Note: Before proceeding any further, know that Shaly Seeds and Vinegar can no longer be obtained after meeting the Legendary Mariner. If you want your total back to 99 after making the Shisu, head back to their locations to stock up or else you will need to use the Faerie Village to copy them once the story progresses further.
As has happened a few times in the game, boarding the Black Ship takes us across the Outer Sea and separates us from our masters for an extended period of time. There is one large dungeon, then two smaller ones, before we have access to the southern lands again. Make sure that each character has a suitable master and are not within distance of learning the last of said master's skills and needing to change. If you need to do some leveling, the awakened Vulcans in Mt. Zublo are still the quickest option (And you can receive Proteins), but Lava Men and the Big Bulbs underneath the Plant are larger EXP options, as well. As a note, here are my suggested character equips at this point in the game:
- Ryu: Demonsbane, Kite Shield/SpikedGntlts, Tiger's Cap/PlatinumHelm, Amber BPlate, Speed Boots, Light Bangle/Spirit/Shaman Ring
- Nina: Ruby Scepter/HiddenDagger/Ouroboros, Steel/SpikedGntlts, Tiger's Cap/Laurel, Amber BPlate, Wisdom Ring, High Boots/Spirit/Shaman Ring/Light Bangle
- Momo: Sleep Shells, Steel/SpikedGntlts, Tiger's Cap/Laurel, Amber BPlate, Artemis' Cap, Wisdom Ring/Spirit/Shaman Ring/Light Bangle
- Peco: Tiger Claws, Kite Shield/SpikedGntlts, Tiger's Cap/Glass Domino, Amber BPlate, Titan Belt, Speed Boots
- Garr: Aries/Beast Spear, Ice Shield/SpikedGntlts, Tiger's Cap/PlatinumHelm, Amber BPlate, Titan Belt, Wisdom Ring/Speed Boots
- Rei: Heavy Dagger, Steel/SpikedGntlts, Tiger's Cap/PlatinumHelm, Blizzard Mail, Titan Belt, Speed Boots/Light Bangle
Note: Considering bringing, at least, four Barandy (From the fishing spot north of Syn City) to trade at a Manillo shop across the Sea.
The Black Ship will begin approaching the Middle Sea west of the crags. Position yourself outside of Parch and wait for it to sail eastward, then dash into its stern.
After the crash, check on your party members. Wait, what, Honey can speak?! The entrance into the Black Ship is just outside the boat, so pick your party members and get ready to infiltrate. Momo will, eventually, be needed for the dungeon, but not at the start, and the Guild boat will be readily available to return to rest, save, and switch characters.
Within, all three dodging Bolts are back, making magic a trusted ally. It presents another opportunity to learn Frost Strike form the sword-wielding one, also. Any character, particularly Peco and Garr, if not equipped with the BlizzardMail or Ice Shield, should wear a Ring of Ice. KingToads, if their HP is not lowered before they act, can decimate the party with Icebreath. They are weak against fire, so a solid Flame Strike, Pyrokinesis, or Wall of Fire should down them quickly. Accompanied by a Sleepy, they will use Influence, if for some reason you have yet to learn it. Like their appearance at the Tidal Caves, be weary of Sleepy using Hypnotize and note you can still learn Snooze from them here.
Note: I would highly recommend if you are low on zenny after Parch to have the Midas Stone equipped for the majority of the Black Ship. There is a shop stocked full of new weapons and armor immediately after the dungeon.
Move down the first flight of stairs inside the Black Ship, then follow the corridor around to the door to the north. There's a terminal on the far-wall that dictates where a platform delivers you around the room. Select P4, first, step on the platform, then returning to it until it delivers you across the room to a door. At the end of the hallway, check the panel to snag the ID Card vital item stuck inside. Stepping on the platform a second time takes you to a lower section where you can obtain a Skill Ink treasure, then ride the platform back.
The P3 selection descends you down to another terminal where you can switch on the crane control on the upper floors. The remainder of the options aren't necessary to use.
The door across from the Black Ship entrance leads into the crane room. Using the control panel, your objective is to grab all four smaller crates around the room, which is fairly simple to do with some timing, although there is a tricky one surrounded by larger crates in the northwest (It needs to line-up just to the left of the control panel), to create a walkway to the other side. Only three are needed, however, and the fourth one chosen is destroyed to reveal a treasure chest, so this will need to be done a minimum of four times, selecting a different fourth crate each time, to collect all the items.
The farthest, upper-right crate has a Wisdom Fruit. The crate surrounded by the larger ones to the north houses a Protectors shield. Purchasable eventually, the Protectors offers low defense, but bolsters your resistance to status effects by 50% and is usable by all characters, but will be a situational piece. The middle-most crate of the lower three holds a Light Bangle accessory. Lastly, the one to the lower-left conceals Ryu's Ascension sword. One-of-a-kind, it is holy-elemental, but can't match the power of the Demonsbane. Leaving the room resets the crates, so you have an opportunity to obtain all the items.
Taking the makeshift walkway across the room, enter the door on the eastern-end, then the next one inside. Walk along the larger crates thereafter to obtain Momo's Flash Shells weapon. Another one-of-a-kind weapon, it can induce blind upon hit, and is superior to the Sleep Shells. Return back through the doors, then exit to the lower-right. Flip the lever to raise a bridge that leads back across to the Black Ship's entrance, which you should use to return to the Guild boat and add Momo to your party before continuing on.
Climb the staircase near the switch that raised the connecting bridge a bit ago. Straight across from the stairs is a door leading down a hallway. Open the chest for a Skill Ink. This item is missable because it disappears when the door unlocks after the next puzzle.
In the hallway around the corner are four rooms on opposite ends. Enter the first on your right and swipe the Ammonia from the bookcase. In the upper-left room, rotate your camera to spot a satchel REALLY well hidden that contains 2400 zenny.
Using the stairs in the upper-right-corner past the rooms, slot the ID Card into the panel to ride the elevator to the next floor and follow the stairs upward onto the Black Ship's bridge. As Momo, examine the controls. To reset the Black Ship's course to return back to where it came the Boost Counter needs to be reset when it reaches exactly 100.
After the explanation, head back down the elevator to the four rooms; the Boost Counter is located inside the one to the upper-right. Search the panel, then wait for the counter to hit 65-70, before making your way back to Momo, all the while counting up from the number each time you hear the counter tick. Talk to Momo when the counter hits 100 and the Ship's navigation system is automatically reset to return back across the Outer Sea.
The party says goodbye to Zig as the Black Ship departs. Ryu's "Eye of God" emerges and extends north across the Outer Sea. Adrift, the group lounges around and plays as the time passes. The tranquility is interrupted by an alarm sounding, however! On the bridge, Momo explains that there is some sort of problem on the upper deck and it likely needs to be investigated, so choose your party members. The Guild boat is gone, but there's now a diary below in the four rooms where you can rest (Gender-specific, however), change party members, and save. An upcoming boss is weak against electric, so a party of Nina and either Rei or Momo is recommend (Stealing will be important, too).
To the lower-left of the four-room corridor is the door that leads to the bow of the ship. Some new enemies have popped up beyond. The GntCrabs can be, potentially, dangerous if they choose to cast Death in pairs. You may want to equip the Diamond Ring on your point character just in case. They're weak against ice, however, so Nina, Frost Strike, or Peco, if he has Icebreath, can wipe them out quickly. They like to use the Double Blow skill, too, if you've yet to acquire it. It's rare, but GntCrabs can sometimes drop BlizzardMails, also.
Breath of Fire III's most elusive enemy is found on the trip to the upper deck: the BoltLord. There's nothing unique or special about them besides their rarity, however, they do leave behind a good sum of zenny and may drop a Laquer Helm for you, but those are purchasable in the next city. If they panic, you may get healed, too!
Past the unsealed door, head down the ramp to your right, then up the next one, before turning down through an exit. Take the Ivory Dice from the chest and return, heading upward, then down the ladder on the opposite-end. Make your way around the square-shaped path to the door. In the following room, head right, then wrap yourself all the way to the left-side of the room to find a Soul Gem treasure. Retrace your steps and use the stairs you passed on the way, then the next flight after. In the bottom-center of the proceeding room is a stack of crates with a ladder needed to reach the door to the upper-left. The next ladder leads up onto the upper deck where a boss awaits.
Equip Light Bangles, of which you should have two, but maybe more if you took my earlier suggestion and copied them. The character that doesn't have one should equip the Protectors shield you picked up from the crane mini-game and a Life Sandals. Any character that has a Light Bangle + Protectors or Life Sandals will have complete status immunity which will make the upcoming boss incredibly easy. A low-Intelligence character like Peco, Garr, or Rei should have a BlizzardMail or the Ice Shield in case things go wrong. Ryu should equip the Barbarossa, if available, but not necessary.
At the far-end of the bow, two super-ugly monstrosities emerge from the waters and descend on the group. You are then tossed into yet another mini-game, this one exactly like red light, green light, but a bit trickier than the salvage-pulling one. You must hit the right directional button to retreat back, but only when the monsters themselves aren't moving; if you both move at the same time, you are thrown straight into the boss battle. Making it to the rear-end of the ship grants a bonus of the turret helping you out.
This battle can be divided up into two strategies: straight-out offense, or playing defense to steal and learn skills. Both Ammonite have Moon Tears to steal and use the missable Tsunami skill; hopefully you already got the latter from the Dolphin boss much earlier, but if you didn't, this is your second-to-last chance to learn it! The Ammonites approach changes depending on whether they are alone or together. Alone, they will consistently use Tsunami and Confuse, which should be completely nulled by a Light Bangle and Protectors/Life Sandal combination, and the also learnable Multistrike. If one is defeated, the other will start using powerful ice-based magic, in particular, Blizzard which will overwhelm you without any ice protection. If you don't care about the items or learning Tsunami, have Ryu ascend with a splice of Force, Thunder (Or Gross if he has the Barbarossa), and Shadow. Then proceed to alternate attacks, whether they are physical with the Barbarossa, or Thunder Claw without, on the two Ammonites to avoid killing one before they other is nearly defeated. Shadow in the splice will avoid Tsunami and Confuse, however, you can add Gross/Thorn instead for more offense, but is a bit risky due to the possible confusion.
Stealing the Moon Tears will require some patience. Use Charm on both to help with this and cast Speed (Or use the Robe of Wind) on your thief to further increase odds (And possibility of EX turns). The Black Ship's turret will sometimes interject and cancel the Ammonites turn and cause a small amount of damage if you managed to retreat far enough back. While stealing, use this time to examine and learn Tsunami/Multistrike, while casting Lightning with Nina/Rei against the electric-weak Ammonites, and chipping in with other attacks remembering to try to keep from killing one before the other is ready to die too. Casting Shield/Protect during this waiting period is advised, as well. When you have the items and skills, Ryu can assume his previously-mentioned dragon form to finish the boss.
Heading back down the ladder, days later, the Black Ship automatically sails into a port known as Kombinat across the Outer Sea. It looks not-too-unlike your own world, but Rei and Garr both advise caution, not knowing what to expect.
Note: The Black Ship stays docked at Kombinat and can always be returned to, although you can no longer encounter enemies outside the ship.
There's very little going on in Kombinat, but there's a shop in the warehouse-looking building up and to the right from the port. Make sure to bring your Coupons! Purchase the PiercingEdge (Which also casts Weaken as an item) for Rei, the +5 Intelligence Beryl Rod for Nina (If she doesn't have the Ouroboros), Raptor Claws for Peco, and ultra-powerful AP Shells for Momo. The fire-based Heat Shotel and wind-elemental Gale Javelin aren't anywhere close to being stronger than what Ryu and Garr already have. Most of the weapons sold here aren't found anywhere else, although the AP Shells can be gotten, although difficult, from faerie explorers, you can steal Heat Shotels from a much-later enemy, and the Gale Javelin is a rare drop at one point, if you would prefer another way.
For armor, each character should have the +5 Power SpikedGntlts, even though it's lesser than the LaquerShield. The LaquerShield can be ignored completely since we will find a free one. Purchase Sage's Frocks for Nina/Momo, which bolster their Intelligence by 5, although one is found later. If you already have Tiger's Caps, though the Lacquer Helm is better defensively, stick with them for Ryu, Rei, and Garr, otherwise pick at least one up. Forget the LacquerArmor besides adding one to your inventory, and continue with BlizzardMails and Amber BPlates. A better armor is purchasable not long from now. Besides that, we can trade for one of the best armors (And strongest) in the game at a Manillo shop soon.
Note: The item shop in Kombinat sells your basic items, but has lvl 3 lures like Parch. The equipment was super-expensive, but we can thieve some items in the next area to make some zenny and pick up anything we were lacking.
Another warehouse is beside the merchant one, then on the other side of that one, sandwiched between the crates, is a hiding machine soldier. Talk to it and select the option "Vuguguuoubidea" and it'll give you Momo's Homing Bomb weapon. Although terribly under-powered compared to her other options, it does give Momo 100% accuracy, but not against Nuts/Volts, and other dodge-heavy creatures.
Leaving Kombinat, the group automatically camps. Rei, Nina, and Momo have bizarre, out-of-body conversations with themselves regarding their motivations for having accompanied Ryu to the Lost Shore. Afterward, the only green you will find in the area, besides the field of flowers, is a Yggdrasil tree to the northeast. Lying beside the magnificent tree is the Trance gene for Ryu. Similar to the ??? gene, Trance does nothing on its own, but splices with other ones to create unique dragon forms, of which two are now available us.
Force spliced with Trance creates the unique Myrmidon dragon. An amplified Warrior form, the Myrmidon gets an 80% increase in HP, 20% in Defense, 50% to Agility, and a massive triple increase in Power! In addition to Aura, the holy-elemental Aura Breath becomes available along with all the elemental Strike attacks making it very elementally diverse.
Shadow spliced with Trance forms the unique Tiamat that encompasses the entire party into a massive creation. Compared to the Mammoth, however, this form is only situational due to it being completely immune to status effects, earth and death-based attacks, and its statistics being reduced. Statistical bonuses include 2.5x HP, 80% Power/Defense, and 50% Intelligence increases. Its non-elemental Doom Breath is its best attack, but offers no comparison to the Mammoth's 1000% HP MeteorStrike.
There is a fishing location nearby, but a better rod is found in the next area, then we will discuss it. Also, the Lost Shore random battlefields will be covered when we have access to our masters again, which is not that much longer from now, thankfully. To the east is the game's next location: the Steel Grave. Equipping Diamond Rings and/or Talismans for the area is recommended. Momo will be required there to obtain an item, also.
In an unexplored world, every enemy in the Steel Grave is new to us. MultiBots have exceptionally large defense, no magic weakness, and is one of the very few instances a skill like Spirit Blast or Mighty Chop could be useful if you haven't been able to upgrade your weapons. Their defense is easily lowered using Weaken with Nina or the PiercingEdge as an item, though. Casting magic, other than wind, is still preferable, however, and using various elements will cause them to respond with the same element in return. Hit with either a fire or electric-based attack, the MultiBot will begin to use the Wall of Fire or Thunder Clap skills, previously only usable by bosses, that can be learned if missed. Also, while likely requiring Charm to be used first, you can steal Silver Mails from them that you can sell back in Kombinat for a little under 2000 zenny to refinance yourself.
The Assassins are the Steel Grave's most notorious resident and reason for the Diamond Ring/Talismans. They love to use the death-based Disembowel skill, normally taught by Bunyan, but can be learned here, to drop your HP to one. Without access to inoculations, the accessories, and Ryu's AshurasSword, are all we have to prevent it. They'll throw out the weak Target skill, to learn, otherwise. Stealing from Assassins will net you a Lgt.Clothing to sell, but not for nearly as much as the Silver Mail. Audreys are nothing special and easily defeated by fire, while Thrashers hold Wisdom Seeds to steal and are an easier source to learn the Timed Blow skill from than GooTitans were.
The Steel Grave is a jumbled, maze-like mess of paths and a long-forgotten and buried ship up top. Begin by taking the right-side path to the edge, then turning up. There will be a large, sloping scrap of steel on your left, then at its end, between another column of steel, you can find a Speed Boots accessory in a chest hidden between.
To the right of the Speed Boots is a ladder to climb up on the buried ship. With Momo in your party, head north across the center of the ship to a ladder descending down inside. Using her chrysm cannon, Momo can blast the rusted door off.
Inside the bridge, you can procure the chest containing the Spanner fishing rod. The best rod in the game by most metrics, it lacks the distance of the Angling Rod, making it still necessary to catch those pesky outliers. There is still one more rod to find, however.
Back atop the ship, move downward, near the top of the slopping metal you found the Speed Boots. There's a ladder directly opposite it to climb down to the left-most-side of the Steel Grave. Mostly barren, there's another ladder to the upper-left to access the UV Glasses chest. A one-of-a-kind helmet that prevents blind, Defense-wise, it is the best helmet for Peco by 1, but the +5 Power of the Tiger's Cap is more beneficial, in my opinion. It's a better option to replace either Nina or Momo's Laurel, or if one of the guys is still using the PlatinumHelm. To finish the dungeon, head back onto the ship, then back down the length of the ship to where you climbed up the ladder past the Speed Boots. Take the dirt path leading up, then around to the exit to your upper-left.
With Spanner in-hand, let's check out that fishing hole to the southeast of Kombinat. This is it: the final fishing spot in the game! It contains the hardest-to-catch, and final fish, also: the Whale. Good luck catching this with the Angling Rod, but you can reel them closer in with it and then switch to the Spanner. The Whale is, arguably, the fish that keeps most players from obtaining the highest class, needing a 240cm one for 999 points (I was three cm away with my catch here!!! Ugh!). As items, Whales have the same effect as Moon Tears: completely restoring the party's HP and status, but a lot easier to get!
- Man-o'-War x8 (Any - 30cm)
- Flying Fish x4 (Popper - 20cm)
- Spearfish x2 (Sinker/Popper - 120cm)
- Whale x2 (Any - 240cm)
- Manillo x1 (Coin - 200cm)
The game's final Manillo shop is located here, too. The electric-based Royal Sword for Ryu is his second-best weapon in the game. It also casts Lightning when used as an item, which is excellent for Nina/Momo. The downside is its weight, but the power more than makes up for it. Likewise, the Life Armor, in terms of Defense, is the best armor in the game for Ryu, Garr, and Rei. It also has the innate effect of the Cupid's Lyre: recovering 1 HP per turn or step taken outside of the battle. Again, the issue is the armor's weight, but until the very end of the game, there's is no armor remotely better. An important note, however, is that both the Royal Sword and Life Armor can be found as treasure, although will require some footwork to do so, but it's an option. You should absolutely get them here if you brought the recommended Barandy with you and start copying the Life Armor for all three men.
Further north of the Steel Grave is the next area, the Colony. Momo will be required, again, and as a precaution, make sure she has at least 24 Agility so she is quicker than the above menace: the Codger. This is one of the few encounters in the game where, if two spawn together, you could be wiped out if odds are in the Codgers favor. Using MagicShuffle, if both manage to land on Quake, which I have had happen, you're pretty much done for. To prevent this, always have Momo cast Silence, which they are very susceptible, if two are paired together. Alone, they are much more manageable and can be killed quickly with weapon attacks. You can steal their Rare Book item, also. An "appears valuable" item, you can sell it at a faerie antique shop for 4000 zenny.
If he's not using MagicShuffle, the Codger will perform the exciting "Bad back" skill, which you can copy. It's yet another skill that wastes your turn, so learn it for completion, and dump it into your skill notes. From MagicShuffle, you can, theoretically, learn the non-elemental Ebonfire skill, too, but be prepared to waste a lot of time doing so. It has a very low chance of being chosen, plus Ebonfire is one of the few skills that actually have a difficulty to learn imposed upon them, which even further tanks your odds. It's much easier to learn from another enemy, but only once you are over level 50.
Note: If they lose most of their AP, the old Codger will, hilariously, throw out the learnable Flying Kick, too!
The other unique encounter found at the Colony, the ToxicMan, actually has three variations to him from weak to strong. Besides poisoning you, they're not much of a threat, although the strongest version has a ton of HP. They're weak against holy, so you may consider using Ryu's Ascension sword for them if you didn't trade for the Royal Sword. You can also steal Clay Vases from ToxicMen, which are only held by them and Tar Men. Assassins continue to persist in the Colony, also, so you might want to keep your Diamond Rings and Talismans equipped for the duration of the dungeon.
At the entrance of the Colony, the party spots an object at its pinnacle spinning around hinting that Momo will be needed to deal with the machines here. Begin by heading directly up the stairs in front, then continue to climb the next several flights in front of you that ultimately lead to a door. Inside, a device that looks suspiciously like the one in the basement of Wyndia castle is found. Pick up the Key, a vital item, in a bag that was conveniently left on top of the platform and exit back out.
Use the stairs leading down to the left, then look for a drop-off point up and to the left of the column at the base of the stairs. There's another pair of stairs heading down, with a door just off from it. Enter the small room and pick up the satchel in the corner containing the top-level, sinker-type Deep Diver lure.
Back up the steps outside, Ryu's Failure gene is nestled in the junk to your upper-left. This gene has absolutely no application yet, but will soon...
From the Failure gene, head south, along the wall of trash, before turning right at the end and through the door. Continue through a small corridor, then out to the eastern-most-end of the Colony. Take the stairs up, then look for a chest with a Wisdom Fruit at the end of the path, before doubling back and leaping off the ledge, seen above, to a previously-inaccessible room, crashing through a pane of glass in the process.
Using Momo, examine the control panel and have her insert the "Key" (Removed from your inventory) to activate the portal drive. To activate it fully, however, the party has to align the three reflectors in the room to direct a beam to the fuses located at the top. Using the screenshot above, rotate the reflectors to match, then hit the switch to navigate the beam and ignite the fuses. Exit out of the room to the lower-left, then after climbing the stairs just outside the door, you'll be in familiar territory and can head back to the portal room which is now glowing and ready to use. Might as well jump in.
Stepping out into an unknown area, Honey dashes off on her own, which means we had best follow her! The party emerges out inside the freighter on Steel Beach! Everyone is discouraged to have gone through everything they did to cross the Outer Sea only to end up back where they started. After some conversation, it's determined that the portal drive and God have to be somehow connected, and that the relay point they came from needs more of an investigation. You're now free to return to the lower world to change masters or anything else left undone. Zig is also waiting at the Dock west of Junk Town if you need to commandeer the Guild boat again. You can't return to the Colony area yet, but you can direct the portal drive underneath Wyndia to Relay Point A as a shortcut back to the portal the Colony sent us to and is the location of our next dungeon.
