Thick As Thieves Gear, Loadout, and Progression Guide

What Is Confirmed About Gear

The official release messaging says Thick As Thieves launches with 6 pieces of gear, and the official FAQ says players progress through the Thieves Guild, complete contracts, and unlock new gear on the road to becoming a Master Thief. Official Steam copy and the developer walkthrough already surface examples such as Slithersap, Smoke Bomb, and Pickpocket Fairy. That is enough to support a real guide, but not enough to support fake wikis full of made-up stat sheets, upgrade tiers, and costs.

That means the page should be about decision quality. Readers do not need fake spreadsheets yet. They need a reliable framework for evaluating gear once the game goes live.

How to Build a Smart First Loadout

For a first run, think in roles rather than item names. A stealth loadout usually needs three jobs covered: information, commitment, and recovery. Information tools help you read the space before taking risk. Commitment tools help you actually secure the objective once the window opens. Recovery tools help you survive the moment the plan stops being clean. Slithersap, Smoke Bomb, and Pickpocket Fairy should be judged by those jobs first, not by how stylish they look in a trailer.

Players often waste early progression by overvaluing style. A loud or flashy tool can feel powerful in a trailer, but first-run stealth success usually comes from tools that reduce uncertainty. If one unlock gives you better room knowledge and another only helps after the room has already collapsed, the knowledge tool is often stronger for a beginner. This is also where the SPIDER versus CHAMELEON choice matters: a tool that feels natural for one thief style may not be the best first pick for the other.

Progression Without Fake Numbers

A strong launch-day progression guide should help players avoid bad assumptions. Do not assume that the first six gear pieces are evenly balanced. Do not assume the unlock order is linear. Do not assume that co-op makes support gear less important. In fact, co-op often increases the value of tools that create information, because better information lets two players synchronize rather than drift.

The safest public recommendation is to spend early unlocks on tools that widen your options across many contracts. A niche tool may become excellent later, but early-game progression is usually about consistency. If the live build proves otherwise, the guide should update with specific examples and contract references after launch.

Launch-Day Gear Questions

The live build needs to answer six things quickly. Which gear pieces are available earliest? Which pieces are shared across solo and co-op progression? Which tools actually open new routes versus simply smooth mistakes? Are there cooldowns or hard-use limits that change how often a tool can carry a run? How much does gear interact with the SPIDER and the CHAMELEON? And how much does gear interact with difficulty settings or higher-pressure contracts?

Once those answers are tested, this page can become a true upgrade route guide. Before then, the honest version is still valuable: 6 pieces of gear are officially announced, progression is contract-driven, and beginners should prioritize loadouts that improve information and recovery before pure style.