (  __  \ \__   __/(  ____ \(  ____ \(  ___  )(  ____ \(  ___  )  / ___   )
  | (  \  )   ) (   | (    \/| (    \/| (   ) || (    \/| (   ) |  \/   )  |
  | |   ) |   | |   | (_____ | |      | (___) || (__    | (___) |      /   )
  | |   | |   | |   (_____  )| | ____ |  ___  ||  __)   |  ___  |    _/   / 
  | |   ) |   | |         ) || | \_  )| (   ) || (      | (   ) |   /   _/  
  | (__/  )___) (___/\____) || (___) || )   ( || (____/\| )   ( |  (   (__/\
  (______/ \_______/\_______)(_______)|/     \|(_______/|/     \|  \_______/
        _____                    __  __  ___                   _       
       / ___/_ _________ ___ ___/ / /  |/  /__ __ _  ___  ____(_)__ ___
      / /__/ // / __(_-</ -_) _  / / /|_/ / -_)  ' \/ _ \/ __/ / -_|_-<
      \___/\_,_/_/ /___/\__/\_,_/ /_/  /_/\__/_/_/_/\___/_/ /_/\__/___/

*******************************************************************************
Version 1.11
FAQ created by Gantrix
E-mail: jahanson17@hotmail.com
******************************

Table of Contents
1.  Introduction
2.  Version History
3.  Stealing Basics
    3A. What Affects the Steal% Chance?
4.  Stealing Formulas
    4A.  Thief Item Steal% Formula
    4B.  Thief Stat Steal% Formula
    4C.  Non-Thief Item Steal% Formula
5.  Conclusion
6.  Tips to Help Your Thievery
7.  Frequenly Asked Questions (FAQ)
8.  Rank 35-40 Item Tables
9.  Stealing Hands
10. Legal Department


*******************************************************************************
1. Introduction
*******************************************************************************

Well hello there.  If you're reading this you are probably 1 of 4 types of
people:

1:  'The Uninformed Gamer'
    The type of person this FAQ was fully put together for.  Read, learn,
    and enjoy.
2:  'The Mathematician'
    The person who just came here looking for the Steal% Formulas.  Well...
    Just move onto Sections 4A and 4C you guys, that’s all you really want.
3:  'The Bored Worker'
    I know you, very well.  You already know all of the information that
    could possibly be found in this FAQ but you are either just sitting at
    work browsing the Disgaea 2 FAQ list while waiting for the forums to
    get some new posts or you want to see how horribly wrong I am with this
    information.
4:  'The Flamer'
    We all know this person.  They're basically here to see how horrible my
    grammar is or my spelling just so they can rip me apart on the forums.

Stealing in Disgaea 2 is easy enough.  You see the item you want and you take
it... or try to.  Seems simple enough, huh?  Well, it is; to an extent.  Though
most of you reading this guide already know the basics of stealing in the game
I'm sure there may be a person or two who didn't take the time to read the
manual on such trivial matters.  For those people, this next section is written
for you.

***************************************************************************
2.  Version History
***************************************************************************

Ver1.00 - Yep, the original one.  Probably filled with huge grammatical
          errors and incorrect information...
ver1.10 - Added a FAQ section to the guide as well as a few informational
          tidbits brought up to me by:  jyalt, AvatarST, and Derick De Marco.


*******************************************************************************
3.  Stealing Basics
*******************************************************************************

Stealing, in its most basic form is simple.  You select the character you want
to steal with and move them next to the enemy you wish to steal from.  For the
the sake of just activating the steal 'command,' placement of your character
in relation to its target doesn't matter.  But you will be more successful
from the enemies side than the front and even more so from behind the enemy,
but I'll go into the reasoning on all of that later when we get to the formulas
if it isn't obvious.

With your party member placed next to the enemy, the next step is to open up
your backpack through the 'Item' command in your menu.  Find a hand (bandit,
plunder, cha-ching, awesome, etc.) you wish to use to steal with and activate
it.  Move the cursor over the enemy and confirm the command to use that item.
Once this is done you will be given a menu of items, or stat (I'll cover this
later) that you wish to attempt to take from them.  Next to each item/stat will
be a number and a percent sign.  This is the specific character that you're
usings chance of successfully stealing that item/stat away from your target.

Select what you want to steal, and activate it.  You'll either miss or succeed.
Pretty simple, huh?  Well, it is.  To a degree.  There are numerous factors
that add up to weather you are successful or not in your attempt which I will
go over for you next.

Thieves are better at stealing (naturally) than any other class in the game.
They have an innate steal success chance.  No matter what the circumstances, a
Thief is going to have a 1% chance of stealing what you wish away from your
target.  This doesn't hold true for the other classes in the game.  Also, aside
from this small innate chance of a successful steal, the Thief formula for item
stealing is much more beneficial and forgiving of factors than that of
non-Thief classes.  Plus, special Specialists called Lovers (which every class
has access to for their own perspective class) gives their steal% formula even
more which we will see more in depth when we get to the actual steal% formulas.

===================================
3A. What Affects the Steal% Chance?
===================================

Levels also play a huge key roll in the whole stealing process.  But not so
much your characters actual level as to your characters level in relation to
your enemies’ level.  This is probably the largest determining factor to the
whole steal% formula.

The direction from which you're attempting to steal from is a direct multiplier
to the steal% formula.  Which, when you think about it, it should be.  If
you're attempting to steal something from someone from right in their line of
sight you're more than likely going to be less successful than say from behind
them, where they can't see you.

Item rarity and rank are another factor in the stealing process.  It is much
harder to steal a legendary item than a normal one, and even more so a rank 40
item compared to a rank 1 item.

The hand you're using to steal with.  Though the rank of the hand doesn't
matter.  The Hit stat on that hand does.  If you have a low ranked hand with a
hit of 100 over a high ranked hand with a hit of 10 you're going to be more
successful with the 100 hit hand than the 10 hit hand.  Hit stat matters!

*******************************************************************************
4.  Stealing Formulas
*******************************************************************************

Now, with those key factors to stealing defined, let’s get into the mathematics
of stealing itself.  Weather or not you are successful in your attempts at
thievery are not based on luck (well, for the most part) but are based on a
mathematical formula that determines your steal% chance.  Though, if you have a
50% chance of success that luck factor will play a roll here and you have to
leave weather or not you succeed up to the roll of the dice within the game
itself.  To increase these odds, especially for high ranked items it’s nice to
know those special numbers to shoot for so we don't walk into the battle map
unprepared (granted we know there’s going to be an item we wish to steal).
That is where knowing these formulas come in to play.  So, for what the
majority of you reading this are here for, here they are:

==============================
4A.  Thief Item Steal% Formula
==============================

First off, the Thief's formula.  Its complex, compared to non-Thieves that is,
but it is also much more forgiving on the Thief’s level than the other.  For
items:

Steal% = ThiefLv*(Dir+2*(Love/100))+25+Hand Hit Stat-EnemyLv-Rank*3-Rarity

or as I use

X = A(B + 2(C/100)) + 25 + D - E - (F*3) - G

to give these terms values:

Steal% (X):  Your basic chance to successfully steal the item.
ThiefLV (A):  The actual level value of your Thief.
Dir (B):  The direction your Thief is facing compared to your target.  The
          value for this is given to us.  1.0 from the front of the enemy, 1.1
          from the side of the enemy and 1.2 from behind the enemy.
Love (C):  The Lover value on your Thief’s' equipment.  1 point is given per
           level of this specialist (up to 25 total.)
Hand Hit (D):  The actual Hit stat on the hand you're using to steal with.  NOT
               your characters Hit stat.  Only the hands' hit stat plays a roll
               in the steal% formula.
EnemyLv (E):  The actual level value of your target.
Rank (F):  The Rank value of the item you are attempting to steal.  Every item
           in Disgaea 2 is given a Rank value.  Basically, its 1-40.  Generally
           the better the item, the higher the rank.  I've provided a table for
           stealable items in this guide.
Rarity (G):  Aside from item rank, there is also a rarity factor to that item
             as well for this formula.  10 is given to a normal item, 20 to a
             rare, 30 to a legendary and 100 for an item with an actual rarity
             of 0.

Now, lets put all of this into use for those that want to see how it works.

Lets say we're using a level 500 Thief (ThiefLV 500) trying to steal a Legendary
Rarity 30) Excalibur (Rank 39 sword) a level 700 (EnemyLv 700) enemy from the
enemies back (Dir value 1.2) and having a lover bonus of 20 (Love value of 20)
with a Hand with a hit stat of 100 (Hand Hit value of 100).  Putting all this
into the formula will look something like this:

Steal% = 500*(1.2+2*(20/100))+25+100-700-39*3-30

Using basic math (doing bracketed "()" math first) we can break this formula
down in to a simpler form:

Steal% = 500*(1.6)+25+100-700-39*3-30

Now, following the mathematical "rules" we'll do multiplication and division
next breaking it down even further:

Steal% = 800+25+100-700-117-30

Now, add and subtract this all together to get your Steal%:

Steal% = 79

Giving the Thief in this situation a 79% chance to successfully steal said item
Fairly simple.  But say we want to figure out the level our Thief would NEED to
steal a certain item away from an enemy.  This can be done as well with the
formula.  We just need to replace some of the values and add in a place holder
(A I use for ThiefLv) for the ThiefLv instead of giving it a value.

Lets say we want to know what level your Thief would need to be to steal a 
Legendary Rarity 0 (Rarity value 100) Yoshitsuna (Rank 40 sword) from a level
9999 (EnemyLv value 9999) enemy from the enemies side (Dir value 1.1) using
a Hand with a Hit stat of 100 (Hand Hit value of 100) and having no Thief Lover
Specialists with a 50% Steal% chance:

50=A*(1.1+2*(0/100))+25+100-9999-40*3-100

Bracketed math first:

50=A*(1.1)+25+100-9999-40*3-100

Multiplication/division second:

50=1.1A+25+100-9999-120-100

Now, addition and subtraction:

50=1.1A-10094

Algebra here; we need to isolate the 1.1A value.  So seeing as it has 10094
being subtracted it from it, we'll ADD that to the other side (if it had 10094
being added to it we would subtract it from the other side), so 50+10094:

10144=1.1A

Next we need to isolate the 'A' Value to give it a lone value of Number value=A.
So since the A value is being multiplied by 1.1 we'll divide it by both side
equaling the A out.  So 10144/1.1:

A=9221.8181 etc.

Rounding this number up, our A value (or ThiefLV) is 9222.  Meaning we need a
level 9222 Thief to steal this item in this given situation.

==============================
4B.  Thief Stat Steal% Formula
==============================

Now, as I stated before.  Items aren't the only thing that can be stolen from
an enemy.  Stats will sometimes show as well.  Though, they have a name to them
in the item stealable menu.  The Thief is the only class that can steal these
from enemies.  Other characters can't, although, the values aren't all that
high, every little bit helps doesn't it?  The formula for the steal% chance for
stat stealing is different than that of item stealing.  Thankfully it is much
simpler.  Here it is:

Steal% = ThiefLv*2+Hand Hit Stat-EnemyLv
or
X=A*2+D-E

The values again:

Steal% (X):  Your basic chance to successfully steal the item.
ThiefLV (A):  The actual level value of your Thief.
Hand Hit (D):  The actual Hit stat on the hand you're using to steal with.  NOT
               your characters Hit stat.  Only the hands' hit stat plays a roll
               in the steal% formula.
EnemyLv (E):  The actual level value of your target.

I'll give an example of this as well.  We'll use a level 20 Thief (ThiefLV 20)
trying to steal from a level 50 enemy (EnemyLv 50) using a Hand with a Hit stat
of 25 (Hand Hit 25):

Steal% = 20*2+25-50

Multiplication/division first:

Steal% = 40+25-50

Addition/subtraction last:

Steal% = 15

In this example our Thief has a 15% chance to steal that stat away from the
enemy.

==================================
4C.  Non-Thief Item Steal% Formula
==================================

Remember earlier, how we stated that non-Thief characters could steal as well?
Well, they can, but they will always only have a maximum successful steal% of
50% (no matter their level, item being stolen, direction, or hand hit stat)
They don't have the same steal% formula as the Thief.  But much like the 
Thief’s' Stat steal formula, a non-Thief item steal formula is fairly simple 
compared to that of a Thief’s item steal formula.  here it is:


Steal% = CharLv*Dir+Hand Hit/2-EnemyLv-Rank*3-Rarity
or
X=A*B+D/2-E-(F*3)-G

Values for these again:

Steal% (X):  Your basic chance to successfully steal the item.
CharLV (A):  The actual level value of your character.
Dir (B):  The direction your character is facing compared to your target.  The
          value for this is given to us.  1.0 from the front of the enemy, 1.1
          from the side of the enemy and 1.2 from behind the enemy.
Hand Hit (D):  The actual Hit stat on the hand you're using to steal with.  NOT
               your characters Hit stat.  Only the hands' hit stat plays a roll
               in the steal% formula.
EnemyLv (E):  The actual level value of your target.
Rank (F):  The Rank value of the item you are attempting to steal.  Every item
           in Disgaea 2 is given a Rank value.  Basically, its 1-40.  Generally
           the better the item, the higher the rank.  I've provided a table for
           stealable items in this guide.
Rarity (G):  Aside from item rank, there is also a rarity factor to that item
             as well for this formula.  10 is given to a normal item, 20 to a
             rare, 30 to a legendary and 100 for an item with an actual rarity
             of 0.

Giving you an example.  We'll use a level 9200 Ninja (CharLV value 9200) to 
steal a Legendary (Rarity value 30) Yoshitsuna (Rank 40 sword, value 40) from a
level 9999 enemy (EnemyLv value 9999) from the side (Dir value 1.1) using a 
hand with a hit stat of 100 (Hand Hit value 100).  Putting these values in:

Steal% = 9200*1.1+100/2-9999-40*3-30

Multiplication/division first:

Steal% = 10120+50-9999-120-30

Addition/subtraction last:

Steal% = 21

Giving our 9200 Ninja a 21% chance to steal that item away from the enemy.

You can work this formula backwards to figure out a specific level needed to
steal an item a certain percent of the time if you wish.  It would be done just
like the Thief’s backwards formula.  But we'll just use the same values as the
above situation, taking out the characters level and wondering what level our
Ninja would need to be to steal that item 30% of the time:

30=1.1X+100/2-9999-40*3-30

Multiplication/division first:

30=1.1X+50-9999-120-30

Addition/subtraction second (in this case):

30=1.1X-10099

Isolating the 1.1X:

10129=1.1X

Dividing both sides by 1.1 to isolate the X value:

9208.18 = X

Rounding up, the Ninja would need a level of 9209 to acquire a 30% chance of
stealing that item from that enemy.

*******************************************************************************
5.  Conclusion
*******************************************************************************

I hope this helps those of you who like to micromanage your gaming or at the
very least helps to cut down the posts on the Disgaea 2 forums about "stealing"
or "what level do I need to steal"  If you have any questions feel free to send
me an email (Jahanson17@hotmail.com) and be sure to place Stealing Guide
Question in the subject line.

*******************************************************************************
6.  Tips to Help Your Thievery
*******************************************************************************

-Direction matters, if you can't get behind the enemy, throw it with someone
 to allow you to get behind them.
-Get a 25 Lover boost on your Thief, it makes a huge difference.
-Sleep the enemy before a steal, if its unsuccessful, end your turn and try
 again.
-Level up a stealing Hand in the item world to increase its Hit stat.
-Use the "Level 9999 Neko trick" to steal to your hearts content.

*******************************************************************************
7.  Frequenly Asked Questions (FAQ)
*******************************************************************************

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jahanson17@hotmail.com I'll
gladly answer them.  If you have anything you want added to this section of
the guide, again, feel free to email me or post it on the GameFAQs forums and
I may put it in here and give you the credit as well in the answer.


Q. Is there any difference between the Stealing Hands besides their base Hit
   stat?
A. Yes, there most deffinately is.  Every hand has an increased range from
   which it can steal from.  The basic, first tier Stealing Hand has a steal
   radius of 1.  Meaning, you have to be right next to your target to steal
   from it.  A Plunder Hand, on the other hand has a radius of 2, so you can
   be a space away from your target to steal from it.  That radius goes up 1
   point for each successive level of Hand.  (Thanks to Derick De Marco via
   email)

Q. You say the most you can have of a Lover bonus is 25 and I was wondering if
   that is in total or can you have 25 for each peice of equipment?  (Question
   asked by an Anonymous email)
A. Unfortunaely, that is total.  You can't go over that 25 point Lover bonus.
   Would be great if you could though.

Q. What level does my Thief need to be in order to steal anything possible in
   the game?
A. Basic answer, level 6020.  That level of Thief is able to steal any item in
   the game given they're doing so from behind their target, using a Bandit
   Hand and have a max lover bonus.  Obviously that level can be lower but for
   the sake of just an average number where anyone can get to without any
   stealing hand leveling or marksman specialists placing on a hand, 6020
   would be a fairly safe level to be at.  (Brought up by jyalt on the
   GameFAQs.com forums)

Q. What level does my Thief need to be to steal a Legendary Rank 40 weapon
   with a Rarity of 0 from Item God 2 in the LoC?  (Question asked by
   an Anonymous email)
A. Refer back to the question above.  Basically 6020.  BUt that can be lower.

Q. What is the downfall of using a non-Thief character to steal with?
A. A few things, really.  But mainly:  Hit stat on the hand is halved, no
   Lover bonus, and the big one, only a maximum 50% chance of successfully
   stealing with a non-Thief character.  (Thanks to AvatarST on the
   GameFAQs.com forums)

*******************************************************************************
8.  Rank 35-40 Item Tables
*******************************************************************************

Prinny_Pwnage has a very detailed item list FAQ in the in-Depth FAQs section on
GameFAQs.  But for just basic Item Rank values of the highest rank items of
each category (Rank 35-40) for your formula needs, here you go:

Fist Weapons:               Sword Weapons:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Paradise Blow |  35  |    | Bushin Blade  |  35  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Golden First  |  36  |    | Muramasa      |  36  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| 100 Fists     |  37  |    | Sunrise Sword |  37  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Star Shatter  |  38  |    | Infernal Sword|  38  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| God's Hand    |  39  |    | Excalibur     |  39  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Ultimus       |  40  |    | Yoshitsuna    |  40  |
------------------------    ------------------------

Spears:                     Bows:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
|Infernal Spear |  35  |    | Drake Hunter  |  35  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Pinaka        |  36  |    | Ragnarok      |  36  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Gaea Spear    |  37  |    | Diabolic Bow  |  37  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Beam Javelin  |  38  |    | Seraphic Bow  |  38  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Holy Longinus |  39  |    | Artemis       |  39  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Drill Emperor |  40  |    | Lovely Cupid  |  40  |
------------------------    ------------------------

Guns:                       Axes:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Prometheus    |  35  |    | Hell Star     |  35  |
------------------------    ------------------------
|Rolling Thunder|  36  |    | Death Scythe  |  36  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Heroic Gun    |  37  |    | Saint's Axe   |  37  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Dead Whisper  |  38  |    | Diabolic Axe  |  38  |
------------------------    ------------------------
|Megiddo  Cannon|  39  |    | Beam Axe      |  39  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Etoile        |  40  |    | Apocalypse    |  40  |
------------------------    ------------------------

Staves:                     Physical Monster Wpn:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
|Universal Staff|  35  |    | Insanity Eye  |  35  |
------------------------    ------------------------
|Yggdrasil Stick|  36  |    | Beastial Mark |  36  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Divine Staff  |  37  |    | Immortal Body |  37  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Sage's Staff  |  38  |    |Phoenix Feather|  38  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Infernal Staff|  39  |    | Satan's Motor |  39  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Omniscient Rod|  40  |    | Babylon Crown |  40  |
------------------------    ------------------------

Magical Monster Wpn:        Armor:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Wraith        |  35  |    | Metal Suit    |  35  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Fortune       |  36  |    |Shield of Aegis|  36  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Chaos         |  37  |    | Goddess Dress |  37  |
------------------------    ------------------------
|Dante's Inferno|  38  |    | Majin Armor   |  38  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| The King      |  39  |    | Infernal Armor|  39  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| The Fool      |  40  |    |Super Robo Suit|  40  |
------------------------    ------------------------

Belts:                      Shoes:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Ubermensch    |  36  |    | Accelerator   |  39  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Orion's Belt  |  39  |
------------------------

Orbs:                       Glasses:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Chaos Orb     |  36  |    | Destiny Lens  |  36  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Universal Orb |  39  |    | Providence    |  39  |
------------------------    ------------------------

Muscles:                    Emblems:
------------------------    ------------------------
|   Item Name   | Rank |    |   Item Name   | Rank |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Star Muscle   |  36  |    | Exodus        |  38  |
------------------------    ------------------------
| Cosmos Muscle |  39  |    | Arcadia       |  40  |
------------------------    ------------------------

*******************************************************************************
9.  Stealing Hands
*******************************************************************************

The different hands available to you and their base stats without specialists
modifying them:

------------------------------   -----------------------------
|Stealing Hand               |   |Plunder Hand               |
|Rank: 2   Radius: 1         |   |Rank: 10   Radius: 2       |
------------------------------   -----------------------------
|HP:         0	SP:         0|   |HP:         0	SP:         0|
|ATK:        0	DEF:        0|   |ATK:        0 DEF:        0|
|INT:        0	RES:        0|   |INT:        0 RES:        0|
|HIT:       20	SPD:        0|   |HIT:       30 SPD:        0|
------------------------------   -----------------------------

------------------------------   -----------------------------
|Cha-Ching                   |   |Bandit's Hand              |
|Rank: 18   Radius: 3        |   |Rank: 26   Radius: 4       |
------------------------------   -----------------------------
|HP:         0	SP:         0|   |HP:         0	SP:         0|
|ATK:        0	DEF:        0|   |ATK:        0 DEF:        0|
|INT:        0	RES:        0|   |INT:        0 RES:        0|
|HIT:       40	SPD:        0|   |HIT:       50 SPD:        0|
------------------------------   -----------------------------

------------------------------
|Awesome Hand                |
|Rank: 34   Radius: 5        |
------------------------------
|HP:         0	SP:         0|
|ATK:        0	DEF:        0|
|INT:        0	RES:        0|
|HIT:       60	SPD:        0|
------------------------------

*******************************************************************************
10. Legal Department
*******************************************************************************

If you feel the need to put this Guide up on your own web space, feel free.  I
don't care.  I'd appreciate an email saying you're doing so with the your URL
but if you don't and I see it somewhere else, oh well.  I'd like to say go
ahead and attempt to sell this Guide for personal profit but well, I can't.  A
lot of the information in here is thanks to DoubleJump Publishing and is their
own work.  Selling it for profit would be in violation with their own Copyright
Laws.  If you feel the need to sell it (don't know why, its free for anyone to
find) you accept all responsibility for any repercussions.

Formulas and Item Rank tables were furnished by the DumbleJump Disgaea 2:
Cursed Memories Strategy Guide.