Breath of Fire III Ultimate File Guide © Copyright 2003 Infinity_Dragon (Youkairyuu@comcast.NET) Version 1.10 ================= Table of Contents ================= 1) Introduction 2) Masters 3) Complete Enemy Skill List 4) Stat Gains List 5) Level Building Strategies 6) Ultimate Equipment 7) Stat Raising Items 8) Low Level Boss Strategies 9) Revision History 10) Disclaimer ============ INTRODUCTION ============ There are many different aspects of creating a powerful party in Breath of Fire 3. Within this guide you will learn the basics of Master-leveling and advanced tips on how to gain the highest natural stats possible. Also included is a section on each characters Ultimate Equipment, so if you feel you have a strong party, but need better equipment, you can find that as well. For those that are really devoted, you can read up on how to find the permanent stat boosters allowing you to max your stats. All in all, within this guide you'll be able to create a 'perfect file'. ======= MASTERS ======= In order to make the most use out of this guide, you'll want to know what the stat bonuses and penalties of each master are. You can then use this information to plan each level growth to best suit your needs. However, in order to learn all the Master skills (Since you are probably trying for a perfect file), there will be some cases where you'll need to commit eight or more levels to one Master at once. Yes, this can be annoying, but if you find a good block of levels that suit that Master's style, your losses will be significantly cut. Now, the Master list (In order of availability): Format: master (levels needed for skills) ------ stat gains/losses ------ level of 1st skill/level of 2nd skill/etc.. A * indicates that the spell can also be learned by Examining an enemy. 1st Skill (AP Cost) - Description 2nd Skill (AP Cost) - Description etc... NOTE: N/A means no stat changes, and stats that don't change will not be shown. MYGAS (8) ----- AP: +1 PWR: -1 DEF: -1 INT: +2 ----- 1/4/6/8 Frost (2) - Minor Ice damage on one enemy. Meditation (0) - Intelligence +50%, up to two times. Wears off. Magic Ball (2) - Moderate non-elemental Magic damage to one target. Typhoon (7) - Moderate Wind damage to all enemies. BUNYAN (10) ------ HP: +2 AP: -2 PWR: +2 DEF: +1 INT: -3 ------ 2*/5*/8/10* *Risky Blow (0) - 50% Chance of Critical Hit. Misses if it fails. *Focus (0) - Power +50%, up to two times. Wears off after an action. Supercombo (8) - Damage equal to number of hits divided by two * Power. *Disembowel (0) - Can reduce target to 1 HP. User loses 10% max HP. DURANDAL (3) -------- N/A -------- *1/2/3 NOTE: Learn these skills ASAP! You need them to get Hondara as a master. *Unmotivate (0) - Do nothing Feigh Swing (0) - Take a practice swing (Do nothing) Backhand (0) - Physical attack. Deals no damage. YGGDRASIL (8) --------- HP: -1 AP: +1 PWR: -2 DEF: +1 INT: +2 --------- 2/5/8 Sanctuary (5) - Dispell all support Magic (Includes allies) Recall (2) - Cast a random spell. Shield (4) - Raise all allies Defense by 25%. NOTE: Yggdrasil makes your character weak to fire. Also, only Peco can talk to Yggdrasil. D'LONZO (4) ------- HP: -1 AP: -2 PWR: +1 AGL: +1 ------- 2/3/4 Monopolize (0) - User gains all Experience from combat. Intimidate (0) - Can Cancel target's turn Steal (0) - Can steal an item from an enemy. NOTE: D'Lonzo gives your character improved accuracy. FAHL (6) ---- HP: +4 PWR: +1 DEF: +3 INT: -3 AGL: -3 ---- *2/4/*6 *Charge (0) - Physical attack based on Defense stat Counter (0) - Counter-attack rate up to 100% for remainder of turn. *Resist (2) - Immune to all damage and effects for remainder of turn. GIOTTO (8) ------ HP: +4 AP: +3 PWR: -1 DEF: -1 INT: -2 AGL: -1 ------ 2/*5/8 Trump (0) - Cast a random spell. Only useable at 0 AP. Berserk (2) - Attack Power up, Berserk. Die after 3 rounds. Sudden Death (1) - Cast Death on a random target (Includes allies) HONDARA (8) ------- AP: +1 PWR: -2 INT: +1 ------- 2/5/*8 Purify (4) - Remove Poison status from one target. Kyrie (5) - Instantly kill all Undead. *Benediction (20) - Chance to revive all party members NOTE: Hondara will make your holy attacks stronger. EMITAI (6) ------ AP: +4 PWR: -2 DEF: -2 INT: +4 ------ *2/*4/6 *Barrier (4) - Target takes half damage from magic for 3 rounds. *Mind Sword (2) - Good Non-elemental magic attack to one target. Enlighten (2) - Raise Intelligence by 25% MERYLEEP (8) -------- HP: -1 PWR: -1 DEF: -1 AGL: +2 -------- 2/5/8 Charm (0) - Increases chance of item drop by 5% Shadow Walk (8) - Automatic Critical Hit. Cannot miss. War Shout (6) - Increase all allies' power by 25% NOTE: You need Peco to every time you want to visit Meryleep. BAIS (3) ---- PWR: +1 ---- 3 Chain Formation - All members' speed equal to 1st character's NOTE: This is a formation. LANG (3) ---- DEF: +1 ---- 3 Cupid's Lyre - Heal 1HP/Step NOTE: Cupid's Lyre is an accessory. LEE (3) --- INT: +1 --- 3 Magic Formation - All members Magic abilities raised. NOTE: This is a formation. WYNN (3) ---- HP: +1 ---- 3 Refuge Formation - Regenerates HP NOTE: This is a formation. HACHIO (4) ------ HP: +2 AP: -2 PWR: +2 DEF: +1 INT: -1 AGL: -1 ------ *2/4 *Mighty Chop (0) - Attack at 1/3 Power. Ignores defense. Demonsbane (1) - Physical attack. Double damage to demons. DEIS (15) ---- HP: -3 AP: +3 PWR: +1 DEF: -3 INT: +3 AGL: +1 ---- 2/5/8/11/15 Inferno (10) - Heavy Fire magic attack to all enemies Blizzard (10) - Heavy Ice magic attack to all enemies Mjolnir (10) - Massive Electric magic attack to one target Sirocco (12) - Heavy Fire + Wind magic attack to all enemies Celerity (0) - Doubles all of casters stats. Usable every 3 hours. LADON (9) ----- HP: -6 AP: -6 PWR: +2 DEF: +2 INT: +2 AGL: +1 ----- 3/5/7/9 Mind's Eye (0) - Increases Accuracy Holy Strike (2) - Physical attack with Holy element. Ward of Light (5) - Greatly increases Defense and Counter-attack rate. Aura (20) - Physical attack at double power. Holy elemental. As you can see, there are going to be many forced blocks where a character will need to stay under a Master for a long period of time. I'll address some recommended strategies for getting the most bang for your buck later. ========================= COMPLETE ENEMY SKILL LIST ========================= Along with using Masters to gain skills, you can also learn skills from various enemies you encounter. To learn these skills, use the Examine command on the enemy you are trying to learn the skill from. Note, however, that not all skills an Enemy uses can be learned, only those I have listed below. Also, only skills taught by Enemies are listed. See the Master section above for Master specific abilities (Abilities taught by both Enemies and Masters are listed). Format: Skill Name (AP Cost) -------------------- Enemies/Master Learned from Description Note: One-time fights are listed in **s, Masters are listed in []s Air Raid (3) ------------ Bomber, Hopper, Pipe Bomb, Magmaite, *Sample 8* Physical attack, has a chance of cancelling target's turn. Bad Back (0) ------------ Codger, Dragon Elder Do nothing Barrier (4) ----------- *Stallion*, *Sample 10*, Sample 11*, *Sample 12*, [Emitai] Target takes half damage from magic for 3 rounds. Benediction (20) ---------------- Archmage, [Hondara] Brings all allies back to life Berserk (2) ----------- Berserker, [Giotto] Power greatly increased, Confused. Die after 3 rounds. Blind (0) --------- Ripper, Lizard, Tricker, Bolt Archer, [Claw], [Bully 3] Weak physical attack. Can Blind the target. Blitz (0) --------- Hyper Bot, Giant Orc, [Shroom] Multi-damage physical attack. User loses 1/2 current HP Bone Dart (3) ------------- Ghoul, Zombie Dr, *Angler*, *Sample 5* Burn (1) -------- Mage Goo, Lavaman, Goo Titan Weak Fire damage to one target Charge (0) ---------- Volt, Armor Bot, Mad Gong, Goo King, [Fahl] Physical attack based on Defense stat. Chill (7) --------- Revenant, *Arwan* Non-elemental attack. Can lower enemies' speed. Disembowel (0) -------------- Assassin, [Bunyan] Can reduce target's HP to 1. Users max HP down 10% (Curable by Inn) Double Blow (2) --------------- Nut Troop, *Claw*, Lizardman, Giant Crab, Scorpion, *Dragon Elder*, *Sample 4*, *Sample 7* Two physical attacks, each at 4/5 Power. Douse (1) --------- Giant Roach Can make target weak to Fire element attacks. Ebonfire (4) ------------ Gooey (Clear File only), Adept (Randomly cast with Magic Shuffle) Non-Elemental magic damage attack. Evil Eye (7) ------------ Chimera, *Sample 4*, Vampire, *Myria* Causes Paralyze status. Very high success rate. Flame Strike (1) ---------------- Fly Man Physical attack with Fire element. Flying Kick (0) --------------- Tricker, Codger, Magmaite Physical attack based off Agility stat Focus (0) --------- *Weretiger*, Reaper, *Manmo*, [Bunyan] Power +50%, up to two times. Wears off after another action is taken. Frost Strike (4) ---------------- *Patrio*, Bolt, Armor Physical attack with Ice element. Can cause Sleep. Gloom (1) --------- Night Bat Turns target Undead (Healing Magic and Kyrie cause damage) Influence (0) ------------- Boss Goblin, King Toad All enemies and Berserked characters attack target. Intimidate (0) -------------- *Dolphin*, Hobgoblin, [D'Lonzo] Cancels target's turn. Jump (0) -------- *Rocky*, Roach, Giant Roach Last Resort (0) --------------- Orc, Giant Orc Defense is added to Power, Defense = 0. Mighty Chop (0) --------------- Newt, [Hachio] Physical attack at 1/3 Power. Ignores defense. Mind Flay (0) ------------- Slasher Physical attack, reduces Intelligence Mind Sword (2) -------------- Archmage, [Emitai] Powerful Non-elemental magic attack. Multistrike (0) --------------- Reaper, *Mikba*, Revenant, *Sample 3* Resist (2) ---------- *Stallion*, *Mikba*, Gold Egg, *Sample 10*, *Sample 11*, *Sample 12*, *Sample 3*, [Fahl] Immune to all damage for one round. Rest (0) -------- Rankweed, Painweed Recover small amount of HP and AP Risky Blow (0) -------------- *Gaist*, Armor, *Sample 9*, [Bunyan] Sacrifice (1) ------------- Bombseed, Pipebomb, Tankbot Reduce all enemies to 1 HP. User is killed. Snap (0) -------- *Pooch*, *Scylla*, *Charybdis*, *Weretiger*, Dragonfly, Plant 42, *Sample 4* Snooze (0) ---------- Sleepy Restores small amount of HP and AP. User falls asleep. Spirit Blast (0) ---------------- *Golem*, Hobgoblin Attack at 1/3 Power. Ignores defense. Target (0) ---------- Assassin Attack at 1/2 Power. Cannot miss. Thunder Strike (4) ------------------ Mist Man Attack with Electric elemental. Can cause Paralyze on target. Thunderclap (4) --------------- *Angler*, Multi Bot, *Sample 5* Moderate Electric damage magical attack on one target. Timed Blow (0) -------------- Goo Titan, Thrasher Reduce users HP to one. Target takes damage equal to HP lost. Transfer (10) ------------- Tankbot Give 10 AP to one target. Tornado (4) ----------- Insector, Scorpion Chance of reducing HP of all targets to 1 (Includes allies!) Tsunami (8) ----------- *Dolphin*, *Ammonite*, *Sample 6* Can reduce all enemies HP by half. Unmotivate (0) -------------- Goblin, [Durandal] Do nothing Wall of Fire (4) ---------------- *Scylla*, *Charybdis*, Multi Bot Moderate Fire elemental magic attack on one target. Wind Strike (1) --------------- Lizardman Wind Elemental physical attack on one target =============== STAT GAINS LIST =============== Here we have it folks, the heart of the guide, and Breath of Fire level building in general. Within this section, you can look at each stat gained per level. You can then look at what type of level it was (i.e. perhaps it was heavy with the Power and Defense, or maybe high HP and AP but low core stats) and find the most appropriate Master for each individual level-up. Now, keep in mind you'll need to commit certain blocks of levels to one Master in order to gain skills, so remember that as you plan your strategies (I'll give you some of my own in a later section). Without further ado, the core aspect of this guide: RYU --- STARTING STATS: LVL HP AP PWR DEF AGL INT 1 20 11 12 10 8 10 -------------------------------------- LEVEL UP STATS: 2 2 -- 1 -- 1 1 3 3 1 1 1 1 2 4 4 3 1 1 -- 3 5 3 3 2 2 1 3 6 5 2 1 2 -- -- 7 4 4 3 1 2 3 8 4 4 2 3 -- 3 9 5 3 3 3 2 4 -------------------------------------- 10 6 5 3 2 -- 4 11 2 3 4 2 1 3 12 6 3 2 2 2 2 13 2 7 3 -- -- 5 14 5 2 1 4 -- 4 15 4 5 3 2 3 2 16 7 -- 2 4 -- 5 17 5 3 4 2 2 3 18 8 3 3 3 -- 3 19 5 4 4 3 -- 3 -------------------------------------- 20 6 5 6 2 2 -- 21 4 4 3 3 -- 6 22 7 5 4 2 3 -- 23 7 3 3 4 2 3 24 5 6 5 -- 2 4 25 4 6 2 3 -- 4 26 9 2 6 3 -- -- 27 5 5 4 2 3 4 28 6 6 4 3 -- 5 29 7 4 4 3 2 -- -------------------------------------- 30 8 4 5 3 -- 4 31 6 6 6 2 1 2 32 8 4 5 3 1 4 33 6 5 3 3 -- 4 34 7 3 6 -- 2 3 35 3 7 4 4 2 -- 36 9 1 5 2 1 5 37 5 5 4 3 -- 4 38 4 3 3 3 3 -- 39 6 4 4 2 -- 6 -------------------------------------- 40 5 -- 3 3 2 4 41 4 3 3 3 1 4 42 5 5 4 -- -- 2 43 6 2 3 2 2 1 44 3 5 3 2 2 4 45 5 4 2 3 -- -- 46 3 -- 2 3 1 2 47 5 4 3 1 -- 4 48 3 3 -- 2 2 1 49 4 2 3 2 -- 3 -------------------------------------- 50 3 2 2 -- -- 3 REI --- STARTING STATS: LVL HP AP PWR DEF AGL INT 5 42 12 23 15 19 22 -------------------------------------- LEVEL UP STATS: 6 4 1 3 2 1 3 7 5 -- 4 3 2 -- 8 7 3 3 3 1 4 9 4 2 2 2 -- 1 -------------------------------------- 10 5 -- 4 3 3 4 11 4 -- 3 2 2 -- 12 6 4 2 3 -- 3 13 5 2 3 -- 3 1 14 3 -- 4 2 -- 1 15 6 -- -- 4 2 4 16 6 3 1 2 1 -- 17 5 2 4 1 -- 3 18 -- 2 3 -- 2 2 19 4 -- 2 3 -- 1 -------------------------------------- 20 5 4 5 3 2 4 21 6 3 3 2 1 -- 22 3 -- 3 3 1 3 23 6 4 2 1 0 3 24 7 3 -- 4 3 -- 25 4 -- 4 3 2 4 26 5 -- 4 -- 2 1 27 5 -- 3 3 1 4 28 3 3 2 1 3 2 29 6 2 3 2 -- 2 -------------------------------------- 30 5 3 3 3 1 2 31 2 -- -- 4 2 1 32 5 1 4 2 2 -- 33 4 -- 4 1 -- 3 34 5 2 2 1 3 4 35 4 -- 3 3 1 2 36 3 4 2 2 2 -- 37 6 2 4 1 -- -- 38 3 2 -- 3 2 4 39 5 -- 3 2 1 4 -------------------------------------- 40 5 4 4 3 2 3 41 3 2 2 1 -- 1 42 4 1 -- 3 2 3 43 5 -- 3 2 2 -- 44 2 3 3 4 1 3 45 5 2 4 -- 3 3 46 4 -- 2 3 -- 1 47 4 -- -- 3 2 -- 48 2 2 3 1 1 2 49 2 -- 1 -- -- 1 -------------------------------------- 50 1 -- 2 1 1 2 NOTE: Keep in mind when you lose Rei near the start, he will be at level 25 when you get him back. NINA ---- STARTING STATS: LVL HP AP PWR DEF AGL INT 5 27 33 13 13 14 24 -------------------------------------- LEVEL UP STATS: 6 5 4 1 -- 2 4 7 2 5 2 1 -- 2 8 4 4 2 2 1 5 9 3 6 2 2 2 2 -------------------------------------- 10 4 4 3 2 1 4 11 2 7 2 1 -- 2 12 6 3 3 -- 1 4 13 5 3 3 2 2 -- 14 1 8 -- 3 -- 6 15 4 5 2 1 3 1 16 3 5 2 3 2 7 17 5 4 -- 2 1 4 18 2 6 1 1 -- 2 19 4 3 3 3 2 6 -------------------------------------- 20 3 6 2 1 -- 3 21 -- 9 2 2 1 6 22 5 5 -- 2 1 1 23 5 4 3 1 -- 4 24 2 8 3 -- 3 -- 25 4 7 2 2 2 6 26 2 7 1 3 -- 2 27 6 4 3 1 2 5 28 4 8 2 3 -- 5 29 6 3 3 1 1 3 -------------------------------------- 30 4 5 -- 3 2 6 31 2 8 -- 3 1 5 32 5 -- 2 1 2 4 33 4 7 2 3 -- 5 34 5 6 3 -- 2 -- 35 3 7 1 2 2 5 36 5 5 -- 2 -- 3 37 1 5 2 -- 3 4 38 5 4 -- 2 -- 6 39 -- 9 1 1 -- 5 -------------------------------------- 40 4 7 1 1 2 2 41 3 5 -- -- 2 4 42 4 5 2 1 1 4 43 -- 7 1 2 1 1 44 4 4 -- 3 -- 2 45 2 5 1 1 2 4 46 3 4 2 -- 1 3 47 -- 5 -- 2 -- 4 48 3 3 1 1 2 2 49 2 4 1 -- 1 2 -------------------------------------- 50 3 2 -- 2 1 -- MOMO ---- STARTING STATS: LVL HP AP PWR DEF AGL INT 10 52 40 30 25 15 50 -------------------------------------- LEVEL UP STATS: 11 3 2 -- -- 2 2 12 5 6 3 2 -- 5 13 5 -- 4 2 -- 3 14 4 5 2 1 1 3 15 4 3 4 3 2 -- 16 5 4 2 3 -- 6 17 2 2 3 -- 1 4 18 6 5 1 2 -- 6 19 4 6 4 1 1 5 -------------------------------------- 20 5 2 3 4 1 4 21 3 7 2 2 -- 7 22 6 3 4 -- 2 2 23 6 6 4 2 1 5 24 4 3 5 4 1 4 25 3 4 1 3 -- 7 26 5 2 3 1 2 5 27 6 1 2 1 -- 3 28 5 5 4 2 1 3 29 6 3 2 3 1 7 -------------------------------------- 30 4 4 3 2 1 5 31 2 5 4 -- -- 8 32 6 2 2 3 -- 5 33 5 -- 3 2 3 3 34 4 4 -- 3 1 4 35 5 4 5 1 -- 7 36 9 3 1 4 2 3 37 5 2 4 2 2 5 38 6 5 4 2 -- 6 39 5 1 3 1 2 4 -------------------------------------- 40 4 4 4 2 -- 4 41 3 4 2 1 -- 5 42 4 2 4 3 -- 2 43 2 4 3 -- 3 3 44 6 3 2 3 -- 4 45 5 2 4 -- 2 4 46 3 3 -- 2 1 5 47 -- 4 3 1 -- 3 48 4 2 2 2 1 1 49 3 1 2 -- 1 4 -------------------------------------- 50 2 2 -- 1 -- 4 PECO ---- STARTING STATS: LVL HP AP PWR DEF AGL INT 1 40 8 18 14 3 4 -------------------------------------- LEVEL UP STATS: 2 3 1 2 -- -- -- 3 4 1 1 1 1 -- 4 4 3 3 2 1 -- 5 14 6 6 5 -- 3 6 2 2 2 1 2 -- 7 6 -- 2 -- -- -- 8 14 5 7 6 1 5 9 5 2 2 2 -- -- -------------------------------------- 10 6 4 3 3 -- -- 11 5 -- 4 -- 1 -- 12 3 2 2 3 -- -- 13 15 5 7 6 -- 6 14 3 1 1 2 -- -- 15 5 3 3 -- 3 -- 16 5 3 3 3 -- -- 17 14 6 7 6 -- 2 18 15 7 6 5 2 2 19 6 -- 2 2 -- -- -------------------------------------- 20 4 3 3 3 -- -- 21 7 4 1 -- -- -- 22 14 7 7 6 1 4 23 4 2 3 2 -- -- 24 6 -- 2 3 2 -- 25 7 3 4 2 -- -- 26 5 2 7 4 2 -- 27 15 6 3 7 -- 5 28 5 2 1 3 -- -- 29 7 2 1 1 -- -- -------------------------------------- 30 15 7 7 7 1 3 31 6 3 4 2 2 -- 32 4 -- 3 2 -- -- 33 6 2 2 4 -- -- 34 5 -- 4 -- 1 -- 35 15 8 7 6 -- 3 36 8 -- 3 -- -- -- 37 7 3 2 2 1 -- 38 6 1 2 3 -- -- 39 14 6 7 4 1 4 -------------------------------------- 40 4 2 1 -- -- -- 41 6 2 2 -- 2 -- 42 4 -- 3 3 -- -- 43 15 6 7 5 1 4 44 -- 1 3 2 -- -- 45 5 1 -- -- -- -- 46 4 3 1 2 -- -- 47 13 6 6 5 -- 3 48 3 2 3 1 1 -- 49 3 -- 2 2 -- -- -------------------------------------- 50 2 1 -- 1 -- -- GARR ---- STARTING STATS: LVL HP AP PWR DEF AGL INT 13 99 7 58 44 17 21 -------------------------------------- LEVEL UP STATS: 14 5 -- 5 3 1 2 15 7 2 3 1 -- -- 16 4 -- 6 4 1 1 17 8 3 4 2 -- -- 18 8 -- 5 3 2 -- 19 4 1 3 2 1 2 -------------------------------------- 20 5 -- 2 3 -- 3 21 6 -- 4 5 -- 2 22 10 2 6 3 1 1 23 7 2 3 4 1 3 24 5 -- 2 3 -- 3 25 3 -- 4 2 -- 3 26 9 1 3 4 -- 3 27 8 -- 6 3 2 1 28 5 3 6 5 -- -- 29 7 -- 4 4 1 2 -------------------------------------- 30 8 -- 5 4 1 1 31 4 -- 3 3 1 -- 32 5 1 5 4 -- 2 33 8 -- 5 4 1 1 34 9 2 4 2 -- 3 35 6 1 4 4 1 3 36 6 -- 5 3 -- -- 37 9 -- 3 1 2 2 38 4 -- 3 4 1 1 39 3 4 5 2 -- -- -------------------------------------- 40 8 -- 4 3 1 3 41 4 1 4 3 2 -- 42 6 -- 2 3 -- 2 43 4 -- 5 1 1 2 44 5 -- 3 3 1 1 45 6 -- 3 4 -- 3 46 4 1 2 3 1 -- 47 5 -- 4 1 1 1 48 2 -- 3 3 -- 1 49 3 -- 4 2 1 -- -------------------------------------- 50 3 -- 2 2 1 1 There we have it. If you apply Masters to level gains appropriately, you'll have a wrecking ball of a party. ========================= LEVEL BUILDING STRATEGIES ========================= As promised, I'll give you some strategies on how to build your own party. The main idea is to maximize your gains while minimizing you penalties. Assigning a Master to a level-up where the penalized stats have a small gain (Or better yet, none at all) does this. For example, say Garr is about to become Level 28. Looking at the chart above, we see that Garr gains the following stats on becoming Level 28: HP: +5 AP: +3 PWR: +6 DEF: +5 INT: -- AGL: -- You will notice there is no Intelligence or Agility gained this level, so the optimal Master would be one that penalizes Intelligence and/or Agility. Now by looking up at the Master List, find a Master who does this. You'll find two candidates: Fahl and Hachio. Fahl gives better overall gains than Hachio, and Hachio does penalize AP, which sets him back. However, the choice is yours to make, Fahl gives excellent stats with no penalties at all, while Hachio gives a bigger Power bonus at the cost of AP and less bonuses overall. Just another example so you get a better feel of the concept of optimal building strategy. Suppose Ryu is going to become Level 23. Again, look at the stat chart, and notice the gains: HP: +7 AP: +3 PWR: +3 DEF: +4 INT: +5 AGL: +2 Not near as easy to find a good Master for his Level-up, eh? Again, you'll want to maximize you gains while minimizing you losses here. The first thing to look at is the Agility gained. Agility is not gained very often, so it would be a shame and a waste to kill a +2 gain with an Agility-dropping Master, so scratch out Fahl, Hachio, and Giotto. Now, it's up to personal preference. If you feel your Ryu is low on AP and Intelligence, you'll want to go with a Master that raises those attributes. The same applies for HP, Power, Defense, or Agility. Since this level-up has so many gains, it will be impossible to find a Master that doesn't penalize their full amount. The trick here is to find what stats you really need, bite the bullet, and take the hit to your stats. However, find the best Bonus to Negative ratio you can find (In otherwords, choose Masters who gives the most bang for his buck, such as Emitai, Hondara, Yggdrasil, or Bunyan). Now another option you can do is to use a non-penalty Master. There are five of them, Durandal and the four Wyndian hide-and-seek kids. You may decide to start Ryu under a Skill gaining block under one of these. Keep in mind, however, that the stat bonuses for these Masters are quite low, and you get better stats overall by using other Masters, despite the penalties. Now that you have a handle on optimizing gains, its time to go to the next step: Skill gaining blocks. Since you want to get all the Master skills, there will be times when a character needs to spend multiple levels under that one Master to gain all the skills. Again, this is done by using the Stat-gain charts above. What you want to do is first, choose the Master. Based on the Master chosen, you then select a character. Generally, you want to select a character that who compliments the Master well, my suggestions: Ryu-Any Master that raises multiple Core stats (Ladon, Deis, etc) Nina-Intelligence and AP Masters (Emitai, Mygas, Deis, etc) Momo-Intelligence and AP Masters Rei-Power, Defense, or Agility Masters (Bunyan, D'Lonzo, etc) Garr-Power, Defense Masters (Fahl, Bunyan, Hachio, etc) Peco-HP or Core Stat Masters (Fahl, Ladon, etc) By following these guidelines it'll be quicker for you to find the optimal level blocks you'll need to set aside for skill learning. After selecting the character who will be the apprentice, use the charts to find the best run of levels that compliment the Master well. Here's an example: Suppose you want to learn all of Meryleep's skills. The first thing to do is find out what type of Master Meryleep is. By looking at the Master list, you'll see that she raises Agility primarily and that it takes eight levels to learn all her skills. Now referencing to the list just above, you'll see that Rei is the best character to gain skills under an Agility Master. Now we need to find eight levels in a row that raise little or no HP, Power, or Defense (Remember, it's of key importance that you find levels that DON'T raise penalized stats). Look at Rei's stat chart. Now, unfortunately, Meryleep isn't the greatest of Masters (3 Penalized stats for 1 gain), so the trick is to minimize the hit Rei will take in HP, Power, and Defense. Now, as you should notice, there are very few levels where Rei doesn't gain at least one of every stat, so we need to find an eight-level block that contains as many null gains as possible. Now, depending on when you want Meryleep's skills (And I suggest getting them fairly early, Shadow Walk and War Shout are both powerful). From looking at the chart, you'll find that the best early block for Meryleep is from levels 26 to 33 (Meaning you need to be at level 25 before starting). There are two levels that have a null stat, one in Power and one in Defense, which, unfortunately, is the best we can do without resorting to extremely high levels. Now, if you are really dedicated to having a really strong party, you'll need to remain at very low levels until the higher order Masters appear. In general, you'll want to unlock Ladon at levels less than 30, and Deis at levels less than 20. This isn't too hard in general, but I have included boss strategies for lower level characters, which is worth at least a glance to see what you're up against. After this, you should have a fairly good grasp at how to plan out your levels in order to make the most out of the very versatile Master system. Now that we've covered getting powerful Level-ups, its time to move on to the next section of the Ultimate File, Ultimate Equipment! ================== ULTIMATE EQUIPMENT ================== This should be relatively simple compared to the Master system, so it can serve as a nice break from your level building. A word of warning: Getting some equipment can be extremely time consuming, so level building may actually serve as a break to equipment gathering ^_^ NOTE: Get a Midas Stone before you start. They're bought in Wyndia. Also, make sure someone has the charm skill from D'Lonzo. Format: Equipment name Power or Defense/Weight, special attributes Location/How its obtained Also, the order of equipment is as follows: Weapon Armor Shield Helm Accessory I Accessory II Also, if something is stated as alternate, it is an alternative to the type of equipment mentioned above it. RYU *** Goo King Sword 180/4 Dropped by Goo Kings (Final area of Station Myria) Life Armor 80/8, Recovers 1 HP per step Desert of Death; Kombinat Manillo Merchant Aries' Gloves 44/2, Power +10 Stolen from Berserker (Container Yard) Dragon Helm 30/2, Absorbs Fire Behind locked door in Station Myria (You need Rei) Spirit Ring Halves AP Cost of Spells/Abilities Faerie Village Expedition Ivory Charm Halves Elemental Damage, Status Effect Immunity, Healing spells heal for twice the effect, restores 1 HP with each step. Faerie Village Expedition REI *** Holy Avenger 125/4 Dropped by Archmage (Container Yard) Lifestealer (Alternate Weapon choice) 108/1, Chance of Instant Death on Attack Dropped by Vampire (Final Area of Station Myria) Life Armor 80/8, Recovers 1 HP per step Desert of Death; Kombinat Manillo Merchant Burglar's Garb (Alternate Armor choice) 64/0, Agility +5 Stolen from Vampire (Final Area of Station Myria) Aries' Gloves Divine Helm 26/2, Immunity to Instant Death Dropped by Wraith (Station Myria Courtyard) Spirit Ring Ivory Charm NINA **** Ouroborus 80/5, Intelligence +10 Faerie Village 'Ability Weapon Store' Diana's Dress 72/4 Dropped by Revenants (Myria Station) Aries' Gloves Silver Tiara 23/1 Chest in the Myria Station Courtyard (Behind a tree) Spirit Ring Ivory Charm MOMO **** Atomic Bomb 198/1 Caer Xhan Weapon Store Mist Armor 75/4, Doubles the Effects of Healing Dropped by Mist Men (Final Area of Station Myria) Aries' Gloves Silver Tiara 23/1 Chest in Station Myria Courtyard Spirit Ring Ivory Charm PECO **** Dragonfang 85/1 Dropped by Fire Drakes and Ice Drakes (Station Myria) Death Claws (Alternate Weapon Choice) 73/1, Chance of Instant Death on Attack Desert of Death Amber Breastplate 45/4 Parch Store Aries' Gloves Tiger's Cap 17/1, Power +5 Faerie Village 'Ability Weapon Shop' Spirit Ring Ivory Charm GARR **** Beast Spear 150/15, Drains 5% of Garr's HP a round Guardian Gaist's Ashes- Do not leave the room beforehand Gideon's Garb 82/12, Power +10 Dropped by Armor (Station Myria) Aries' Gloves Divine Helm 26/2, Immunity to Instant Death Dropped by Wraith (Station Myria) Spirit Ring Ivory Charm TIPS **** Dropped Items ------------- To get Dropped items like the Goo King Sword faster and easier, it is best to equip one character in your party with the Midas Stone (This can be bought in Wyndia's Store). Along with the Midas Stone, cast Charm on the opponent you are trying to get the item from. These two tidbits of preparation can GREATLY speed up the time it takes to get super-rare items like the Goo King Sword. Stolen Items ------------ Stolen items can be gotten much easier than dropped ones. Have one character use the Steal ability (Learned from D'Lonzo) and Rei use Pilfer every round of combat. Have your third character heal if the enemy is hurting you too much while stealing. It may take a few minutes of stealing, but you can get the item in one fight. Faerie Expedition ----------------- To get the best Accessories in the game, the Spirit Ring and Ivory Charm, you'll need to set up an Expedition. Get about 6-9 Faeries with high health (Red bar) and send them on a Distant Exploration. Leave the Faerie Village and get into about 30 fights. Save, then go back to the village. If you recieved a Spirit Ring or Ivory Charm, great. If not, reload and check the results again. Do this until you get both these great accessories. Desert of Death --------------- Directions to get the Royal Sword, Life Armor, and Death Claws items found in the Desert of Death. Royal Sword: Go South from the Oasis. On the second night, keep heading South until you reach the first Battle screen. After that, head West. On the fourth night, you'll enter a Battle screen which contains the Royal Sword. Life Armor: Head North from the Factory until the Evening Star is lined up evenly with the right-most of the 3 Blue Stars. From here, turn towards the 3 stars. After some travel, you'll end up in a Battle Screen, only instead of a Treasure Bag, you'll find an armor piece laying on the ground. Examine it to get the Life Armor. Death Claws: From the Oasis, immediately turn West. Head West the entire time. On the 7th night or so, you'll enter a Battle screen with a treasure chest. Open it to get the Death Claws. Copying Rare Items ------------------ There are some items that can only be found once but is usable by multiple characters, like the Silver Tiara. There are also items that are extremely aggravating to get in quantity, such as the Aries' Gloves and Ivory Charm. For these items, a very handy option is the Faerie Copy Shop. To use the Copy Shop effectively, first put the best Faeries (The ones that have a large Sky-Blue line) into the shop. Select the item to be copied. Leave the Faerie Village and get into about 30 fights. Save, then enter. If the Copy succeeded good. If not, reload and enter until it does succeed. Using this method, you can get six Aries' Gloves or six Spirit Rings relatively easily. That covers it for equipment. If you managed the force of will to sit around and hunt items to obtain everything, I must applaud your patience. That covers it for equipment. If you managed the force of will to sit around and hunt items to obtain everything, I must applaud your patience. ============ STAT RAISING ============ Alright, you now have an Ultimate File Party with superb stats and the most powerful equipment in the world. All that's left is to find and collect as many stat boosters as you can. Note: Personally I don't do this. Boosting all stats to maximum value to me just seems to counter the entire point of using the Master system to raise stats. In addition, I like to know that my party is the best it can be without the artificial help of outside sources. That said, many people like to boost stats to max, and since I applaud the patience of anyone who wishes to boost stats so high, I see no reason not to include stat boosting in this guide. Enough rambling, lets see where we can boost our stats now, shall we? I generally recommend going after enemies that you can Steal from, since you have a 100% chance, whereas Dropped items may or not come each fight. Also, you generally want to go after normal enemies, rather than bosses, because random enemies have that nice little trait of being of infinite quantity. ^^ Format: item that raises stat regular enemies --- one time fights --- best source HP -- Life Shard Gonger (Dropped) Ice Toad (Stolen) Gong Head (Dropped) Goo Titan (Stolen) Big Bulb (Dropped) King Toad (Dropped) --- Rocky (Stolen) Golem (Stolen) (You can steal one from each Golem) Sample 8 (Stolen) You can steal one from each Sample 8 this battle Sample 10 (Stolen) (Appears with Samples 11 and 12) Sample 11 (Stolen) (Appears with Samples 10 and 12) Sample 12 (Stolen) (Appears with Samples 10 and 11) --- Goo Titan (Mount Levett) AP -- Magic Shard Reaper (Stolen) --- Torast (Stolen) Kassen (Stolen) Gatel (Stolen) Doksen (Stolen) Amalgam (Stolen) --- Reaper (Angel Tower) POWER ----- Power Food Hobgoblin (Stolen) Foulweed (Stolen) Night Bat (Stolen) --- Nue (Stolen) Nue, Second Fight (Stolen) Charybdis (Stolen) Scylla (Stolen) Dragon Zombie (Stolen) Manmo (Stolen) Sample 1 (Stolen) --- Night Bat (Station Myria Depths) DEFENSE ------- Protein Vulcan (Stolen) Scorpion (Dropped) Foulweed (Dropped) Nigh Bat (Dropped) --- Vulcan (Mount Zublo) INTELLIGENCE ------------ Fish Head Dolphin (Stolen) Angler (Stolen) NOTE: Both of these are bosses, so you can only get them once. You'll have to use the fairy copy shop to get more of them. If you ever completely run out of Fish Heads, they are obtainable in some random battle areas of the Desert of Death. More on this below. AGILITY ------- Swallow Eye Ripper (Dropped) Slasher (Dropped) Slasher (Mount Levett) STAT BOOSTING STRATEGY ---------------------- Now that we know where to get an infinite amount of Stat boosters, we need to know how to best harvest them. The best method is to tackle one stat at a time. So choose the stat you want to boost first (I suggest Power, HP, or Defense), and start hunting that enemy down. After collecting approximately 9 of the stat boosters you want, head to the Faerie Village. Set up three Copy Shops, give the boosters to the Faeries to copy, then go back hunting. After collecting 9 more, head back to the Faerie village and save at the Inn (Make sure you set up an Inn!). Collect your copies from the Faeries, if there were 3 more failures, do a soft reset and reload back to the Faerie Village and try again. Now just start copying 9 more of the booster while hunting again. Repeat until you have that stat on everyone at the level you want, then start the same process on the other stat boosters. Fish Heads ---------- Make absolutely sure you keep the 2 Fish Heads you can get from the bosses. Copy the two, then get in some fights. Return to the Faerie Village and save. If either Copy fails, reload. Now Copy them, make sure none fail. Now Copy the 8, make sure none fail. Now start Copying 9-12, reloading if you have less than a 66% success rate (3 and 4 failures, respectively). While this is a lot slower than the stats that can be stolen, it is still decently fast. *Note*: It *is* possible to get Fish Heads as a random treasure in the DDesert of Death. You'll find them in random treasure bags in the Battle Fields in the Desert. I wouldn't rely on using this method unless you completely missed all the other Fish Heads in the game. Swallow Eyes ------------ Follow the guidelines for the Fish Head strategy above. However, you CAN obtain infinite Swallow Eyes as drops from Rippers and Slashers, so you do have something to fall back on, albeit not near as common as the other stat boosters. ========================= LOW LEVEL BOSS STRATEGIES ========================= Use these strategies if you plan on going through the majority of the game at low levels. I've used them many times and they work very well. If you have any alternate low-level strategies, please let me know and I'll add it and give you credit. Nue (1) ------- Ryu, Rei, Teepo Have Rei pilfer until you steal a Power Food. Have Teepo cast Simoon and Rei use a basic physical attack. You can kill Ryu off if you want Ryu to apprentice to Bunyan or Mygas at level 1. If you do this, make sure to have Rei use Healing Herbs if needed. Otherwise he should attack. If you opt to keep Ryu alive, Ryu can do all the healing, with a physical attack when needed. Nue (2) ------- Ryu, Rei, Teepo Same strategy as the first time you fought her. Teepo should use Simoon, Rei should use Pilfer a Power Food, then attack or heal. Ryu can either Heal or attack. Again, kill Ryu if you want him to start his Master training at level 1. Amalgam ------- Ryu, Rei, Teepo Have Rei use Pilfer until you get a Magic Shard. Teepo should use Simoon. After Rei steals a Magic Shard, he should attack or heal. Like the Nue fights, kill Ryu if you want him to stay at level 1. If not, put Ryu in charge of healing, using his physical attack when he's not. Mutant Plant ------------ Ryu, Nina, Momo Turn into a Flame Whelp (Flame Gene) and use Fire Claw every round. Have Nina use Simoon every round, and have Momo attack with her Flame Chrysm weapon every round. This will wear off his regeneration, and then quickly kill him. Have Momo or Nina heal when its needed. Claw ----- Ryu Equip the Bat Ring to prevent her Blind attack. After this, its just a matter of beating her down his Physical skills (Abiliites like Double Blow), using a Healing Herb when nescissary. Cawer ------ Ryu Use Physical skills. Heal when needed. He shouldn't be too hard. Patrio ------ Ryu Examine until you learn 'Frost Strike', healing when needed. Use the Defender Gene and just hit charge. If you dragon doesn't die, good. If he does die, turn into it again. If and when you run out of AP, start using Physical skills while healing every two rounds. Make sure to immediately heal after every Lucky Strike. Emitai, Golem x2 ---------------- Ryu, Momo, Nina Ryu should use the Flame+Defender gene combination. Concentrate every attack on Emitai, while Nina heals. Once Emitai goes down, the Golems will begin to attack each other. Use this time to Examine them to learn Spirit Blast (They alternate who uses it, so you don't have to guess). After one Golem dies, you can quickly kill the last. Stallion --------- Ryu. Garr, Momo Turn into a Flame Defender (Make sure Ryu does not have a Silver Dagger equipped!), and let loose with everything. Momo should heal and Garr should use his Physical attack. You should be able to kill him without too many problems. Gazer ----- Ryu, Garr, Momo Flame Defender and hit him with Flame Strike every round. Have Garr use Pyrokinesis every round, Momo should attack with her Flame Chrysm weapon every round. Keep up the Fire damage and Gazer should fall shortly. If you need it, have Momo heal. Dolphin ------- Ryu, Nina, Momo Examine him until you learn Tsunami (Heal if you run low on HP). After learning Tsunami, have Ryu use the Thunder and Eldritch Genes, Nina should use Jolt or Lightning every round, and Momo should heal every round. With Ryu being able to cast Mjolnir every round, this fight shouldn't take more than 4 or 5 rounds after learning Tsunami. Scylla, Charybids, Gisshan -------------------------- Ryu, Nina, Momo Innoculate everyone with the Flame Shot. Examine Scylla or Charybids until you learn Wall of Fire (Heal when needed). After learning Wall of Fire, have Ryu use the Miracle gene, then use Blitz every round. This should kill them all off before Ryu dies or runs out of AP. If not, concentrate everything on Gisshan, then concentrate Ice attacks (Nina-Iceblast, Momo-Ice Chrysm weapon) on the wyrms until they die. Garr ---- Ryu Turn into a Behemoth and Blitz Garr every round. Garr will die really quickly. You'd have to try hard to lose this fight... Dragon Zombie ------------- Ryu, Garr Cast Kyrie, the fight is over ^_^. If you don't have Kyrie, Flame Claw every round coupled with Pyrokinesis should drop him fairly quickly. Just make sure Ryu is equipped with the Light Bangle to reduce the chances of him becoming confused. Have Garr heal with Vitamins. If Ryu runs out of AP, switch the Healing job to him. Equipping Ryu with a Flare Sword (Beyd will give you one if you trained him with a Claymore) will help. Weretiger --------- Ryu, Garr Have Ryu turn into Behemoth and Blitz him to death. Weretiger will do very little to Behemoth. Not too hard. Mikba ------ Ryu, Garr, Rei Have Ryu turn into a Behemoth and use Meteor Strike every round. Mikba should do very low damage, ensuring that Meteor Strike always hits hard. If you drop out of Behemoth, have Ryu bring Rei back to life while Garr attacks with Physical skills. Rei will automatically go Weretiger. Mikba will have very little HP remaining at this point, so he should go down fast. Mutant Slug ----------- Ryu, Nina, Momo Turn into a Flame Warrior (Flame+Force Genes) and watch as the pure power of the Force gene powered Flame Strike reduces him to pulp. Very easy indeed. Alas, its not the real boss of the Research Lab. Shroom ------ Ryu, Nina, Momo Turn into the Engine Knight Hybrid (Momo's Hybrid form) and use Combustion every round. Nina should use Simoon or Heal, Momo should attack with the Flame Chrysm weapon or Heal. Combustion should make short work of him. Gaist ----- Ryu Turn into a Frost Warrior and use Frost Breath twice to get rid of his Candle helpers. After that, hit him with Frost Claw every round. Since this is a low level game, chances are Gaist won't die before your Warrior runs out of AP. When that happens, make sure Ryu has the Flame Ring equipped. While Gaist starts pounding Ryu's human form, have Ryu use Wisdom Seeds or a Wisdom Fruit to restore his AP. After getting 100 AP, return to Frost Warrior form and unleash Frost Claw on him some more. Eventually he'll die. Angler ------ Ryu, Rei, Garr Examine him until you learn Thunderclap. After that, physical attacks work best. Rei should use Weretiger, Garr should use Influence on Angler so Weretiger always goes after it. Ryu should use just the Force gene. After that, Garr should use physical skills and Ryu should alternate between Focus and Aura. Ammonites --------- Ryu, Momo, Rei Have Ryu turn into a Thunder Warrior and use Thunder Strike every round. Momo should use Influence, then use Might on Ryu or heal. Rei should use Weretiger. Watch out for their lucky strikes, always try to keep HP at above 2/3s. Jono ----- Ryu, Rei, Momo Have Ryu cast Influence, then Shield twice, then Barrier once on every character. This should keep Mjolnir and Multistrike from wrecking your characters. Have Momo use Might four times on Ryu and Rei. Have Rei go Weretiger. Ryu should then use Shadow Walk (If you have it) every round while Momo provides healing. A hard fight, but you can win it with good preparation. After defeating Jono, all Masters are available, so there's no need to hit any bosses at low levels, unless you want a challenge. Well, I hope the above strategies will be of help if you plan on going through at moderately low levels. ========= REVISIONS ========= March 23, 2003 -------------- Finished the bulk of the guide. Included are the Master, Stat Gains, Level Building Strategy, Ultimate Equipment, Stat Boosting Item, and Low Level Boss guides. August 4, 2003 -------------- Formatting, such as fixing line breaks, and making the FAQ generally easier to follow. Added full Skills section. Upcoming Changes: Finish Stat gains from levels 51-99. ========== DISCLAIMER ========== All character, location, and items names related to Breath of Fire III are property of Capcom. This guide itself is property of Cedric Blood. Do not take the guide or any part of it without my prior permission. If you wish to use it on your own site, please notify me first and wait for my approval (My E-mail is up top).