Breath of Fire III - Chapter 7: Syns of the Past

  

Out on the world map, you're now far-west of the Yraall Region in the Dauna Hills. Down and to the east is a ? location at the base of the mine tracks. Inside the humble dwelling you'll find Emitai, from the Contest of Champions, and his family. Still peddling lies about the Contest, despite Garr being right in his face, he has an offer for the party: For 10,000 zenny he'll become your master and teach you some of his magic specialties. If you've got 40k+ zenny, go ahead and put the money down; if not, we can accumulate some in the next dungeon to put towards this. Emitai is, understandably, an excellent master for mages, or even Garr for the AP he is sorely lacking. Pupils get an impressive +4 to Intelligence and AP, while losing -2 Power and Defense. Emitai's bestowed skills are below:

• Barrier (2): Same as Ryu's spell, reduces magic damage by 25% and can stack four times for up to a 100% increase. Should be given to Peco when available.
• Mind Sword (4): A quirky spell that uses a character's Intelligence to deal physical damage to an enemy. It also takes on the affinity of the character's weapon (Like elemental and slayer type).
• Enlighten (6): The big brother of Meditation, user gets a 50% bonus to Intelligence, and can be used twice for a 100% increase. Unlike Mediation, however, Enlighten's effects don't fade after your next turn and persist throughout the battle. You can even use Enlighten twice, then Meditation twice, for a giant 200% increase for your next turn.

Seek out the field of flowers to the west, across the bridge, and just down the hill to the south. Ten years have passed and Cadis is not happy that Ryu hasn't visited them! And from here begins the construction of the Faerie Village. While not overly complicated, building up the Village does take some fine-tuning at the beginning, before eventually being self-sustaining. Navigating through the faerie's numerous jobs, some of which are rooted in potential failure and undesirable outcomes, to obtain all of its unique items is deserving of its own chapter which will come at the very end of the guide. I will return to this section and link to the chapter once it is completed. For now, I will go over how to get started growing and suggestions for how to best utilize the Village throughout the game.

 

To start, you'll only have three faeries of varying specialties. Put the one with the highest light-blue bar into the house as a Scholar developing culture and the remaining two as hunters. After some battles, more faeries will be born and you can assign them. Passage of time in the Village is based upon battles fought; whether they be won or escaped from, as opposed to an internal game clock. Everything new that happens within the Village is also posted on the board up the hill from the entrance. It's important to remember that for every three faeries born, one needs to be hunting to keep an adequate supply for the fledgling colony (Preferably one with a long, red bar). When a faerie is born with a longer light-blue bar, make sure to exchange them with the current one developing culture; new, green-barred faeries should be allocated to clearing and building. Once a second house has been created, using another light-blue-barred faerie, assign an additional Scholar to develop jobs. Continue to allocate faeries upon their birth, by their talents, between hunting, clearing, and building, while the culture level and job availability rises. Once you've established these bases, here are some suggestions on how to use the Faerie Village to make the most out of your save file as you play through the story:

• Culture level, which influences the growth rate of the Village like births and expansion, maxes at 7. Once reached, this can be turned into another job.
• The Copy shop is the final job created by the Scholar. It's no longer needed after. 
• The number of rooms available to build is capped at 8. Once achieved, you can allocate the faeries under clear and build to other areas.
• Saving before entering the Faerie Village is absolutely vital to the success of certain jobs talked about further below. You should never enter without saving.

• A gift shop should be created as soon as the job becomes available. The talent level of the faerie is not important. 500 battles are required to obtain the ultra-rare Spirit Ring accessory not available outside the Village. You won't know when you have reached this number, but after a long time has passed, save your game, then talk to the gift shop faerie. If it's not the Spirit Ring, reload your save and keep fighting battles. The number of battles is reset to 0 after a gift is received.
• When you have a faerie with a long, dark-blue bar, open Merchant shops with both the Weapon (Ability) and Handyman (Ability) selections. The former will eventually allow you to purchase the best weapon in the game for Nina, the Ouroboros, the best helmet for Peco (And second-best for Nina/Momo) the Tiger's Cap, along with some other useful equipment.
• Handyman (Ability) offers you the Angling Rod; one of only two fishing rods in the game that can expand to the furthest reaches of fishing spots, and the other one isn't available until the very end of the game, so make getting this a priority. Additionally, you can buy the Holy Mantle, Bell Collar, and Soul Gem accessories, along with the instant-death-inducing HiddenDagger weapon (That even Nina can use to great effect!) from this vendor.
• You may consider an Item (Speed) merchant, as well, to purchase MultiVitamins that will not be purchasable outside until near the game's end.
• Open a Copy shop and get started duplicating consumable items that are hard to come by. Suggestions: Moxa, Swallow Eye, Wisdom Fruit, Moon Tears, Ivory Dice, and Hourglass. If you are shooting for 99 of every item, there are, of course, a multitude of other items to consider. Failure is common, so always save BEFORE you enter the Faerie Village to check the results.
• Making copies of the Light Bangle, Speed Shoes, and Ring of Fire/Ice accessories, which can never be purchased, are solid ideas. Speed Boots can, eventually, be traded at manillo shops, while the Rings can be stolen at the game's end, to note.
• When using Copy shops, however, never close the shop or change the faerie working in it during a copy process or else that item is lost forever! Also, I would not recommend running more than two at a time because of the high failure rate. Even achieving success with just two can result in many unwanted resets.
• Have one dedicated team of three Explorers with long, red-bars. Starting with getting the items unique to Daytrip, then moving on to harder ones. As with the Copy shop, failure, which results in the death of the faerie, is common on the Nearby/Distant options, so always save before entering the Faerie Village. You can, however, use this option to get rid of any faeries with bad traits and, possibly, have a better one reborn.
• All other rooms should be packed with Gift givers so you can pick up some free items each time you visit the Village (But be careful not to talk to the one waiting on 500 battles). In particular, after exactly seven battles you receive the Intelligence-boosting Fish-heads that are incredibly rare.

To the west, positioned solidly between two mountain ranges, is the before-mentioned Syn City. Oozing with illicit dealings, but not much else, we can visit the shops along the boardwalk. At the equipment shop, buy the Rood Spear for Garr and, if you aren't using Magma Armor, trade the MithrilArmor for Silver Mails, along with SteelGntlets for the men, as well. Since Nina will be rejoining us before long, I would purchase the WindCutter, if you don't already have the Thunder Rod, and an extra pair of SteelGntlets for her, also. Even without Nina, the WindCutter allows you to cast Cyclone during battle as an item. Buying anything else, even the WindCutter, can wait until a bit later though. The item vendor nextdoor are your run-of-the-mill ones with no new additions.

 

At the corner of the boardwalk are a few wares handmade by a guy named Sekine. It's pricey, but get the AshurasSword for Ryu. Not only is it a bit stronger and non-elemental compared to the FeatherSword, but it provides a hidden bonus of 75% resistance to death attacks. As for the ManlyClothes, for some insane reason it is described as "unlimited use of skill notes", but it does no such thing and actually functions the same as the Soul Gem accessory and revives a character, at the expense of losing the item itself, when the user is downed. Might as well get one since it isn't found elsewhere. Don't worry if you spend all your zenny here, there is an excellent way for us to gain more in the next area.

 

Note: You'll notice several new fishing spots throughout the Dauna Hills region, but since we are very close to finally getting a better fishing rod, I will wait and cover them when we do. Also, I will discuss the Dauna Hills random battlefields once we have a full party.

 

To the southeast of Syn City is the forewarned Ogre Road. Make sure Ryu and Garr have the Magma Armor, Ring of Fire, or at least the AsbestosArmr equipped. It's a small dungeon, but there are a few new enemy encounters and skills to learn. Of most importance are the disgraced former McNeil manor guards (I like to think so, anyway) the Vagabonds. You can lift Moon Swords from them that you sell for a peachy 1000 zenny a piece! If you didn't have enough to pay Emitai or for new equipment, this can fix that.

 

Slashers perform the learnable Mind Flay skill. A below-average physical attack, Mind Flay attempts to drop the Intelligence of the target by 50%, but can be applied only once.

 

Note: Slashers are also the only reliable enemy you can obtain the Agility-increasing Swallow Eye item from, but only as a drop and at an unfair rate, even with Charm. It's much efficient to get them from the Faerie Village.

 

GooTitans, previously seen in the woods around Meryleep's spring, show their googly eye again here. With better equipment and some flame-resistance, they are a lot more manageable now, but learning their Timed Blow skill will likely require several encounters. At 25% HP, GooTitans will either: use Timed Blow, escape, or use Timed Blow and then escape immediately after. Timed Blow is a subpar skill that applies the character's current HP as damage and then reduces it down to 1.

Note: Blinded, GooTitans receive an increase in their stats, with no additional experience, but only cast Burn. You can also swipe Life Shards from them, but not being as frequent of an encounter as they are, I believe Ice Toads in Momo's Tower to be a better farming place, although GooTitans are more common in the next area, Mt. Levett, than the Ogre Road.

 

To navigate through Ogre Road, head down the slope to your lower-left, then work around the hill containing a treasure chest overhead to the western-end of the Road. To the north, nestled at the base of the hill, are three peculiar-looking plants. Have Ryu slash them to obtain a Horseradish item. Only restoring 5 HP, these are actually a story item needed later on, so go ahead and pick some now. They will respawn each time you enter the Road.

 

To the left of the growing Horseradish, hug the wall and follow it to an incline you can use to climb to the upper-part of the Ogre Road. Follow the linear path up and around to the east to pick up the Hourglass chest. An item of extremely limited amount in the game, the Hourglass freezes all combatants in battle, except the user, for three turns.

 

Jump off the ledge near the Horseradish and proceed further south to the Road's conclusion. Before you can leave, the feared monster of Ogre Road leaps out and attacks! More of a story-driven battle than a boss, if you didn't learn the Snap skill early in the game, the Weretigr presents a new opportunity. It will also sometimes use Focus, usually taught by Bunyan, if you haven't picked it up either. Otherwise, have Ryu cast Shield and use your strongest attacks to eventually cause it to flee. On the other side of the Ogre Road is the Yraall Region. Make camp to rest, then march southeast to cross over Mt. Levett.

 

Another small obstacle on our way to Wyndia, Mt. Levett contains most the same monsters from Ogre Road, with the addition of the unremarkable BlueGbln and return of BossGblns. The presence of the Bosses is actually beneficial to keep the BlueGblins from casting Jolt, though. GooTitans appear to be a bit more plentiful here, too.

 

From the entrance, turn right, and then up the steep incline shortly after. At the top, attempt to go down the path to your right only to end up deposited down into a cave below. There's a Gold Hairpin to acquire before exiting out back at the base of the incline.

 

At the top again, head left this time, then turn downward to be presented with two slopes heading back down the mountain. Using the lower-left one places you on a ledge with a bag of 800 zenny. Enter the cave at the bottom and follow it through back to the topside of the mountain. Follow the mountain's edge along to the upper-right, then keep heading down, past the other side of the hole we fell in, to Mt. Levett's exit. Short and sweet.

 

Note: Throughout the entirety of the game, you are forced to cross over Mt. Levett each time you want to reach the Dauna Hills region. Also, you can switch from the fire-resistance equipment now that we're free of the GooTitans.

 

It took ten years, but they eventually rebuilt the bridge connecting Yraall and the Dauna Hills. Before crossing, enter the ? location just off Mt. Levett. You can take a Healing Herb from the dresser inside the cozy home, but most curious is the device in its basement you may have seen in other areas of the world. Eastbound, you're forced to stop at Yraall Road where Wyndian troops have put up a blockade due to an ongoing investigation into McNeil. At the Village, Garr suggestion staying at the inn. The innkeeper remarks not only about the mayor's fraud charges, but also that a wounded tiger has been spotted in Cedar Woods. Curious if it is the one that got away at Ogre Road, the old lady let's the party stay for free with Garr's agreement that we go finish what we started.

 

Note: For an Easter egg, enter the McNeil Farm and make for the manor. At the front gate, you can make out a now-adult Nina talking to a maid: probably the ultra-popular Mina! 

 

Make for Ryu, Teepo, and Rei's burned-out tree house in Cedar Woods. A flashback of a wounded Rei after the attack of Balio and Sunder is shown. Ryu stops Garr and wants to go alone; he already knows the identify of the rampaging beast. Approaching his former home, Ryu finds an older Rei perched around the back, hiding. He had a feeling that was you he had attacked at Ogre Road. He tells about how he has been stalking and attacking members of the syndicate of Syn City in hopes of avenging you and Teepo. Rei is happy to see Ryu alive, but he's not about to stop until he has exacted vengeance upon everyone involved in the destruction of his family and he roars off back towards McNeil.

 

At McNeil Village, Rei has already attacked Loki (Waiting ten years: that's some restraint from Rei!), but unfortunately you later find out the conniver survived and fled again.

 

This time, enter the Farm and proceed to the McNeil manor. You witness mayor McNeil, having been arrested, being lead away by Wyndian troops commanded by Nina. The princess reunites with Ryu and Garr and the two explain about the Brood, their questions for God, and all that has happened since Angel Tower. Before worrying about all of that, Nina recommends (demands) that they join her on the further investigation of Syn City and she rejoins the party. Equip her with the extra SteelGntlets you purchased and Gold Hairpin you found. For her weapon, the Thunder Rod is still the best attack-wise, with the Magician Rod continuing to provide a Intelligence bonus if she never uses her physical attack, while the WindCutter is an alternative to the heavy-laden Thunder Rod. From there, we'll then need to take the long road all the way back to Syn City.

 

Note: Stop by Emitai's house and get Nina started apprenticing under him ASAP! 

 

Rei has already ravaged Syn City when the party arrives. All the shops are temporarily closed, but access to the organization's back room at the end of the boardwalk is now possible. Just before the door, there is a downed man out of camera view who will buy a Healing Herb for 10 zenny, however, each time you refuse he increases the amount by another 10. Say no seven times to receive the maximum of 80 zenny. You're a Syn City natural! In the syndicate's office, take the Old Painting, a very rare "appears valuable" item, treasure in the bottom-left corner. Talk to the bloody man against the wall who tells you the boss has hightailed it to the northern Checkpoint, with Rei likely giving chase, and if the boss is killed, Nina can't interrogate him!

 

Note: For the upcoming boss, make sure that Ryu is equipped with a Titan Belt and Light Bangle. For Nina, equip the Magician Rod, Speed Boots, and Life Sandals. If you don't have Speed Boots, High Boots will have to do. Garr should have Life Sandals x2, if possible, or the Titan Belt. Only one of either Nina or Garr will be required, however, with Nina being my suggested unless she is at a low level, but she needs to have more Agility than Ryu. Ryu should, hopefully, already be carrying the Influence skill that will be needed.

 

The noted Checkpoint is to the north of Syn City, but make absolutely sure you have saved before entering. Rei has cornered Mikba, the organization's don, and is going to show no mercy. The party catches up just in time, but the momentary distraction allows Mikba to transform into an armored demon who then fells Rei from behind! You're then prompted to form a party with the unconscious Rei. Mikba is one of the hardest bosses in the entire game and should not be underestimated. Defense-wise, Garr is the better choice, but I actually recommend Nina due to her speed that will be a tremendous benefit.

 

There are two ways to approach this battle: Win as quickly as possible or stick around to steal an item and learn a skill. The latter is dangerous unless you are at least level 25+. Rei begins the battle downed, and upon his revival, automatically shifts to his Weretiger form before you can enter a command. For a slugfest, on the first turn, have Nina revive Rei with an Ammonia, then Ryu should splice the Miracle, Thorn, and Shadow genes together to create a Behemoth form before Mikba acts. It's costly at 29 AP, then 15 each turn to maintain, but will be immune to Mikba's Venom Breath. The Thorn-enhanced Behemoth will easily be able to trade blows with Mikba with its massive HP, Power, and Defense. If Ryu runs out of AP and reverts, the battle should be nearly over at that point.

 

If you want to steal and learn Mikba's Multistrike skill, here is an alternate strategy. On the first turn, have Ryu cast Shield and Nina cast Blunt on Mikba; don't revive Rei yet. Mikba begins the battle with Venom Breath which hopefully will be avoided with the proper accessories. With Speed Boots, Nina should easily get an EX turn that she can use to cast Blunt again (Only needed twice) or take care of any residual poison or low HP (Necessary if Lucky Strike occurs). On the second turn, have Ryu cast Shield again, with Nina using an Ammonia on Rei who will take Weretiger form. Third turn, have Ryu use Influence to direct Rei's berserk'd attacks, but don't heal him, we want Rei to be defeated again by Mikba's reprisals. After Rei falls a second time, when he is revived, he will no longer automatically assume Weretiger form. When his turn comes around, enter the item menu and equip him with better things like the FeatherSword, Mithril Helm, MithrilArmor, and any extra accessories you have. You can then focus on stealing his Silver Mail, which you can equip Rei with, then examine, while staying healed, to learn Multistrike. Mikba will also rarely use the Resist skill, if you didn't get it from either the Stallion boss fight or Fahl. Item stolen and skills learned, take the Behemoth form to finish him off.

 

If wanting, or needing to use Garr, you can have him take over Nina's role, but need to factor in that his turn will come after Ryu's, and probably Mikba's. Ryu should be given the Speed Boots instead of him, however, to EX turn (If he has at least 34 Agility with them). This is for the item/skill strategy, mostly. Equipping the Lgt.Clothing to get Garr's Agility above 15 and higher than Mikba's would go a long way to help.

 

Note: Multistrike is a crummy skill that randomly delivers 1 to 3 attacks in a row, but no matter how many you ultimately get, your Power is cut in half for each one. If you do manage to perform 3 hits, it is still considerably weaker than Double Blow, and at best, equal to a basic attack. It is free to use, on the upside, I guess. If you don't pick this up from Mikba, it can be gotten later, so don't worry about it.

 

Afterward, Rei ultimately laments his powerlessness to avenge Teepo upon hearing that it was Ryu who killed Balio and Sunder. He wants to join forces with Ryu to take revenge upon the people of McNeil, but Nina quickly interjects. Rei questions why his power and those of the Brood exist and joins the party on their journey to seek answers from God.

 

Still at the Checkpoint, enter the guard building and take the Healing Herb and 80 zenny from the shelves, then with Rei in the lead of your party, unlock the storeroom. Within is a chest with the unique Deluxe Rod and a Ginseng and Ammonia in the crates. Finally a new, better fishing rod, it still has the same reach as the Bamboo Rod, though, but hopefully you're working on getting the Angling Rod from the Faerie Village!

 

For Rei's equipment, he should have the FeatherSword, SteelGntlets, Mithril Helm, and Silver Mail. A Titan Belt (Which you can purchase in the Duana Mines) is a nice addition, too. The shops are once again open in Syn City if you need to purchase a Silver Mail. The ThievesKnife for sale improves his critical hit chance to 9%, and a +5 to surprise; it's 12 points weaker than the FeatherSword though, but we can trade fish for a much better alternate than both weapons. We can buy the ThievesKnife and a Silver Mail for cheaper (And other items) by waiting a bit longer, however. Before doing any leveling, which Rei likely needs compared to the other characters, consider heading back down the mountain and choosing a master for him. All but Giotto and Hondara are now open to us again. For Rei's skills, I will go over them for all characters when Peco and Momo rejoin us shortly.

 

Rei's Weretiger ability, likely seen against Mikba, is tremendously powerful, however, while similar, works differently than Ryu's Ascension. It is, in essence, the same as the Berserk skill, but without death after 3 turns. In Weretiger form, Rei's Power is tripled, but he will randomly attack any target on the battlefield unless one is designated with the Influence skill, however, without Influence, the odds of him attacking his own group increases with each turn and eventually settles at a 25% chance after five have passed. Rei retains the elemental and slayer affinity of his weapon while transformed, also. Perhaps the the most important aspect, unlike Ryu, Rei keeps all of the status and resistance bonuses from his armor, accessories, and buffers like Might that occur before transformation. The ultimate downside is Rei cannot revert to human form unless he loses all of his HP.

 

The Dauna Hills random battlefields present a new batch of satchel items, but the same enemies found on Ogre Road and Mt. Levett. Worthwhile items we can find are: Frog (lvl 3 lure), MultiVitamin, Power Food, and Protein.

 

Now that we have the Deluxe Rod (And maybe the Angling Rod from the Faerie Village) it's time to finally do some fishing in the Dauna Hills region. Let's start directly south from the Dauna Mines. The newest catch here is the Red Catfish with the details below:

• Red Catfish (Frog - 80cm)
• Bass (Any - 40cm)
• MartianSquid (Worm - 80cm) 

Note: In regards to the Deluxe and Angling Rods, the Deluxe Rod is vastly superior and should always be used unless needing to extend out to the furthest reaches of the spot that requires the Angling. Expect to lose a lot of bait with the Angling Rod, honestly, but it's going to be our only option until the end of the game.

 

Southwest of the Checkpoint is another fishing hole with a unique catch: the Barandy. Besides used for trading, having Barandy in your inventory is incredibly beneficial since they recover the entire party by 240 HP, but you'll need a lvl 3 Frog lure or some tec to get them to bite. Below are the specifics of the location:

• Pirana (Any - 40cm)
• Trout (Worm/Sinker - 70cm)
• RainbowTrout (Worm/Sinker - 70cm)
• Barandy  (Frog - 200cm)
• Manillo (Coin - 200cm) 

Fishing up the Manillo, trade for the outstanding Katzbalger for Rei and a Laurel for Nina. The Katzbalger is 13 points stronger than the FeatherSword and will be his best weapon for quite a while. One Laurel is enough since we will find another for Momo for free later. All of the lvl 3 lures will be for sale soon, so save your fish and don't trade for any of them.

 

In the Yraal Region, southeast of Ogre Road, is yet another new fishing spot, however, there are no new catches. Black Bass are much easier to find here than the one north of the Plant, though. Potential reels are outlined below:

• Puffer (Popper - 50cm)
• Trout (Worm/Sinker - 70cm)
• Black Bass (Any - 90cm) 

Heading east, Nina stops the party at Eygnock Road and informs them that her father is unlikely to give them a new Passport because he blames Ryu for all of her disappearing acts from the castle. Of course, if you will help her in another investigation, this time at the Plant, she's positive that Ryu will be heralded as a hero and change the king's opinion.

 

Note: For a minor scene, talk to the guard at the entrance of Wyndia castle as Nina.

 

Arriving at the Plant, make your way to the center, through the winding series of conveyor belts that haven't changed a bit in 10 years. The party meets Honey, who instantly recognizes them; same can't be said for Momo who confuses you for part deliverers. Can't blame her: she thought Ryu died at Angel Tower (Makes you wonder what Garr really told them about what happened there). A lengthy explanation later, Momo discuses the issues with the Plant, most notably the frequent disappearances of director Palet. Momo, even after the fact he sold you out to Balio and Sunder, and ten years of working with him, still hasn't figured out that Palet is a creep and up to no good.

 

The topic turns to Peco, who Momo has been studying all of these years. She states that he likes to hang out at the giant Yggrasil tree to the east and is likely there now if we want to bring him along. Under Yggrasil's shade, the group finds Peco, surrounded by forest friends, seemingly "speaking" to the solemn tree. You're treated to a brief legend of Yggrasil and Peco rejoins the party amidst an air of mystery.

 

Note: With Peco back, if you waited until you copied the Flower Jewel at the Faerie Village, make sure to stop by the spring to the northeast and get Meryleep as a master now.

 

Before returning to the Plant, we need to backtrack a little bit. Make for Wyndia and look for the motley crew loitering by the fountain. Talk to the lanky Bais, who was the little blonde kid who challenged Ryu to hide-and-seek when he was younger. Now dark-haired and balding (Poor guy), he and the group challenge you to play again, but this time hiding is extended to the entire world. They'll drop some hints and the game is on.

 

Chubby Lang couldn't be bothered to leave the city, so you can easily find him by looking behind one of the headstones in the Wyndian Catacombs.

 

Now that Momo has rejoined us, head all the way back to the Duana Mines. Remember that busted wall by the MultiVitamin treasure? If not, it's a small room in the upper-right-section of the area Garr pushed the mining cart filled with dynamite. Momo can destroy the weakened wall with her chrysm cannon allowing you to collect the Coupons accessory within. Having this equipped provides an instant 20% reduction in prices at all stores and does so as long as one of your active party members is equipped with it, but like with the Midas Stone, more than one does not provide additional benefits. If for some reason you happen to lose it, the Coupons is not a one-of-a-kind accessory and you can acquire it again in the Faerie Village (Hope it doesn't come to that, though).

 

Note: The manillo in the house at the far-end of the tracks on B1 of the Mine sells Titan Belt and High Boots accessories if you need them.

 

Believe it or not, Bais decided to hide himself in the Duana Mine (Self-conscious of his hair?). On B3, right outside the chrysm dragon skull, he's hanging out behind the pillar next to the stairs. We'll have to wait a while longer to find he and Lang's two lady friends.

 

With the Coupons equipped, head back over to Syn City. Pick up any of the weapons you haven't already and a SteelGntlets for both Momo and Peco. Nina and Momo can use the Laurel and Gold Hairpins for helmets. If you didn't get a Silver Mail from Mikba, you may need to purchase one. Ryu, Garr, and Rei should either have Magma Armor or a Silver Mail, but an additional one of the latter we can pick up in the next dungeon for the required Momo. For reference, here is what my current suggested equipment looks like:

• Ryu: AshurasSword, SteelGntlets, Mithril Helm, Magma Armor/Silver Mail, Speed Boots, Light Bangle
• Nina: WindCutter/Magician/Thunder Rod, SteelGntlets, Laurel, Crepe Cape, Wisdom Ring, High Boots/Life Sandals
• Momo: ShotgunShell, SteelGntlets, Gold Hairpin/Laurel, Crepe Cape/Silver Mail, Artemis' Cap, Wisdom Ring/Titan Belt/Life Sandals
• Peco: Flame Talons, SteelGntlets, Glass Domino, Crepe Cape, Titan Belt, Wisdom Ring
• Garr: Rood Spear, SteelGntlets, Mithril Helm, Magma Armor/Silver Mail, Titan Belt, Wisdom Ring/Life Sandals
• Rei: Katzbalger, SteelGntlets, Mithril Helm, Magma Armor/Silver Mail, Titan Belt, Life Sandals

Note: This is not taking into account the equipment from the Faerie Village. Since it's still early, I will start incorporating them into suggestions later on.

 

Skills are subjective, but since we have all of our party members now, I'll make a note of what some skills I am using with each character for those that are interested:

• Ryu: Steal, Charm, Double Blow, Frost Strike, Blind, Influence
• Nina: Purify, Mind Flay, Intimidate, Snooze, Enlighten, War Shout
• Momo: Multistrike, Mind Sword, Magic Ball, Typhoon, Lavaburst, Wall of Fire
• Peco: Barrier, Charge, Blitz, Last Resort, Wind Strike
• Garr: Shield, Douse, Gloom, Focus, Shadowwalk
• Rei: Snap, Flying Kick, Air Raid, Resist, Super Combo

Lastly, now that all characters have joined together, let's talk about usage of the Fusion gene. Ryu has a unique Hybrid form for each member of the party, with the exception of Garr. Ascending to these forms requires a specific party configuration outlined below:

• Nina Hybrid: Magic-based, requires a party of Nina and either Peco or Garr.
• Momo Hybrid: Support-based, requires a party of Momo and either Nina or Peco.
• Peco Hybrid: Breath-based, requires a party of Peco and either Garr or Rei.
• Rei Hybrid: Attack-based, requires a party of Rei and either Nina or Momo.

Any other combination of characters result in a Whelp form. All of these forms have special characteristics, but require an additional gene to further expand their capabilities. We are still lacking two of those, however, but when acquired, I will go in-depth on each one.

 

When you're ready to continue the story, enter the Plant with Momo and Peco in your party. The group will quickly notice that something is off and further in you'll see that chrysm gas has filled a number of the greenhouses. Using Peco, we'll need to catapult rocks from high above and break the glass panels to allow the gas to escape safely. One of the researchers has marked an X on the ground where Peco needs to move the rock, then get a running start to launch the rock into the panels below. The first X is found in the upper-left-corner of the Plant and the positioning of the rock is seen in the above screenshot. Move a rock onto the X, then any others behind, to make a pathway for Peco to back up to the further edge and run straight into the one at the designated position to release the trapped gas.

 

The next location is just down the nearby conveyor, but this one is a bit trickier. Move a rock onto the X, but there's no room to get a running start to bash it a long distance. Instead, you have to run along the edge of the narrow path and turn upwards into the rock to create the necessary launch. The release of the greenhouse gases has created another problem, though, with chrysm gas now spewing out of the furnace! If you would rather take another character besides Peco into the next dungeon, you can swap him out now, but Momo will be required. Inside the furnace, Have Momo blast the grate off with her cannon to reveal a passage and ladder leading downward into a hidden laboratory.

 

The underground lab is home to a few new monsters; of which fire is prominent, however, none of them are actually strong against fire, while several are weak against the element. I don't feel this calls for changing equipment unless a character is under the tutelage of Yggrasil, however. The Fly Man, often accompanied by GntRoaches who will try to Douse you, will use Firebreath and the learnable Flame Strike skill. Flame Strike is exactly the same as Garr's Pyrokinesis: a fire-elemental weapon attack.

 

Fly Men also hold, as a drop, a weapon that cannot be found elsewhere in the game: Garr's Flame Spear. Using Charm, the drop rate is reasonable, but it's only 1 point of attack higher than the current Rood Spear, which makes its usefulness questionable beyond collecting. Additionally, you can steal Scale Mails from the Fly Men you can pawn off for 725 zenny.

 

Note: The kamikaze ZombieDr have made their way down from the Dauna Mines too, so try to steal as many MultiVitamins as you can from them. 

 

The Big Bulb creature is rather unique, and not unlike the Lava Man from Mt. Zublo. With each physical attack, their statistics and amount of experience after battle increase; the latter which eventually maximizes after 36 attacks. Normally, if you blind them, they will escape, but if you manage to hit them with another physical attack just after blind takes effect, but before their turn comes around, they will remain in battle and be less of a threat as their power rises compared to Lava Men. Since they are rather fragile, you can use Backhand, or a low-power skill like Target, to boost them while their HP regenerates some after each turn. Initially, this is a better place to level than using the Lava Men, but later on in the game, you'll become too powerful for the Bulbs and using Backhand 36 turns in a row becomes maddening relative to the quicker-to-boost Lava Men.

 

Note: If wanting to level using the Big Bulbs, steal a couple of Bat Amulets from either the Rank and PainWeeds at the Dump to protect against the blinding effect of their Pollen.

 

At the base of the ladder leading into the lab, head downward and scale the ladder on the wall juxtapose. Search behind the large bails of hay in the loft-like room to pick up a satchel with Skill Ink, then return back down the ladder.

 

Down the hallway to the right, just off the ladder, is the main control room of the underground lab. With Momo in the lead of the party, search the panel labeled "1". She theorizes that a password is needed to open the doors with the corresponding number on the computer. She guesses "pelet" which is strangely correct considering the guy's name is "Palet", but anyway...All #1 doors are then unsealed. Enter the door beyond the terminals to find a room you can rest and save. There's also a Healing Herb on the shelf to take.

 

At the end of the hall beyond the entrance ladder is the first #1 door to pass through. Although a bit hard to see because of the overhead ventilation shafts, there are doors numbered 1-3 in this corridor; enter the #1 door to the far-left. Down the stairs, search the bookcase for an Ammonia, then descend another flight of steps to the bottom-right. This room is flooded with chrysm radiation and you only have a limited amount of time to explore before you are forced back up the stairs. There's a Peco-looking, onion mutant obscured by the overhanging vent sitting on the plot of crops seen in the location of the above screenshot. Examine it to find password #2. You'll then need to retrace your steps back to the control room and have Momo enter it into the corresponding terminal. 

 

Once the #2 doors are unlocked, head back to the room you found the Ammonia on the shelf. Have Momo use the #2 panel to unseal the door where you can collect a Silver Mail.

 

Back out in the #1-3 corridor, enter the #2 door in the center. Just inside, there's an additional #2 door to use where a lever needs to be pulled at the end of the narrow path. Return, then use the stairs to the upper-left of the room, near a #3 terminal. Follow the linear hallway down and around to the right. Just off from the crane (I wonder if Ryu has nightmares about them?) is an exit leading inward. Move around behind the vent, to the corner of the room, to find the #3 password obscured on a note there.

 

Climb on top of the vent itself and follow it upward to the incredible Force dragon gene. The Force gene is Power-minded: creating the Warrior form for Ryu that sees a +130% bonus in Power, +80% Agility, and small bonuses to HP and Defense. It also automatically comes with one of the best offensive abilities in the game: Aura, a holy-elemental, double-Power attack, but requires a hefty 20 AP. You do not get any breath-type attacks unless paired with an element, however. One downside of Force is splicing it with other genes, like Thorn or Miracle, actually results in a 30% loss in HP, although the bonus in Power outweighs this, in my opinion, but be mindful that HP is considered a negative trait when splicing Force.

 

At the base of the vent again, use the conveyor belt to ride to the top and out of the room. There's a chest with the Sleep Shells weapon for Momo tucked away in the corner. A one-of-a-kind weapon, it, naturally, attempts to apply sleep to enemies and is a tad bit stronger than the ShotgunShell. Crossing over the conveyor places you outside the main control room where you can enter the #3 passcode. Make sure to rest and save afterward.
 

Note: The #3 terminal you passed by on the way to the third password leads to an empty room, so there's no need to backtrack to it.

 

Leaving the control room, the #3 door is directly across from the one you enter through in the corridor with the three numbered doors. There are three chrysm pressure units to examine, but you can ignore them and move around to the top of the room between the machines and tables. As you attempt to pass, chrysm gas erupts from a nearby room and, of course, the party needs to investigate. Inside they find a hideous, Slug-like creature that needs to be disposed of. More of a mini-boss, the grotesque mutation has an annoying evasion mechanic, but this is nulled by a single fire-elemental attack (Enter the item menu and equip Momo with the Flame Chrysm if you are lacking one). Steal a Vitamins (With an S), fortify with Shield/Protect, and use any fire-based attacks to bring it down. Ryu can splice with his new Force gene: including Flame and Thorn, to devastating effect. Have Momo cast Might on the transformation and its Flame Claw will easily overwhelm the HugeSlug, however, watch for it casting Quake and heal afterward if necessary.

 

The horrifying mutant makes Momo, again, question whether her father was involved in these experiments. Climb the stairs to the left of the HugeSlug room and examine the manual next to the chrysm machines. Normally, you need to use the chrysm pressure to find the final password, but you can skip all that nonsense and head back to the control room. At the #4 terminal, select "Other" and the combination: "1-3-2-5-4" to unseal the final door. Enter into the backroom to rest and save before following the outside hall to a ladder and the #4 door above. Climb onto the ventilation shaft and cross it to a Wisdom Ring treasure. Off the shaft is a ladder leading downward to Palet, so come prepared!

 

Note: Consider equipping the Ring of Fire on a character that's not Ryu/Garr or equipped with Magma Armor for the upcoming boss. Don't bother with the AsbestosArmr, though. Wisdom Rings and High Boots are heavily recommended accessories, also.

 

Surprise: Palet's been doing some diabolical stuff with chrysm down here; namely: attempting to bring his dead mother back to life, but implicates Momo's father, Repsol, in starting the research to resurrect his deceased wife (That explains the adult magazines). He shakes his fists angrily, drinks a flask of Yggdrasil sap, and becomes a...Shroom mutant. Despite the ridiculousness, this guy can put up quite a fight. Begin by trying to swipe his Wisdom Fruit, then make a decision on whether to approach with offense or defense. Offensively, use the same splice as you did against the HugeSlug consisting of Force, Flame, and Thorn, and have Momo buffer him afterward with Might. Using Aura, Ryu can easily down the Shroom in 2-3 uses of Aura depending on your level and in Attack formation. Flame isn't totally necessary, but will protect you from its Lavaburst skill (Which you can learn if you didn't already from the Vulcans in Mt. Zublo). The Shroom has no strengths or weaknesses, so your other characters can chip in with whatever they have.

 

Fighting defensively, Ryu casting Barrier and Momo with Protect on all three characters is essential. Shroom's Ragnarok spell, can and will, cripple your entire party without Barrier cast, and Lavaburst is no joke, either, with no fire protection. The physical-based Head Cracker, then later in the battle, Blitz, hurt considerably without Protect/Shield. If Nina is with you, she can contribute nicely by casting Blunt and Slow to give you more of an advantage; a hit of Mind Flay can do wonders to help, also. Once defenses are set, Ryu can ascend to the Warror form and begin using Aura with castings of Might in support.

 

Palet gone, nothing is stopping you from pulling the lever and ending the chrysm flow to his mother, letting her rest in peace. Then, on the nearby shelf, you can further humiliate the former Director by stealing his life savings of 400 zenny. Leaving the underground lab and the Plant, the party makes camp. Nina and Momo discuss the legacy of Repsol and Momo decides to accompany the group on their travels east, but first, Nina is hopeful that the resolution of the Plant's troubles has gained Ryu a level of forgiveness with Wyndia's king.

Breath of Fire III - Chapter 6: Guardian's Deceit

 

Now that the faeries are safe, head back to Rhapala and see if the boat has returned. At the Wharf, talk to Beyd who regrets to inform you that the ship is still MIA. He suggests you ask Sinkar about using the road, which we already did, but okay. At the pub, since you helped fix the Lighthouse, Sinkar tells you about their super-secret shortcut through the volcano and hands you the Guild Letter vital item to show to the guard on Mt. Zublo.

 

Being a volcano and all, we're going to want to do some prep work for the journey. Firstly, I strongly suggest a party of Ryu, Nina, and Garr/Momo. You're going to want to move Ryu's weapon back to the Moon Sword, Momo equipping her Ice Chrysm, if wanting to take her instead of Garr, and stop by the inoculation shop and purchase Flameblock for all three characters. Garr already has natural resistance to fire, with the addition of Flameblock providing him total immunity. Anyone apprenticing under Yggrasil MUST have Flameblock or the results will be disastrous. Finally, bring the Burn skill (Yes, that's right), Frost Strike, and Nina with Snooze and the Dream Ring equipped; she is going to be casting Iceblast constantly and we can use Snooze to recover her AP without having to leave and rest (Which removes your Flameblock inoculations). When you arrive at Mt. Zublo, climb the stairs and head right, past the guard, and keeping to your right-side, follow the linear road up several flights of stairs to the volcano's entrance that's not-so-secret-looking.

 

Mt. Zublo, besides the obnoxious Lizards, is quite obviously full of fire creatures, but they have some very unique qualities about them. Lava Man are very similar to Volts, whom increase in statistics and experience rewarded when hit with their associated element, except one small detail: they can be boosted a near infinite number of times (Experienced awarded maxes out at 15 boosts, though)! That's right: the more Lava Men are attacked with fire, the stronger and more rewarding they become. Granted, even at level 99, increasing their power enough to receive max experience is suicide without a perfect setup, but it is, without question, the best place to level in the game. More will be talked about this later on in the guide when we begin shooting for level 99. For now though, be safe and only fight one at a time and limit their boosts to keep yourself safe.

 

Vulcans are an oddity: they won't do anything at all but defend and are impervious to physical attacks (Although Spirit Blast CAN scratch them). Nina can Iceblast them to death with no opposition or you can use this to perform Snooze to recover as much AP as you need. However, any fire-based attack like Burn, Flare, Simoon, Flare Sword, ect. they come "alive", but not quite like Lava Men. They do receive an experience bonus, but actually become weaker! They lose all of their defense and are easily dispatched without magic. They will, however, "erupt" with the learnable Lavaburst skill in protest, though, and is one of only two basic enemies in the game that possesses it. Lavaburst is somewhere between Fireblast and Inferno in terms of fire-based damage and is a perfect addition to Momo. At 300 EXP for each character, the "awakened" Vulcans make an exceptional level builder at this point in the game and is quite feasible to reach level 30 easily with some time.

 

Besides the great experience, you can also nab Proteins from Vulcans. Without the Speed Boots, success can be fleeting, though, however, once you have Charm from Meryleep, you can snatch them with relative ease, and with the frequency that Vulcans appear, this is absolutely the best place in the game to farm them to raise your character's Defense stat.

 

Vulcans even have a rare piece of armor to drop, and considering this is one of only two places in the game to find it, it is surprisingly obtainable. Usuable by Ryu and Garr, it is capable of absorbing fire-based damage as HP, but makes you weak against ice (Keep this in mind!). Its defense of 38 will be the strongest we will find for quite a bit of time, but its 8 weight makes it a boon on Agility. Make sure to leave the volcano with at least one.

 

It probably goes without saying, but stay off the standing lava flows by maneuvering around them and time your movements past the erupting gas from the floor of the volcano or you will take damage. Thankfully, your party is not dumb enough to follow you onto the damaging lava, but will get caught on the gas (Garr!). From the entrance, turn the corner and follow downward, taking the second right you come across (That's not blocked by lava). There's a cave to enter, where after carefully navigating across the room, you can score the AsbestosArmr from the treasure chest that is one-of-a-kind (Not talking about Balio and Sunder again!). Weaker than the Scale Mail, it provides a 50% bonus in fire protection. Combined with Garr or Flameblock, that character will be entirely immune to fire damage, so make sure to equip it for the dungeon. Back outside the cave, head upwards, forced to cross over a spill of lava, there is a 800 zenny chest to claim.

 

Directly down and across from the armor cave and zenny chest, there is a path that turns right and out to a new area. Quickly run between the two lava flows and gas jets and turn south to see a downward slope with yellow erupting gases from the wall that will confuse any character it touches. Time your rush down the slope, turning right at the bottom, slowly making your way past another jet in the wall spewing out. Ignore the steps down, which take you back towards where we came from, and move south again, against the wall, but needing to dodge multiple confusing gas jets on the way, until eventually tumbling down a slope where you will be lucky to have gotten through unconfused. You're rewarded for your efforts with the valuable Ring of Fire accessory that absorbs all fire damage as HP and Nina or Peco should use (Can't use armor). With it, the AsbestosArmr, and hopefully, a Magma Armor, you have nothing to fear from anything left in the volcano. Hop off the side and use the rope ladders, then steps, to climb back to the top and exit to the upper-right.

 

Note: For confused characters, putting them in the lead of your party and moving them around randomly seems to relieve the status quicker than them following behind. Additionally, you can use Croc Tears, Panacea, or cast Remedy.

 

The following room of Mt. Zublo is a massive one filled with cooling magma below and your party on an upper-level. The path curving around the room is linear until it branches where a treasure chest can be seen below. From there, head upwards, then around to your left to eventually come to a path leading down into the magma overflow. Hug the wall to the upper-left and follow it around, forced to cross over some lava and take damage, to eventually find the Miracle gene in the alcove. This extremely unique gene combines your entire party into a giant Behemoth form with a massive amount of HP, high Power and Defense, but low Agility and requires an equally-heavy amount of AP.

 

The Thorn and Defender genes both further skyrocket the Behemoth's statistics and you can splice elemental ones to create ideal situations for yourself. The Behemoth's default MeteorStrike ability works exactly as a Breath-type attack would: using your current HP as damage to a 50% clip. A Miracle, Reverse, and Thorn splice creates the special Wildfire form that looks like a whelp, but has double Power, triple Defense (Has Charge skill to use!), and double Agility, but almost no HP. In addition, the Wildfire is completely immune to all elements, and unaffected by status changes or death. Combined with Ryu's equipment, this is an incredibly destructive form if it can stay alive.

 

From the Miracle Gene, keep hugging the wall and move further south to pick up Peco's Flame Talons in the magma-covered chest. Stronger than the Spiked Claws, but fire-based, let's wait until we're clear of the dungeon to use them. Return back up to where the path forked, this time, heading south, then taking a left and across to a chest with a Wisdom Fruit. Further to the right, near a narrow passage, a boss awaits us. If your AP is spent, don't be afraid to leave and rest (Reapply inoculations, if necessary) before proceeding. Light Bangle, Life Sandals, and Dream Rings equipped for the boss is encouraged.

 

Apparently, there is a crazy old man with rabies squatting on the Guild's secret road and he's none too pleased to see Ryu. He rants on with some gibberish and calls up two dragon-like creatures to stop you. Probably the hardest fight in the game thus far, but easily manageable with fire and sleep resistance. Begin by casting Shield with Ryu, twice, or if you have Momo, using Protect. The two dragons will use Snap to lower your defense, and prematurely casting Shield/Protect will save you from having to counter it. Ignore the two beasts and go straight for Gisshan, stealing his Magician Rod first, if you want. Gisshan attempts to put the party to sleep and confuse them, more of an annoyance than anything, but the twin dragons have a skill to learn and items to steal, so the quicker we can remove Gisshan, the better. Hit him physically with Double Blow, Super Combo, and basic attacks; Nina can cast Weaken on him, also. His casting of Vitalize won't be enough to save him.

 

With Gisshan gone, steal Power Foods from both Charyb and Scylla, and examine them to attempt to pick up their Wall of Fire skill. Nina can then focus Iceblast on them, Momo attacking with Ice Chrysm, and whomever has Frost Strike performing it each turn. If you don't care at all about the items or Wall of Fire, and just want to end the battle quickly, transform Ryu into the Trygon form by splicing Flame, Ice, and Thunder genes together. Trygon is completely immune to fire and can breath-out Frost Breath for tremendous damage on the nutjob and his pets with Garr/Momo keeping Ryu's HP high.

 

Note: Wall of Fire is a single-target version of Fireblast, but is nearly equal to Lavaburst in terms of damage. It's okay if you don't get it here, we will see it again later in the game. 

 

Beyond the Gisshan battle is a sloping descent to the volcano's exit, but look for a well-hidden Life Shard treasure chest at the bottom.

 

Note: Free from the volcano's fire denizens, equip Ryu back with the Flare Sword and Peco with his new Flame Talons. If you need to return back to the western-world at any point, you'll have to hotfoot it through Mt. Zublo again (Hopefully with the Holy Mantle).

 

Angel Tower is to the south of the new Urkan Region, but let's first make an optional trip to Junk Town located in the north. Literally surrounded by junk, it's not necessary to visit here until much later in the game, but we can find find a few items and visit the shops if loaded with zenny. We'll also find out that the missing ship from Rhapala has broken down and been stranded here for repairs all this time. Four levels high, the stores are located on the third-from-top landing down and to the right of the stairs. At the weapon shop, go ahead and purchase the ShotgunShell for Momo since it is reasonably priced. You may consider the Thunder Rod for Nina, also, more so because it casts Jolt when used as an item, but be sure to save plenty of zenny for the next town. The electric-based Barbarossa sword and Gigantess spear have very high attack, but are incredibly heavy like the Claymore (As is the Thunder Rod), but if you have the zenny, by all means pick them up, however, the Barbarossa can eventually be found in a chest, but that comes much, much later.

 

The accessory/item shop has some really nice things! We already know how good the Titan Belt and High Boots are, but the Wisdom Ring and its +30 Intelligence are a must for Nina and Momo, or even Peco and Garr to bolster their magic defenses. We will, eventually, find one for free and they can be traded for at the next Manillo shop, to note. The Lion's Belt grants a +10 to a character's willpower, the hidden stat that determines whether they auto-revive at 0 HP. It, also, will be a freebie and tradable soon. Honestly, though, it's only useful for Garr who already has high willpower, and unless you put a lot of Moxas into a character to go with it, the +10 won't make much of a difference. The death-casting Belladonna item is new, as well, but we can steal some of those from an upcoming enemy. Remember: save plenty of zenny for the next town!

 

Across from the shops, head down the steps to Junk Town's lowest level. Enter the house to your left, then up the stairs in the backroom to take a Green Apple off the shelf. Back outside, walk behind the small building down from the one you exited, where you can vaguely spot a worker. There's a well-hidden satchel with a Tea Cup item to be found; another one of those "appears valuable" ones. Move around to the front and enter to pluck a MultiVitamin from the shelf here to bring a close to our brief Junk Town adventure.

 

To the far south, past Urkan Tapa and Angel Tower is this region's fishing spot with a frightening new catch: the Angler. As an item, the Angler casts Earthquake, but we have Dynamite for that. This spot's potential catches are below:

• Sea Bream (Sinker - 40cm)
• Black Porgy (Frog - 60cm)
• Angler (Worm - 100cm)
• Manillo (Coin - 200cm)

Note: Now able to catch Anglers, with three in-hand, along with three MartianSquid, and five Sea Breams, you can trade them for the Bell Collar at the Manillo shop near the McNeil Farm. An accessory that increases the encounter rate, I would not, personally, make the trade since it will become purchasable later, but you decide for yourself.

 

The Manillo shop of the Urkan Region has Wisdom Rings if you would prefer to trade than purchase. Otherwise, the level 3 fishing lures you might want, but not totally necessary and will eventually be sold in shops. Ginseng, that cast Might, are an outlier and hard to come by until the very end of the game.

 

Note: The random battlefields of the Urkan Region offer little we haven't already seen. You can still find Wisdom Seeds, Life, and Magic Shards in satchels, with the monsters being almost exactly the same as the Rhapala Region save for one we find in Angel Tower. 

 

Attempting to enter Angel Tower has us instead rerouted to Urkan Tapa for permission with Garr being required to meet with its Patriarch. The religious settlement is a convoluted series of multi-tier levels of walls and dwellings interconnected by sloping wooden boards. Thankfully, navigating them is optional due to the lack of items, however, if you climb to the very top, a building in the northwest houses an eerie statue that looks very similar to Garr. Speaking of Garr, you can get different dialogue from the residents with him as the party leader; all referencing him as a "Guardian" and "angel".

 

Up the first plank into Urkana Tapa you will clearly see the entrance to the equipment and item shop enclosed by four walls. Purchase the Halberd for Garr and a MithrilArmor for both he and Ryu, but only if they are not already using the superior Magma Armor. Pick up a Mithril Helm for both, also, and consider one for Momo, however, she will be leaving the party after Angel Tower, so decide for yourself whether to spend the zenny or not. There will be a freebie Mithril Helm in Angel Tower, but it's best saved for a rejoining Rei a bit later on. As for the MithrlShield, Ryu and Garr should both have one, but like with Momo, Peco will also be absent from the party after Angel Tower so decide whether buying one for him for one dungeon is in your budget. The item shop contains your basic items with no new ones, but make sure to be stocked up on Ammonia for Angel Tower. An update of what my current equipment looks like for the Tower is below:

• Ryu: Flare Sword, MithrShield, Mithril Helm, Magma Armor/MithrilArmor, Talisman, Light Bangle
• Nina: Magician/Thunder Rod, Buckler, Glass Domino, Crepe Cape, High Boots, Wisdom Ring
• Momo: ShotgunShell, Buckler, Mithril Helm, Crepe Cape, Wisdom Ring, Artemis' Cap
• Peco: Flame Talons, MithrShield, Glass Domino, Crepe Cape, Titan Belt, Life Sandals
• Garr: Halberd, MithrShield, Mithril Helm, Magma Armor/MithrilArmor, Titan Belt, Life Sandals

Note: To the bottom-left of the shop is a door that takes you inside a building that works as a makeshift-inn. Above it is the entrance to the inoculation shop. I highly recommend that the characters you take into Angel Tower, which must include Garr, should have Deathblock, with one character equipping the Talisman to go with it. You'll be glad you did.

 

At the ground entrance of Urkana Tapa, head to the right and enter the doorway on the far-side. The robed cleric, Hondara, will allow you to be his disciple if you learned the Backhand skill from Durandal back in Wyndia. It only needs to be in your skill notes; having it equipped isn't necessary. Statistic-wise, Hondara's usefulness is negated by the presence of Yggdrasil. The holy man provides a +1 AP/Intelligence, but reduces Power gains by -2. You get the exact same from Yggdrasil except a point more Intelligence and a bonus +1 in Defense, with only a minor loss of -1 HP. So, in that regard, there's no reason to ever master under Hondara except to learn his skills. However, he does have some nice passive benefits of increasing your death resistance by 50% and healing spells restore double the amount of HP on an apprenticed character (This is the "holy up" mentioned on the master list at camp). Talked about with Giotto earlier, I recommend not mastering under Hondara until later in the game because the Urkan Region is about to become inaccessible for a good portion of the game. Listed below are Hondra's taught skills:

• Purify (2): Recovers from poison. The same Ryu, Momo, and Peco learn.
• Kyrie (5): Instantly kills any monsters, usually undead, that are weak against holy (Those turned with Gloom, also). This can even work on a few bosses. Garr eventually learns this, too.
• Benediction (8): This, essentially, casts Raise Dead on the entire party which only has a 75% success rate. Costs a whopping 20 AP, also.

Note: For those who take their statistical gains extremely serious and want to spend as few levels with Hondara as necessary, Benediction can be learned from a monster at the very end of the game, so in actuality, you only need to waste five levels under him. Also, for those wondering, Hondara's "holy prop up" only relates to curative spells (Not items) on the character and does not increase the attack of holy-based weapons or abilities.

 

Above Hondara's room the Patriarch, Sudama's, quarters are sealed off by a massive rock that only Garr can move. Inside, some head-scratching exchanges between the two are made, including the talk of "no more evil in the world" and Garr "sleeping" with his comrades. Admittance into Angel Tower is granted with Sudama giving his farewells to "Guardian" Garr. He will be a required member for the dungeon, naturally.
 

At the conclusion of Angel Tower, a major shift in the game occurs that would be wise to prepare for. Ryu and Garr will be your only party members for an extended period of time and will be confined to the western-side of the world with the Rhapala Region and beyond being locked to us for a considerable amount. This is why I have advised to leave Giotto and Hondara for later in the game. Choose carefully which masters you want Ryu and Garr to go forth with since their access to other ones will be heavily restricted for several dungeons. Nina, Momo, and Peco will retain all their equipment, skills, and level when they rejoin the party, so there's no need to remove them or preset a master beforehand. I would advise that if you are using Steal on a character other than Ryu or Garr, that you transfer it over to them, however. You don't want to be without it until they rejoin.

 

Note: For those that want to collect 99 of every item, now is your last chance to return to Wyndia and purchase Bread. After Angel Tower, the item can no longer be obtained.

 

Within Angel Tower, Trickers and LizardMn continue to persist. The AP-Depressing Spectres from the Lighthouse are also back and should be dealt with swiftly. New encounters include the easily-defeated, but confusion-inducing Cerebus. Their Howling can confuse the entire party and make things very difficult if you aren't using the Light Bangle or Life Sandals to help ward it off. Cerebus are the best source of Vitamins (The one with the "S" healing all party members) in the game for those that want to collect as many as you can, but you'll need Charm for any real consistency in their drop. You can steal Beef Jerky from them also, but that will eventually be purchasable.

 

The red-robed, bow-wielding Phantoms begin to show up inside the Tower and are tremendously dangerous. Able to Lucky Strike, they also cast Death with deadly accuracy if your defense is not bolstered with a Talisman or Deathblock. Use an Ammonia immediately to revive characters so they do not suffer from the effects of lowered max HP; Raise Dead is a waste of AP with resurrection not being guaranteed. They are weak against fire, so a hit from Ryu's Flare Sword and Garr's Pyrokinesis should be enough to down them in one turn. If you want to take the risk, you can steal Belladonnas from them. 

 

You'll need Momo in your party for the very beginning of Angel Tower to access some treasure, but can be switched out afterward, if you desire. Begin by climbing the stairs (You will be stopped if Garr is not present), but instead of climbing all the way to the top, you'll notice a broken part of the column along the side to your right. Hop off the edge to take the Ivory Dice chest, then drop down again, moving between the broken column at the bottom. You'll spot another chest you can leap off to that contains a Wisdom Seed.

 

Jump off again and head up and to your left to return to the stairs. Back before the Ivory Dice chest drop-off, you'll see a guard standing by a ledge. Near him, drop off four consecutive times to the bottom. To the south is a staircase leading into a mysterious room where a naked, blue-haired woman is suspended in a barrier of light. There's nothing to do here but observe she shares the same fashion sense as Garr with the green bracelets.

 

The stairs to the north carries you into Angel Tower itself. Down the first long flight of stairs, move up and switch Momo into the lead of your party. At the end of the corridor, have her blast the obviously cracked wall with her chrysm cannon to create a doorway. Follow the linear path downward to two treasures: Moon Tears and a Diamond Ring accessory. The Diamond Ring grants a 75% resistance to instant-death (100% for Peco or those with a Talisman or Deathblock inoculation).

 

Back at the base of the entrance stairs, head downward then around the corner and take the stairs to the next level. Just to the right is a small ascent up that you can follow out to a new area. Travel to the far-right-side of the hallway to see a stand-alone block outside a doorway. Place Garr into the lead of the party and have him push the block back to the left-side and deposit it up into the space seen in the above screenshot to create a makeshift-bridge on the upper-level. Return the way you came in: through the exit around the corner to your left, then down the small steps, before climbing the large set yet again. At the top, there is a doorway to your right that exits you out to the top of the area you created the walkway. Follow it around to the right-side, across the moved block, to pick up a Mithril Helm in a chest. If you didn't get a Mithril Helm for Momo, don't equip her with this one: it's best saved for when Rei rejoins our party in the near-future.

 

Retrace your steps back to where you found the moveable block and enter the doorway that was behind it. Move directly north down a long corridor to a door on the far-side. Inside is a Soul Gem to plunder. Head back out and then down the stairs in the middle of the open room to your lower-left.

 

At the bottom of the first set of stairs you see in the next area, search in the upper-left-corner for a Napalm treasure. 

 

Note: You will notice the encounter rate has been drastically increased in this room due to the nature of the puzzle. Even the Holy Mantle doesn't seem to reduce them.

In this massive room are several blocks that Garr must move perfectly into place to create a path across the platforms to the end of the dungeon. Move back up the stairs and proceed to the right-side of the room and down the stairs there. Stop and have Garr push the block slightly inward to where you see in the above screenshot (Don't push a block against a wall too much or it will shatter and you'll have to exit the room to respawn it). From there, continue downward, making a turn to the left. Follow the passage all the way to the bottom and look for the Skill Ink treasure tucked way to the far-left.

 

Back down the passage, look for a block on a narrow walkway just north of where you made the turn down from the previous block. Push the block upward and adjust it and the one above it like they are in the above screenshot. In position, go around to the right-side and push the other block downward and nestle it between the two platforms so that the stairs above can be crossed over to.

 

Retreat all the way back to the base of the stairs you found the Napalm. Head straight down, then to the right to be positioned next to one of the two blocks you pushed on the other side. Push it inward a ways, then north to be aligned next to the other. In the above screenshot, you can see where all three blocks must be positioned to access the exit. When prepared to complete Angel Tower, climb the small set of stairs you passed and navigate the positioned blocks to the stairs on the lower-right-end.

 

Garr suddenly requests that he and Ryu go further alone, to which your third member returns up the stairs. Search the epitaph, labeled "Guardian Garr" to the far-west-side of the massive monument. Garr is a dragon-slayer and the grounds of the Angel Tower are littered with the remains of those he and his brethren slayed. He tells the story of how 400 years ago Ryu's kind, the Brood, tried to dominate the world and the Urkan people pleaded with their God to give them the power to fight back. Garr is one of those that the God's holy power was bestowed and he's brought Ryu here to finish the last of his kind!

 

This duel will turn out quite differently from the one at the Contest of Champions since Garr seems to have spent time training under Durandal and forgot how to fight effectively, even though he claimed to be holding back at the Contest and this time it's for real, but anyway...You don't need any strategy. For overkill, splice the Miracle and Defender genes and he could never hope to overcome the Behemoth's massive HP and Defenses.

 

A defeated Garr questions why Ryu doesn't finish him off when the mysterious voice heard when Ryu was a whelp in Dauna Mine states that Garr is not his enemy. Ryu begins to lose control and transforms into what Garr calls the "Kaiser Dragon" and escapes from Angel Tower while it collapses around a bewildered Garr. Alone in darkness, Ryu is once again confronted by a purple-haired figure that declares they are different than the "others" and Ryu should not be with them.

 

Ten years later, inside the Dauna Mine, Garr is chasing a whelp within its depths. Through its fiery breath, Garr delivers a blow to reveal a much-older Ryu. The Urkan has spent all these years in search of him and asks for his forgiveness for what happened at Angel Tower (Your choice doesn't change anything). He leaves Ryu a new set of clothes and his equipment and asks that you follow him when ready. Leave through the upper-right exit, as you did as the whelp at the start of the game, to find Garr waiting. He has experienced an existential crisis after the events at Angel Tower and must know the truth about the Brood from God itself. Asking Ryu to let him live to see this through, he rejoins the party.

 

Note: The Passport item has become the Old Passport under vital items. 

 

This section of the Dauna Mine is exactly the same as the start of the game (Absent the scared miners!). There are no items to find, and only empty rooms, so simply head for the lower-right exit to be outside the giant, chrysm-encased dragon skull where Ryu, as the whelp, was captured. This time, if you head to the top of the platform to the north, there are three treasures to raid for a Vitamin, Life, and Magic Shard. To the southwest of the room, you can use a control panel to direct yourself between two other floors via a lift. Select B1 and as the two ride upward, a vengeful shadow is shown watching...

 

B1 is an optional, but linear section we can pick up a few items. Just down onto the tracks is a chest with a Lgt.Clothing armor. It's totally inferior to the Magma and MithrilArmor, but does only have a weight of 1, which may be considered for Garr if he has been studying under Fahl and failed to gain any points in Agility.

 

To the south exits further onto the mine tracks. Continue to follow them to find yourself outside. Enter the small shack and pocket the 200 zenny from the shelf. The Manillo merchant sells your basic items, if needed, but has Titan Belt and High Boots accessories, also. Done, backtrack to the lift and select B2 this time.

 

Monsters begin to be encountered on B2 to put the new-look Ryu to the test. All are weak against fire, so his Flare Sword will be of good use. Despite this, make sure Ryu and Garr are both equipped with either the Magma Armor, AsbestosArmr, or Ring of Fire. GntRoaches, when paired with FireSlugs, will use the learnable Douse skill. Douse, determined by status resistance, attempts to make the effected target weak against fire. It can negate current resistance, so even with the above-mentioned equipment, if Douse connects, you will become weak against fire. Can be useful for Garr and setting up Pyrokinesis, I guess, but likely won't see much use. The Roaches have Jump to learn, also.

 

Without fire resistance, the innumerable FireSlugs will reek havoc with their Firebreath, which you may remember from the Dump, but with Douse in play, it becomes incredibly dangerous. Unlike the Dump, however, FireSlugs are frequently encountered in this first large room and is the best place in the game to obtain Moxa. Not an incredibly rare drop to begin with, adding in their number, frequency, and use of the Charm skill, farming Moxas can be very efficient here for those that want to boost each character's willpower.

 

Note: The humorous ZombieDr is found within the Dauna Mines, as well. Able to steal MultiVitamins, and pick up the Bone Dart skill if you haven't already, they are well-known for casting Vitalize on their entire group of undead friends, destroying them instantly!  

 

Just off the lift, there's a room to the right where Ryu and Garr can rest and save. A bit further down, still on the upper-level, to the far-right-side of the room, there's a doorway to a small room with a MultiVitamin chest. More importantly, notice the damaged wall here. When Momo rejoins the party, we'll need to return and blast it to obtain a very useful item!

 

Below is a large room with mine cart tracks, who's trajectory can be altered with switches, and a cart full of dynamite at the start that Garr can push. To find an item, start by hitting the switch to the lower-right of the cart, then down and to the right of it, flip the switch there that is at the bottom of the room. Head back to the cart and have Garr shove it eastward to create a walkway to the treasure you can access via climbing the slope directly to the south of the cart's start position. The chest contains the wind-based FeatherSword for Ryu that is one-of-a-kind and missable! If you destroy the dynamite cart before obtaining the treasure, it is lost forever! Despite it being stronger and lighter than the Flare Sword, I recommend keeping the fire-based one equipped for the duration of the dungeon.

 

To clear the obstruction and move further on, move back to the 2nd switch you flipped, in the south, return it to its previous position, and push the cart back to its starting location. Directly north of the second switch, activate that switch, this time, and push the dynamite cart to the north. Once you push the cart eastward to its destination, a boss fight will occur. To make things easier, have Ryu equipped with the Flare Sword and Garr with a Magma Armor and the Life Sandals and Light Bangle accessories. If lacking Magma Armor, give Garr the Ring of Fire in place of the Life Sandals. Pushing the dynamite into the large boulder results in its destruction, but the pursuing shadow makes its appearance. It demands to know Garr's intentions and where he is leading Ryu. Scoffing at the Guardian's wanting to take Ryu to meet their God, he insists that Ryu avenge his fallen people by killing Garr. When Ryu, and the voice in his heart refuse, a battle ensues.
 

The Dragon Zombie can be either laughably easy, or downright dreadful depending on your equipment and approach. Its got a Power Food to steal, so make sure to get that. Being undead, you can actually instantly defeat it if Garr has learned Kyrie or it was taught by Hondara. Otherwise, you're going to be contentiously hit with poison and confusion-inflicting attacks and the battle becomes chaotic. If Ryu has learned Restore, you can just stay in human form and cast it on the bloody thing for massive damage. If Ryu has a good mount of maximum AP, splice Eldritch and Thorn together to create a dragon that can cast Restore on the undead creature. In dragon form, Bone Dance is almost assured to confuse Ryu, but with the recommended equipment setup, Ryu's attacks will actually heal Garr if he is targeted and Garr can focus an attack on him in turn to knock him out of his daze. If you're lacking in AP, you can achieve a similar effect by using the Flame and Defender genes and attacking with Flame Claw. Garr can administer Antidotes, perform Pyrokinesis, or use Vitamins on the Dragon Zombie in support.

 

Note: The Dragon Zombie can very rarely drop the Dragon Tear, a rather useless item, however, it is incredibly hard to come by, but can eventually be gotten elsewhere. If you have Charm and Kyrie it may be worth trying for here.

 

After the battle, the remains of the malicious Dragon Zombie grants Ryu the power of the Shadow gene. Then, a mysterious blue-haired member of the Brood, the one that has been calling out to Ryu and restraining his dragon rage against others, bestows upon him the Fusion gene and refers to him as a "true dragon" puzzling both him and Garr. The Shadow gene is all about death, status afflictions, and their defenses. Innately, it diminishes healing spell effects while in the form, but provides 75% protection from status and death-based spells, however spliced with Thorn, this achieves a 100% shield. Its Shadow Breath, being death-based, causes no damage, but attempts to instantly kill all enemies. Together with the Flame gene creates the ability to cast Ebonfire; a unique, non-elemental spell.

 

The Fusion gene does nothing on its own, however, it can be spliced with other genes to create special dragon forms that utilize members of your current party (Think Karn from the original Breath of Fire and Shamans in II). Once the party has reunited fully, I will talk more in-depth about this. Proceed through the dynamite-blasted door to the far-end of the tracks to continue the journey through the Mine.

 

Keeping eastward across the tracks takes you to a ladder that eventually leads to a point outside the mine, but there's nothing to be found there. Instead, turn south and enter the door at the top of the platform. Take the door on the right inside the small corridor to enter another mining area. There are chests to the upper and lower-right paths containing a Lion's Belt accessory and Protein. Leaving the treasure room, follow the wooden walkway to the mine's exit; stopping by the control room and activating the lever inside to raise the steel platform before. Garr confirms that the dragon is gone to a worker, but hearing of the devastation brought on by himself, out of control or not, is hard for Ryu to handle.

 

A reward was promised to Garr for getting rid of the dragon problem, but we'll need to find the boss. To find his office, head down the slope and off to your right where there stands two buildings side-by-side. Entering the first, Garr is given 3000 zenny, with the guarantee that the dragon won't be an issue any longer. The miners warn that if headed down the mountain, a vicious monster is attacking people on the Ogre Road, and you may want to stop by the ominously-named Syn City first. Next door, Gary, one of the workers Ryu toasted at the beginning of the game, managed to survive but appears to be now be crippled. You can rest and save in the two buildings, also. Move down the slope to your lower-left and then south through the gates to exit the Dauna Mine. Automatically camped, Ryu has a nightmare of his actions in the Mine. Garr, again, apologizes to Ryu for the past, and reiterates his desire to take Ryu to meet his God for answers. They'll need to pass through the mountains, toward Wyndia, and finally back to Angel Tower.