______________ BREATH OF FIRE _ ___ ___ _ || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || _||___||___||_ BREATH OF FIRE ______________ -------------- Dragon Handbook -------------- That's all the ANSI graphics you get. Sorry. -------------- Latest version: September 5th, 2000 Version 1.0, 7/27/0: First release! Version 1.1, 8/2/0: Added information on elemental + Thorn having absorption properties; changed DragonBreath and Whelp Breath to reflect damage reduction for enemies with high Defense; added Eldritch + elemental effects under the appropriate elemental gene (as well as under Eldritch); Changed description of Focus (only seems to affect the next attack made). Still looking for Super-Tiamat and Super-Pygmy forms :) Version 1.2, 8/4/0: Didn't even send in version 1.1 before finding these. Made some alterations to the Warrior section, noted that Miracle + Reverse produces a high-speed Behemoth, and added some combinations involving the Defender gene to the hit points section. Version 1.2.5, 8/16/0: A minor change: After re-testing, Myrmidon + Miracle does *not* have more HP than normal. Plus made some minor format and content changes here and there, but nothing to get excited about - mostly shuffling old information and making sure all lines were 80 characters or fewer. Version 1.3, 8/24/0: Well, I got bored at work, so I added in an entirely new (well, really, just the same old information from a different point of view) section: "In Order Of Appearance". Also, I switched sections A and B of part iii so the Quick Reference Guide wouldn't be *right* after the new section. Version 1.3.5, 9/5/0: No, you didn't miss a version; I never uploaded the changes I made on 8/24. A small update to confirm that Bonebreak is, indeed, one of Kaiser's moves whether or not Ryuu already knows it. Version 1.3.7, 9/15/0. No, you didn't miss the *last* version, either. I'm getting lazy in my old age, I guess. Just a few minor revisions this time. Nothing even worth noting specifically. :) Version 1.4, 11/25/0. Well, I finally actually *looked* at my FAQ on gamefaqs.com, and saw quite a few formatting errors, as well as a few typos (including the wrong AP cost for Tiamat's Venom Breath). -------------- This information guide is copyright 2000 DarkStorm, currently raiu (at) geocities (dot) com. Do not publish this commercially without my permission (and I *will* want to be paid for it :). Do not put this FAQ on your website without contacting me first. Basically, read it all you want, save it to your hard drive, and enjoy it forever, but don't publish it or post it to another web page without e-mailing me and asking my permission (and I can't think of a reason I wouldn't give my permission). Simple, neh? Do make sure, however, that you are looking at the most recent version of this guide, which should always be on my web stie and www.gamefaqs.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS i. Dragon Forms A. Whelp Form B. Dragon Form C. Warrior Form D. Behemoth Form E. Hybrid Forms F. Pygmy Form G. Tiamat Form H. Golden Forms (Wildfire, Trygon, Myrmidon, Mammoth) I. Kaiser Form ii. Gene-specific abilities A. Flame B. Frost C. Thunder D. Shadow E. Radiance F. Force G. Eldritch H. Defender iii. In Order Of Appearance iv. Miscelleny A. Dragon hit points B. Quick-Reference Gene List C. Quick-reference Dragon Breath List D. Dragon Skills E. Quick-reference Hybrid List F. Unanswered Questions G. Tyrant Gene ------- I'm writing this because the Dragon Gene System is what sets Breath of Fire 3 apart from most RPGs. I've seen a few FAQs on where to find the genes and what certain gene combinations form, but herein I hope to provide a definitive guide to all the dragons and their uses. And, make no mistake, there are no "useless" dragon forms in this game, and every gene has subtleties that can completely alter the powers of other genes. (Sadly, the Dragon System in BoF4 is going to be simplified, something more akin to BoF1's list of dragon forms) The number in parenthesis is the number of AP needed to use that ability or spell. This number can be reduced by equipping the Shaman's or Spirit Rings prior to transformation, but such rings have no effect on the AP cost for the transformation itself, or the per-round maintance cost. Note also that items equipped to prevent elemental damage are ineffective while in dragon form. However, status-guarding items still work, and if Ryuu's weapon had an elemental effect (like, say, the Flare Sword, or the Barbarosa), that effect will be carried over to the dragon's normal attacks. Breath damage percentages are approximate, and depends on the opponent's magic defense to some extent. All of them were tested in the Yrall region, on Eye Goos and Goblins. Damage is somewhat lower against enemies in the last area, for example. Damage for Whelp and Dragon Breath are dependant on the opponents' *physical* defense, rather than magical defense. Throughout I use "dragon" for any dragon form, and "Dragon" (capital D) specifically for the forms the game calls Dragon. I'm excluding 'Restore Form' from all these lists, for brevity's sake. Hopefully, this is a spoiler-free guide, except for minor things (like gene locations). ------- i. Dragon Forms These are the powers of the forms, independant of the ability genes spliced with them, which will be dealt with in a separate section. (So a Whelp created with the Frost gene will have the general Whelp powers and the general Frost powers: Blind, Frost Claw, Whelp Breath, Frost Breath) A. Whelp Form The most basic and weakest of the dragons. Created by any single gene alone (exceptions: Force, Miracle, Fusion, Kaiser), or by combinations with only one 'ability' gene (Flame, Frost, Thunder, Shadow, Radiance, Defender, Eldritch) and another non-ability gene other than Thorn (Reverse, Mutant, ???, Trance). Reverse + Thorn + an ability gene will also generally form a Whelp. Anything but Kaiser spliced with Failure also results in a Whelp, as does using Fusion with Garr. Its abilities are slightly higher overall than Ryuu's (with the exception of Failure and combinations involving Failure, which provide no boost to hit points at all), but it's much better than nothing. Even the weakest of the Whelps has approximately twice Ryuu's power for normal attacks. On second look, Failure Whelps appear to have no better attack power than Ryuu's normal form. The same probably holds true for all the Failure Whelp's stats. This form comes with the following moves. Whelp Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 30% of current HP as physical damage. Damage is reduced by enemies' defense score) Blind (0 AP; A half-strength attack that has a chance of blinding the target). B. Dragon Form Obtained by combining any two ability genes with each other, or any of the above with Thorn. Single-elemental dragons (Flame + Thorn, Flame + Defender, etc) match the color of their element, while mixed-elementals (Flame + Thunder, Flame + Shadow) are always dark greyish-green in color (horn color seems to vary depending on the combination), no matter what the elemental mix (except in the cases where the elements cancel out, leaving the normal-colored green dragon - Flame + Frost and Shadow + Radiance). Dragons have the following powers: DragonBreath (0 AP; Causes approximately 42.5% of current HP as physical damage. Damage is reduced by enemies' defense score) Snap (0 AP; A half-strength attack that has a chance of lowering the opponent's defense). C. Warrior Form Obtained by using the Force Gene. Exceptions to this are splicing in Miracle (forms a Behemoth with Focus), Trance (forms Myrmidon), Failure (forms a Whelp), Fusion (forms a Hybrid), and Infinity (forms Kaiser).This form has slightly more HP than a whelp, amazing power, okay defense, and great speed, but no all-enemy-affecting 'breath' attacks (unless an elemental gene is spliced in... and since breath-weapons are HP-dependant, you're better off going with an elemental + Thorn for the HP boost). Splicing in Reverse actually boosts the Warrior's HP, moreso than adding Gross. His best ability is Aura, but that 20 AP cost per use means you won't get in many of them before running out of AP and reverting. This form is best for taking on single enemies with lots of HP, especially undead. A few oddities about this form are that Reverse boosts his hit points, and Thorn *reduces* his hit points. Update: While I suggested (and still suggest) not splicing an elemental gene with Force to use breath weapons (because of his relatively low HP in this form), using the elemental claw attacks with the Warrior's great strength is extremely effective, so splicing in elementals for *that* purpose is suggested. And, because I've seen this written in a few different places, I'll mention it here: Adding an elemental gene to Warrior does *not* add the appropriate elemental Strike (e.g., using Thunder + Force still produces a Warrior with Thunder Claw, not ThundrStrike). The only form that has the Strikes is Myrmidon. Warriors have the following abilities: Focus (0 AP; Raises attack power by 50% of original. Two uses brings Ryuu up to double attack power. Subsequent uses have no effect. Only affects the next physical attack made - on re-examining this move, it may affect several attacks, though the effect is not permanent like War Shout or Might) Aura (20 AP; Holy damage, always critical hits) Gambit (0 AP; Causes a critical hit, but has a low hit rate) D. Behemoth Form Obtained by using the Miracle Gene. Exceptions: Miracle + ??? forms Mammoth, Miracle + Failure forms a Whelp, Miracle + Fusion forms a Hybrid, Miracle + Shadow + Trance forms Tiamat, Miracle + Force + Trance forms Myrmidon, Miracle + Infinity forms Berzerk Kaiser, and Miracle + Thorn + Reverse forms Wildfire. Miracle + Reverse forms a Behemoth with fewer HP than normal but with high speed, and Miracle + Gross + Reverse almost guarantees EX Attacks on a lot of enemies. Miracle + Force forms a Behemoth with the Warrior's Focus ability. This form is big, has plenty of hit points (more than any other form except Mammoth), has good attack and defense power, and pretty low speed. It "absorbs" the other party members, leaving only Behemoth on your side. (This can be an advantage against enemies that can cause confusion, since a confused character never attacks himself, and Behemoth has no allies to attack, so the opponent gets the brunt of his 350+ damage normal attack). The Behemoth comes with the following abilities: MeteorStrike (0 AP; The closest thing Behemoth has to a Breath attack. Causes approximately 50% HP damage) Blitz (0 AP; Makes multiple half-strength attacks against all opponents, but Behemoth loses half his current HP afterwards) Charge (0 AP; Does damage based on Behemoth's defense score - and Behemoth has a good defense) E. Hybrid Forms This isn't as straightforward as the previous sections, since there are *eight* forms called Hybrid: Four normal, four enhanced. I'll just lift the format directly from my own Super Hybrid FAQ (which, apparently, is not yet up on gamefaqs.com), and go over the movelists for the normal and enhanced forms of each of the four hybrids, with explanations following. The names are mine (hopefully I'm not using someone else's name for them), as the game calls them all simply "Hybrid". Moves marked with a * are those added and altered by the new gene. All of these are formed simply by using the Fusion gene, and (for the super forms) another gene as specified. Avian Dragon + Eldritch Gene = Eldritch Avian Typhoon (7) Typhoon (7) Lightning (7) Lightning (7) Inferno (10) Inferno (10) Blizzard (10) Blizzard (10) Temptation (0) *Sirocco (12) *Myollnir (10) Temptation (0) Temptation confuses all enemies and lowers their attack, defense, and speed, but causes no direct damage. The other abilities are identical to Nina's spells of the same name. This form has high speed and magic abilities, with average (for the dragon forms) attack, and low defense and HP. It's formed by pairing Nina with either Garr or Peco The Eldritch Avian has blue chest feathers and blue wing, head, and (bird) tail highlights, where the normal Avian has orange. Knight Dragon + ??? Gene = Golden Knight Speed (2) Speed (2) Protect (2) Protect (2) Might (4) Might (4) Restore (12) Restore (12) Remedy (12) Remedy (12) Combustion (0) *Vitalize (20) *Ragnarok (12) Combustion (0) Combustion drops a bomb on all opponents for major wind/air damage (not HP-related. I usually get about 600-700 damage average). The other abilities are identical to Momo's spells of the same name. This form has high attack and defense, average speed and magic abilities, and better HP than the Avian (but not as much as Dragon form). This Hybrid can be created when Momo is paired with Nina or Peco. As its name suggests, the Golden Knight is gold-colored, instead of the usual silver. Winged Tiger + Force Gene = Flame Tiger Shadowwalk (8) Shadowwalk (8) DragonBreath (0) DragonBreath (0) Tempest (0) *Hurricane (0) Tempest blasts all foes with multiple 'arrows' of wind. The damage is about 3/8 (37.5%) of Ryuu's current HP. Hurricane is identical, but the 'arrows' are golden, and the damage is raised to about 50%. Shadowwalk warps Ryuu to the selected target, and inflicts insane damage in a single hit. This form is the absolute fastest dragon in the game - you'll be getting EX attacks against just about everyone - with great attack, okay defense, and HP identical to the Knight Hybrid. This Hybid emerges when Rei is in the party with either Momo or Nina. The Flame Tiger appears as the Winged Tiger with reddish-orange fur/skin/scales/whatever and golden wings. Its name comes from its coloration, not because it has any actual Flame attacks. This is also one of my favorite forms. I've beaten Myria with this form alone (boosted by a few Might spells from Momo). Spiked Onion + Shadow Gene = Shadow Onion Dream Breath (3) Dream Breath (3) Venom Breath (3) Venom Breath (3) DragonBreath (0) DragonBreath (0) Geo Breath (0) *Gaea'sBreath (0) Geo Breath causes damage by having Ryuu plant his tail in the ground and cause an earthquake (damage is about 3/8 or 37.5%, of Ryuu's HP). Gaea'sBreath is identical, except the spiral growth that rises out of the ground is golden colored (and damage is 50%). As a bonus, the Shadow Onion regenerates HP like Peco does (5% of maximum HP per round, starting on the round of transformation), unlike the regular version. The other attacks are the same as Peco's. This form has high attack and defense, lots of HP (making the breath attacks particularly effective), and low speed. It's formed with Peco and either Garr or Rei. The Shadow Onion is simply a gold version of the normal Onion (but 'Golden Onion' sounds like a food item). Be forwarned that combining Garr with either Rei or Momo will result in a Whelp. (This Whelp is, aside from the gene used to form it, otherwise normal. You can add elementals or other effects to it and get the expected results). F. Pygmy Form This is a unique form, created by splicing the ??? and Mutant genes. Other genes can be added, but none have any effect (other than Miracle, Fusion, Failure, and Infinity, which form Mammoth, Hybrid, Whelp, and Kaiser respectively). It has incredible speed (second only to the Winged Tiger Hybrid, I believe) and dodging ability, and pitifully low attack, defense, and hit points (which reduces the effectiveness of its otherwise powerful breath weapon). An additional bonus to this form: more squeaking noises than Peco ever made. Add the adorable "tail-wag" attack animation and this form is the last word on the adage "cute can be deadly". This form has only the following abilities: Magma Breath (0 AP; Fire attack that causes 50% of Pygmy's HP as damage) Snap (0 AP; A half-strength attack that has a chance of lowering the opponent's defense - since the Pygmy's attack is so low anyway, this is nearly useless) DragonBreath (0 AP; Causes approximately 42.5% of current HP as defendable physical damage) G. Tiamat Form Another unique form, formed with the Shadow and Trance genes. No other genes have any effect on this combination, other than the usual Fusion, Failure, and Infinity (which form a Hybrid, a Whelp, and a berserk Kaiser). This form has very high stats all around, and appears to be immune to status changes (blindness, poisoning, confusion, instant-death spells, etc) - at least, I've never seen a status-changing ability work on Tiamat (Status ailments that were in effect before the transformation are still there). This form, like Behemoth/Mammoth, combines the entire party. Cheap AP cost to transform and maintain (only 13 AP, 7 AP per round). This is one of my favorite forms. It lacks the 'punch' to take on bosses (though Tiamat's normal attack hits hard), but it's a great general-purpose enemy killer. Doom Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 50% of current HP as non-elemental damage. And considering that Tiamat has two and a half times Ryuu's normal HP, this is usually a significant attack, often dishing out 200-300 damage) Venom Breath (3 AP; Attempts to poison all targets. Same as Peco's breath attack) ShadowBreath (0 AP; Attempts to simply kill all targets. Useless on undead, usually useless on machines) H. Golden Forms These are special, enhanced forms of the basic four forms (Whelp, Dragon, Warrior, Behemoth). They are golden-colored (yellow-orange with orange horns) versions of their counterparts. Wildfire, the Golden Whelp, is Miracle + Thorn + Reverse. This form has a ludicrously small amount of HP, making breath attacks all but useless, but above-average everything else, including a nearly 100% Reprisal rate. It also costs a lot of AP (27, which is a lot when the form is first made available). Its attacks are: Whelp Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 30% of current HP as physical damage. Damage is reduced by enemies' defense score. As just stated, Wildfire's HP is pathetic, so this attack will do 10-15 points of damage at most - assuming you're at level 50 or above and fighting enemies with no defense whatsoever) Charge (0 AP; Does damage based on Wildfire's defense score - Wildfire's defense is higher than one might expect, so this attack does a surprisingly large amout of damage) Trygon, the Golden Dragon, is formed by splicing Flame + Frost + Thunder. This form is above average in all stats and abilities, and appears to be completely immune to fire, ice, and lightning attacks. It has nothing but breath attacks and Snap: Flame Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 33.3%, or 1/3, of current HP as fire damage) Frost Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 33.3%, or 1/3, of current HP as ice damage) ThundrBreath (0 AP; Causes approximately 33.3%, or 1/3, of current HP as lightning damage) DragonBreath (0 AP; Causes approximately 42.5% of current HP as physical damage. Damage is reduced by enemies' defense score) Snap (0 AP; A half-strength attack that has a chance of lowering the opponent's defense) Myrmidon, the Golden Warrior, is the combination of the Force and Trance genes. Incredible speed and power, good defense, decent HP (equal to a normal Dragon), a whole lot of different elemental strikes (making for good versatility), and it has a 0 AP breath attack to clear the screen quickly. At 16 AP, it's relatively cheap, too (though all of his Strikes use AP, not to mention the 20 AP Aura). Gambit (0 AP; Causes a critical hit, but has a low hit rate) Aura (20 AP; Holy damage, always critical hits) Flame Strike (1 AP; Fire and physical damage) ThundrStrike (4 AP; Electric and physical damage, plus has a chance to paralyze the target) Frost Strike (4 AP; Ice and physical damage, plus has a chance to put the target to sleep) Wind Strike (1 AP; Wind and physical damage) Holy Strike (2 AP; Holy and physical damage) Aura Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 50% of current HP as holy damage) Mammoth, the Golden Behemoth, is just that - mammoth. Splice the Miracle and ??? genes together. High attack and defense, incredible HP (more than any other form, making its "breath" attack extremely effective), but it's still slow. It actually has fewer attacks than the Behemoth, but is HP makes the ones it has extremely powerful: MeteorStrike (0 AP; Causes approximately 50% HP non-elemental damage. When you take into account the amount of HP that Mammoth has, this attack can easily do over 1000 damage every time) Giant Growth (0 AP; Performs a half-strength physical attack on all opponents) I. Kaiser Form This is the one you've been waiting for, haven't you? Kaiser, I find, isn't all that useful, because of the insane AP cost to transform and maintain it. For the 21 (or 27) AP cost per round, you're better off going with the Warrior and using Aura over and over (the total AP cost per round is slightly higher, but the damage is greater). Kaiser is normally berzerk, and will do nothing but attack random opponents (or party members!) unless spliced with the Failure Gene or with Trance and Radience. The Infinity + Failure (41 AP, 21 AP per round) has notably lower stats than the Infinity + Trance + Radiance (53 AP, 27 AP per round) combination - especially hit points, drastically affecting Kaiser Breath. Either version of Kaiser is immune to status changes. This form (both Failure and True versions) has the following attacks: KaiserBreath (0 AP; Causes approximately 100% of current HP as non-elemental damage. The dragon that appears to deliver the damage is also clearly Ryuu's G.Drgn from BoF2 - it's green for Failure Kaiser, gold for True Kaiser) Bonebreak (0 AP; Causes a critical hit) Howling (0 AP; Causes confusion, but no direct damage, to all opponents) Thanks to Billy Lee (leeroy3825@hotmail.com) for confirming that Bonebreak *is* a Kaiser-specific attack, and for noting that the Kaiser is immune to status changes. Ryuu can also still use all of his other spells and Skills in Kaiser form - press left or right on the Attack menu, as usual. (Note that the list of dragon-specific powers is labeled 'Attack', as opposed to 'Dragon') It's been suggested to me that there is also a Dark Kaiser (the grey Kaiser dragon shown at the point just before Ryuu becomes an adult), but I've yet to find any other gene combination that produces a controllable Kaiser, let alone a grey one. If anyone has any suggestions (preferably ones that don't involve beating every enemy in the game or something equally absurd), let me know. ------- ii. Gene-specific abilities These are abilities that can be added to the four basic forms (Whelp, Dragon, Warrior, and Behemoth), dependant on the added gene. With the exception of two of the Hybrids, these genes have no effect on any of the unique or golden forms. Colors were taken from the Dragon forms - Whelps, Warriors, and Behemoths are slightly different. A. Flame Creates a red dragon with dark green horns, with immunity to fire attacks, but a weakness to ice attacks, taking about 50% more damage from them. Adding Reverse provides Frost abilities instead. Using Flame and Thorn makes Ryuu be healed by fire attacks. Using Flame and Frost together cancels out both of them, leaving only Dragon-specific abilities (exception: using Flame, Frost, and Thunder together produces the Trygon form). Adds the following powers: Flame Claw (0 AP; Normal physical attack with fire properties) Flame Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 33.3% of current HP as fire damage) As a "bonus", using Shadow and Flame together (but not with Frost or Radiance) provides an extra ability: Ebonfire (5 AP; Non-elemental attack based on Int) Using Flame with Eldritch adds the following spell to the mix: Inferno (10 AP; most powerful fire spell on all opponents) B. Frost Creates a pale blue dragon with dark blue horns, with immunity to ice attacks, but a weakness to fire attacks. Adding Reverse provides Flame abilities instead. Using Frost and Thorn makes Ryuu be healed by ice attacks. Using Flame and Frost together cancels out both of them, leaving only Dragon-specific abilities (exception: using Flame, Frost, and Thunder together produces the Trygon form). Adds the following powers: Frost Claw (0 AP; Normal physical attack with ice properties) Frost Breath (0 AP; Causes approximately 33.3% of current HP as ice damage) Splicing in Eldritch adds the following power: Blizzard (10 AP; most powerful ice spell on all opponents) As a completely useless comment, the Frost + Force combination produces a really cool-looking blue-haired Warrior. C. Thunder Creates a blue dragon with pale green horns, with immunity to lightning attacks. Adding Reverse negates all Thunder abilities. Adding Thorn causes the dragon to be healed by electric attacks. Splice with Frost and Flame to form Trygon. Adds the following powers: Thunder Claw (0 AP; Normal physical attack with electric properties) ThundrBreath (0 AP; Causes approximately 33.3% of current HP as lightning damage) Adding Eldritch provides an additional ability: Myollnir (10 AP; most powerful lightning spell on one opponent) D. Shadow Creates a purplish dragon with red horns, with immunity to shadow, poison, and instant-death attacks, but a weakness to holy attacks. Adding Reverse provides Radiance abilities instead. Adding Thorn causes Ryuu to be healed by shadow or poison attacks. Using Shadow and Radiance together cancels out both of them, leaving only Dragon-specific abilities. Adds the following powers: Chlorine (0 AP; magic-based attack with poison properties, and a chance to poison the target) ShadowBreath (0 AP; attempts to kill all targets. Useless on undead, usually useless on machines) As a "bonus", using Shadow and Flame together (but not with Frost or Radiance) provides an extra ability: Ebonfire (5 AP; Non-elemental attack based on Int) With Eldritch, he also gains the following ability: Death (5 AP; attempts to kill a single opponent, a better chance than ShadowBreath) The Shadow Gene is also used to form Tiamat (splice with Trance), and the Shadow Onion Hybrid (splice with Fusion with Peco in the party). E. Radiance Creates a pinkish dragon with red horns, with immunity to holy attacks. but a vulnerability to shadow attacks. Adding Reverse provides Shadow abilities instead. The dragon will be healed by holy attacks if the Thorn gene is added. Using Shadow and Radiance together cancels out both of them, leaving only Dragon-specific abilities. Adds the following powers: Shining Claw (0 AP; Normal physical attack with holy properties) DivineBreath (0 AP; Causes approximately 33.3% of current HP as holy damage) The Eldritch gene adds the following ability: Resurrect (20 AP; Revives a dead party member back to full hit points) The Radiance gene is also used in combination with Trance and Infinity to form "True" Kaiser. F. Force Used alone, and in most combinations, this creates a Warrior class dragon... but it bears mentioning that it also adds one ability to the Behemoth form (making this a gene-related ability, rather than a form-related ability): Focus (0 AP; Raises attack power by 50% of original. Two uses brings Ryuu up to double attack power. Subsequent uses have no effect. Only affects the next couple of attacks) This is also a gene-related ability because of the order in which the abilities appear when you splice in an elemental gene - because the abilities are listed in the following order: Form-based abilities, then gene-based abilities. Multiple genes are listed in the same order that they are on the gene selection screen (e.g.., Flame abilities are always listed before Thunder) And because Focus is listed *after* any elemental abilities that are spliced in, that suggests it's gene-based, rather than form-based. (whew! What an explanation :) Of course, the Force gene is also used to create Warrior and Myrmidon (with Trance) dragons, and upgrades the Tiger Dragon to the Flame Tiger (with Fusion). Oddly, Myrmidon doesn't have Focus. G. Defender Generally increases the Defense and HP of the combination, while lowering speed drastically and attack slightly. The dragons formed with this gene (and no elemental genes) are normal colored (green, with blue horns). The gene itself adds one ability: Counter (0 AP; automatically counter-attacks any physical or pseudo-physical attack - elemental strikes, for example - directed at the user) Note that Counter is useless if Ryuu is slower than the opponent; all the attacks will hit before Counter goes into effect. And note again that the Defender gene tends to produce a slow dragon. H. Eldritch This gene has several effects. It gives the dragon-form higher Intelligence, improving Ryuu's resistance against magical attacks, adds some spells of its own (all healing spells), and brings out an 'extra' spell for each of the five elemental genes. Despite all that, I don't use this gene much; there are better ways to spend the AP (though Myollnir has its uses). Alone, it provides: Remedy (7 AP; Cures status changes) Restore (12 AP; Fully heals one party member) Vitalize (20 AP; Partially heals all party members) With other genes: Inferno (10 AP; most powerful fire spell on all opponents; Flame gene) Blizzard (10 AP; most powerful ice spell on all opponents; Frost gene) Myollnir (10 AP; most powerful lightning spell on one opponent; Thunder gene) Death (5 AP; attempts to kill a single opponent, a better chance than ShadowBreath; Shadow gene) Resurrect (20 AP; Revives a dead party member back to full hit points; Radiance gene) ------ iii. In Order Of Appearance.... As the name suggests, these are the Genes, listed in the order you get them, along with any new forms and/or powers that are granted specifically from the addition of the new gene to your inventory. Use this to see where in the game certain forms become available. Child Ryuu FLAME (5 AP) Gotten Obtained automatically, just before the Escape From Wyndia scenario. New Forms Whelp New Powers Whelp Breath (Whelp form) Blind (Whelp form) Flame Breath (Flame gene) Flame Claw (Flame gene) DEFENDER (8 AP) Gotten Obtained automatically, after Nina and Ryuu escape across Mt. Boumore. New Forms Dragon New Powers Dragon Breath (Dragon form) Snap (Dragon form) Counter (Defender gene) REVERSE (3 AP) Gotten Immediately after leaving Mt. Boumore with the Defender gene, head to a ? area south of it. New Forms None New Powers Frost Breath (Flame + Reverse) Frost Claw (Flame + Reverse) THORN (8 AP) Gotten At the rocket crash site. Go northeast from the rocket, and there it is, between the trees. New Forms None New Powers None FROST (5 AP) Gotten At the house under the bridge at Meykess Gorge, when you're finally allowed to cross it after defeating the Stallion. New Forms None - but Frost Dragons can now be formed (Flame + Reverse can only be used to form Whelps) New Powers None - but Frost powers now only require one gene. THUNDER (5 AP) Gotten At the ? house north of the town of Rhapala. New Forms Trygon (Flame + Frost + Thunder) New Powers ThundrBreath (Thunder gene) Thunder Claw (Thunder gene) ELDRITCH (8 AP) Gotten On the roof of the Lighthouse (go up there immediately upon entering - the boss won't attack you until you actually get the lighthouse working again). New Forms None New Powers Remedy (Eldritch gene) Restore (Eldritch gene) Vitalize (Eldritch gene) Inferno (Flame + Eldritch genes) Blizzard (Frost + Eldritch genes) Myollnir (Thunder + Eldritch genes) MIRACLE (16 AP) Gotten In the Volcano, Mt. Zublo. You can't miss seeing it, though you have to wind your way around to actually get it. New Forms Behemoth Wildfire (Miracle + Thorn + Reverse) New Powers MeteorStrike (Behemoth form) Blitz (Behemoth form) Charge (Behemoth *or* Wildfire form) Teenage ("Adult") Ryuu SHADOW (5 AP) Gotten Obtained automatically, after defeating the Dragon Zombie. New Forms None New Powers ShadowBreath (Shadow gene) Chlorine (Shadow gene) Death (Shadow + Eldritch genes) Ebonfire (Flame + Shadow genes) DivineBreath (Shadow + Reverse genes) Shining Claw (Shadow + Reverse genes) FUSION (16 AP) Gotten Obtained automatically with the Shadow gene (I believe that's meant to be the ghost of Ryuu's mother giving him the gene - note the BoF2-style dragon-wings on her back). New Forms (Note: These forms cannot be used until you have the appropriate party members available) Avian Hybrid Eldritch Avian Hybrid (Fusion + Eldritch) Onion Hybrid Shadow Onion Hybrid (Fusion + Shadow) Winged Tiger Hybrid Flame Tiger Hybrid (Fusion + Force) Knight Hybrid New Powers Loads. See Hybrid section for details. FORCE (8 AP) Gotten In the vents of the Underground Plant (this one is easy to miss if you don't know it's around). New Forms Warrior New Powers Gambit (Warrior form) Aura (Warrior form) Focus (Force gene) GROSS (8 AP) Gotten Exiting the Tidal Caves. You practically trip over it. New Forms None New Powers None ??? (8 AP) Gotten In "Bow's" house west of Steel Beach. Look behind the curtain. New Forms Mammoth Golden Knight Hybrid New Powers Giant Growth (Mammoth form) Several. See Hybrid section for details. MUTANT (3 AP) Gotten On Steel Beach itself, in the northeast corner. New Forms Pygmy New Powers Magma Breath (Pygmy form) TRANCE (8 AP) Gotten At the Yggdrasil tree on the Lost Shore New Forms Tiamat (Shadow + Trance) Myrmidon (Force + Trance) New Powers Doom Breath (Tiamat form) Venom Breath (Tiamat form) Flame Strike (Myrmadon form) ThundrStrike (Myrmadon form) Frost Strike (Myrmadon form) Wind Strike (Myrmadon form) Holy Strike (Myrmadon form) Aura Breath (Myrmadon form) FAILURE (1 AP) Gotten In the far corner on the left side of the Ruined Colony New Forms None New Powers None RADIANCE (5 AP) Gotten The Container Yard near Caer Xaen (obtainable as soon as you get Relay Point A working) New Forms None - but Radiance Dragons can now be formed (Shadow + Reverse can only be used to form Whelps) New Powers Resurrect (Radiance + Eldtritch genes) Radiance powers now only require one gene INFINITY (40 AP) Gotten Obtained *almost* automatically (you have to pick the little sphere up) after the fight with Jono in Dragnier. New Forms Kaiser (Berserk, Failure, and True) New Powers Howling (Kaiser form) KaiserBreath (Kaiser form) ------- iv. Miscelleny A. Dragon hit points Dragon hit points affect all breath weapons (including MeteorStrike), so you'll probably want to know what you're getting when you transform. Some forms' HP can be increased by adding the Gross gene to it, but any of the unique forms - the "golden" forms, Hybrids, Tiamat, and Pygmy - cannot (note, of course, that Wildfire and Trygon need three genes to create them anyway, so no other genes can be added). The Failure Gene reduces any combination (except Kaiser) to a 100% HP Whelp, and the Reverse gene negates the properties of Thorn or Gross. Percentages are based on Ryuu's HP in his normal form (e.g., if he has 200 HP normally, after transforming into a Dragon he'll have 200 x 1.8 = 360 HP, as Trygon he'll have 200 x 2.2 = 440 HP, etc). Whelp (Failure, Failure + any gene or genes but Infinity, Defender + Reverse): 100% Whelp (normal): 120% Whelp (Gross, elemental + Gross, Defender): 150% Whelp (Gross + Thorn, Gross + Defender): 180% Wildfire (Miracle + Thorn + Reverse): 10% (that's not a typo! If Ryuu had 200 HP to start with, he'll only have 20 as a Wildfire) Dragon (normal): 180% Dragon (Defender gene added): 210% Dragon (Gross gene added, Defender + Thorn, Defender + Gross added): 240% Trygon (Flame + Frost + Thunder): 220% Warrior (Force + Thorn): 100% (this has to be a bug of some kind) Warrior (Force, Force + elemental): 130% Warrior (Force + Gross, Force + Thorn + Gross, Force + Defender): 150% Warrior (Force + Reverse): 180% (this is also probably a bug) Myrmidon (Force + Trance): 180% Behemoth (Miracle + Defender + Reverse): 250% Behemoth (Miracle + Reverse): 280% Behemoth (Miracle): 330% Behemoth (Miracle + Gross, Miracle + Defender): 360% Mammoth (Miracle + ???): 1000% (again, *not* a typo. 200 HP becomes 2000 HP). Pygmy (Mutant + ???): 100% Tiamat (Shadow + Trance): 250% Avian Hybrid (Fusion or Fusion + Eldritch): 120% Tiger Hybrid (Fusion or Fusion + Force): 150% Knight Hybrid (Fusion or Fusion + ???): 150% Onion Hybrid (Fusion or Fusion + Shadow): 250% Failure Kaiser (Infinity + Failure): 120% True Kaiser (Infinity + Trance + Radiance): 300% (quite a difference, huh?) Berserk Kaiser (Infinity + anything else): 300% (dangerous because you can't control him, and he tends to attack the party before the enemy) B. Quick-reference Gene List There are plenty of FAQs if you want in-depth directions on how to find these genes, and I covered the use of them above, so this will just list where to find them and the AP cost to use them. (Note that you receive the Flame, Defender, Shadow, Fusion, and Infinity genes as part of the story - you can't 'miss' them - and most of the other genes are in very obvious locations). Flame (5 AP): Obtained automatically, just before the Escape From Wyndia scenario. Your first Gene. Frost (5 AP): The house under the bridge at the east end of Meykess Gorge. Thunder (5 AP): The ? house in north Rhapala Region. Shadow (5 AP): Obtained automatically, after defeating the Dragon Zombie as an adult. Radiance (5 AP): The Container Yard near Caer Xaen (obtainable as soon as you get Relay Point A working). Force (8 AP): In the vents of the Underground Plant (this one is easy to miss if you don't know it's around). Defender (8 AP): Obtained automatically, after Nina and Ryuu escape across Mt. Boumore. Your *second* gene. Eldritch (8 AP): On the roof of the Lighthouse (go up there immediately upon entering - the boss won't attack you until you actually get the lighthouse working again). Miracle (16 AP): In the Volcano, Mt. Zublo. You can't miss seeing it. Gross (8 AP): Along the exit path to the Tidal Caves. Again, you can't really miss it. Thorn (8 AP): At the rocket crash site. Go northeast from the rocket, and there it is, between the trees Reverse (3 AP): Immediately after leaving Mt. Boumore with the Defender gene, head to a ? area south of it. Mutant (3 AP): Steel Beach, in the northeast corner. ??? (8 AP): In the house west of Steel Beach. Trance (8 AP): At the Yggdrasil tree on the Lost Shore. Failure (1 AP): In the far corner on the left side of the Ruined Colony Fusion (16 AP): Obtained automatically after the fight with the Dragon Zombie. Infinity (40 AP): Obtained automatically after the fight with Jono in Dragnier. C. Quick-reference Dragon Breath List In case you don't want to dig through the form/gene sections to find out what a particular breath attack does. All breath attacks use 0 AP unless otherwise indicated. Percentages are related to Ryuu's HP in dragon form (e.g., Aura Breath by a Myrmidon with 200 HP will cause about 80-120 damage to every opponent, average of 100, minus the targets' magic resistance, if any). Note that Whelp Breath and DragonBreath are affected by the targets' physical defence, not magic resistance (tested against Deathbots - one with two Barriers up took as much damage from DragonBreath as the unshielded one). Aura Breath: 50% holy damage; Myrmidion Divine Breath: 33.3% holy damage; Radiance gene, Shadow + Reverse genes Doom Breath: 50% neutral damage; Tiamat DragonBreath: 42.5% physical damage (i.e., reduced by opponent's defense); Dragon, Trygon, Pygmy, (Shadow) Onion Hybrid, (Flame) Tiger Hybrid Dream Breath: Puts opponents to sleep (3 AP cost). (Shadow) Onion Hybrid Flame Breath: 33.3% fire damage; Flame gene, Frost + Reverse genes, Trygon Frost Breath: 33.3% ice damage; Frost gene, Flame + Reverse genes, Trygon Gaea'sBreath: 50% earth damage; Shadow Onion Hybrid Geo Breath: 37.5% earth damage; Onion Hybrid Hurricane: 50% wind damage; Flame Tiger Hybrid KaiserBreath: 100% neutral damage; Kaiser Magma Breath: 50% fire damage; Pygmy MeteorStrike: 50% neutral damage; Behemoth, Mammoth ShadowBreath: Kills all opponents. Shadow gene, Radiance + Reverse genes, Tiamat Tempest: 37.5% wind damage; Tiger Hybrid ThundrBreath: 33.3% lightning damage; Thunder gene, Trygon Venom Breath: Poisons all opponents (3 AP cost). Tiamat, (Shadow) Onion Hybrid Whelp Breath: 30% physical damage (i.e., reduced by opponent's defense); Whelp, Wildfire And, for completeness's sake, Peco's breath attacks: Firebreath: 33.3% fire damage. 4 AP Icebreath: 33.3% ice damage. 4 AP D. Dragon Skills A good number of the dragon-form abilities, aside from the breath attacks, can be learned from either Masters or Examining enemies. (sadly, you can't Examine your own party members, or this would be a great way to learn them). This is a hopefully-complete list of those abilities. For Skills learned from enemies, I'll just list the ones that appear earliest in the game (there are more-comprehensive how-to-find-them lists elsewhere). Also not included here are spells gained with the Eldritch Gene, the Avian and Eldritch Avian Hybrids, and the Knight and Golden Knight Hybrids. Aura: From Master Ladon Blind: From Trickers (Cedar Woods) Blitz: From HyperBot (Momo's tower) Charge: From Gongheads (Cedar Woods); also from Master Fahl. Counter: From Master Fahl Ebonfire: From Codgers (Ruined Colony - keep examining them as they do their MagicShuffle) Flame Strike: From Flyman (Underground Plant). Garr's Pyrokinesis attack is also nearly identical to this. Frost Strike: From Bolt (on the Freighter at Steel Beach) Gambit: Not a Skill; Attack ability learned by Garr at level 21. Bunyan's Risky Blow is very similar, however. Holy Strike: From Master Ladon Shadowwalk: From Master Meryleep. Focus: From Master Bunyan Snap: From Pooch (MacNeill Manor) ThundrStrike: From Mist Man (near the end of the game) Venom Breath: Not a Skill; Assist ability learned by Peco at level 17 Wind Strike: From the Lizard Men (Rhapala area) E. Quick-reference Hybrid List Tiger: Rei + Momo or Nina (add Force for Flame Tiger) Onion: Peco + Garr or Rei (add Shadow for Shadow Onion) Knight: Momo + Nina or Peco (add ??? for Golden Knight) Avian: Nina + Garr or Peco (add Eldritch for Eldritch Avian) Whelp: Garr + Momo or Rei (add whatever you like: this is a generic Whelp) F. Unanswered Questions Are there other undocumented Super forms? With the Hybrids accounted for, the only two left without known golden forms would be Tiamat and Pygmy. (Whelp has Wildfire, Dragon has Trygon, Warrior has Myrmidon, Behemoth has Mammoth, Ryuu's normal form has Kaiser, and there's the green Infinity + Failure KaiserBreath vs. the golden Infinity + Trance + Radiance KaiserBreath). Of course, I've tried every possible combination of genes in conjunction with the ones required to create the Tiamat and Pygmy dragons, and nothing upgrades them... so if they exist at all (which looks doubtful at this point - I'm sure someone would have discovered them by now), it's an entirely different combination of genes altogether... Given, though, that there are 987 different gene combinations (18 with one gene, 153 with two, 816 with three), even eliminating the 'known' forms, that leaves a lot of combinations. (Eliminating Infinity and Failure from the equation still leaves nearly 700 combinations). G. Tyrant Gene!!! Made you look. Actually, I've been watching these Tyrant Gene rumors pop up on the GameFAQs message boards, so I'll put my two cents in. My biggest argument against it is that it waited until *now* to pop up. If there were a Tyrant gene, we could have heard about it long before Breath of Fire 4 came out. I bring up BoF4 because Tyrant is Fou-Lu's most powerful dragon form, corresponding to Ryuu's Kaiser. (Whether it keeps this name in the American release is yet to be determined, though I can't imagine why they'd change it). That, I believe, is ultimately the source of the Tyrant gene rumor - someone taking a dragon form from BoF4, and building a BoF3 rumor around it. (It's sort of silly.. Tyrant is the name of the *dragon*... There's no actual Tyrant gene, just as there's no Kaiser gene). Though, the Dragon Lord you fight near the end of the game sure looks like my idea of the Tyrant dragon - the Dark Dragon version of Kaiser... except it looks better than Kaiser. (I'll also add I think it's one of the best- looking dragons in the entire game; the Dark Dragons always did have better dragon forms). Since writing the above, I've seen a picture of the BoF4 Tyrant dragon, and it looks nothing like the Dragon Lord. (Then again, the BoF4 Kaiser Dragon looks little like the BoF 2 or 3 Kaiser). The Dragon Lord still looks better. :) ------- Special Thanks to: Capcom, for making this game. May the Breath of Fire series last as long as there are consoles to play them on. (Of course, with the number of centuries between each game in the story, BoF5 or 6 is going to need to be set in the future aboard the Starship Enterprise) :) For the record, faithful readers, I do plan to write a Dragon Guide for BoF4, though it will probably not be as detailed as this one. Sony, for making this system. I've been a Nintendo player since the mid-eighties, but for this series, for all the RPG series that started on the NES or SNES but migrated to the PSX, I'll switch. Sorry, Nintendo. Maybe if the Dolphin has some *real* RPGs, I'll go back. :) Long-Lost Cousin Wish, for proofreading this mass of text and suggesting a few things here and there (like section III-E). http://www.homestead.com/breathoffire/ - this site's otherwise bare-bones Gene listing mentions in passing that adding the ??? Gene to the Momo-hybrid provides extra powers (it also erroneously mentions an Onion + ??? combination), thus starting me on my Super-Hybrid quest. Fritz Fraundorf's (erggibbon@aol.com) incredibly useful BoF3 FAQ, for jogging my memory to assemble my Dragon Gene Location list (I couldn't remember where some of them were), and for the term "ability gene". This is the FAQ I used mostly to make sure I didn't miss any Genes or Skills along the way :) I tried not to use his Hybrid names, I really did. I also consulted his list when I couldn't remember a particular dragon form's abilities (I mean, really, how often do you use Wildfire?), since my console isn't close enough to the computer to write and check things at the same time.