Way back in the days before Trammel, thieves were probably even more of a problem than PKs were. The rewards for the first "Clean Up Britannia" turn-ins were blessed because thieves would hang around the turn-in points and steal the rewards from players' packs as they spawned (thus causing a pattern of items being needlessly blessed which continues to this very day). Thieves would loot house keys and dry loot your house with their blue friends, thus leading to the often buggy and difficult system of house security and lockdowns and all that stuff. Disarm thieves, surrounded by blue healers, caused a lot of issues as well.
And, thus, thieves were nerfed for the good of the game, due to their own behavior. And they have not stopped whining about it since.
The manufacturers have tried to throw them bones, in order to preserve the presence in UO of a character class with a long tradition in fantasy literature, which they have simultaneously taken advantage of and viciously attacked. They say they hate to pick stuff up off the ground in Doom, yet there they are, camping the Inquisitor's Resolution to such a degree that eventually EA had to eliminate the use of the camping skill in dungeons, thus effectively turning that skill from nearly useless to entirely useless. They treated non-PvP thieves so badly that eventually Stratics had to split the forums. Regine asked them for ideas to become more viable that didn't involve getting rid of insurance, and they responded by proposing to get rid of or nerf insurance.
This is, of course, not a rant or anything, just a way of eliminating multiple problems in the game that are very long-standing.
-Galen's player
And, thus, thieves were nerfed for the good of the game, due to their own behavior. And they have not stopped whining about it since.
The manufacturers have tried to throw them bones, in order to preserve the presence in UO of a character class with a long tradition in fantasy literature, which they have simultaneously taken advantage of and viciously attacked. They say they hate to pick stuff up off the ground in Doom, yet there they are, camping the Inquisitor's Resolution to such a degree that eventually EA had to eliminate the use of the camping skill in dungeons, thus effectively turning that skill from nearly useless to entirely useless. They treated non-PvP thieves so badly that eventually Stratics had to split the forums. Regine asked them for ideas to become more viable that didn't involve getting rid of insurance, and they responded by proposing to get rid of or nerf insurance.
This is, of course, not a rant or anything, just a way of eliminating multiple problems in the game that are very long-standing.
-Galen's player