"Your cannot have any items (weapons, shields, spellbook, etc) in your hands when attempting to steal in combat."
Does this mean we should be able to steal now with weapons in hand?

I'm not sure. But prior to this patch you were unable to steal in combat.Eduardo wrote:Scanning through the first UO:R patch notes reveals the following under the heading Thievery Changes:
"Your cannot have any items (weapons, shields, spellbook, etc) in your hands when attempting to steal in combat."
Does this mean we should be able to steal now with weapons in hand?