Ryu
One of my favorite games is Breath of Fire 3 for your ability to configure character growth. I think the most valuable stat in the game for Ryu is agility because you can get EX turns, a bonus turn in between rounds of combat, in your dragon forms. EX turns in dragon forms don't cost AP. This effectively means you double your AP for sustaining your dragon forms. The sad thing is that this is not something you can enjoy the benefits of until mid to late game. How do you get agility? Massive, massive amounts of agility?
There are three methods:
One: The master Meryleep.
Two: Farming Swallow Eyes.
Three: Chain Formation + Rei
Method One
Meryleep can actually be unlocked after completing the light house and defeating the pink dolphin monster in the fairy village. She gives 2 agility per level. The cost of 1 AP might not be worth it to some, but remember, EX turns as a dragon do not cost AP.
Method Two
There are actually two methods for farming swallow eyes and they both involve having a lot of progress with the Fairy Village mini-game, which isn't available until part two when Ryu is an adult. It takes about 6 hours of gameplay to max out fairy village. Farming items can be done by making 15 copy shop fairies or 15 gift shop fairies.
Gift Shop Fairies
Gift shop fairies are much more consistent. They give you an item for visiting. The item is determined by the number of fights you've gotten into since you spoke with them, starting at 0 if they're brand new. You do not have to win the fights, you may run! Gift shop fairies will give you a swallow eye when the number of fights you've accumulated is 71-76, 78-80. Set up your copy shop, put your fairies in it, then leave and get into 70+ fights. When you talk to the fairies after that, they will have a gift for you, one swallow eye each! Up to 15 at a time! Yummy.
Just so we're clear, you can make up for any stat penalties from masters at the end of the game, with work and time, using gift shops. You can re-evaluate the pros and cons of a master based on on how much work some items are to farm. Gift shops can give the following stat boosting items:
#Battles Items
7 *Fish Head
31-40 Life Shard
41-50 Magic Shard
51-60 Power Food
61-70 Protein
71-80 (except 77) Swallow Eye
81-90 Fish Head
*Note: Intelligence is a useless stat. Nina with 400 intelligence still can't compete with Ryu for damage. Tried it.
Copy Shop Fairies
To use the copy shop to begin with, you have to have a bunch of Swallow Eyes to begin with, and the game only gives you two. Copy shops also have a chance of failure and you lose your item. However, it only requires 30 battles for the copy shop to complete the process.
Summary
The most consistent way to farm Swallow Eyes is to use Gift Shops. You should get Ryu's agility to 110 to 130 while wearing his heaviest equipment before you can be sure you'll always be fast enough to have EX turns.
Method 3:
Oh yeah, these strategies are unnecessary if you apprentice Rei under Meryleep, unlock the Chain Formation and put Rei on point which makes everyone else have Rei's Agility score. I think Rei sucks though.
Wizards Should Apprentice Under Fahl
The most valuable stats for spellcasters are AP and Def. AP is valuable because of how rare AP restoring items are. Fahl does not take away from AP! He takes away from Intelligence, but that's fine. As we've established, Intelligence sucks in this game and Fish Heads are the easiest item to farm! Defense is more valuable than HP. Put Nina and Momo under Fahl for 10 levels for 40 HP and 30 Defense and they'll never take damage again except from enemies using breath weapons, Berserkers and Arch Mages. I recommend using Nina and Momo because they are your best buff/debuff/crowd control/support units.
Rei and Garr are not for Dealing Damage
The first time I played this game, my main party included Rei and Garr. I thought they would be good melee fighters. The fact is, the amount of damage Ryu can do in his Warrior and Kaiser forms makes any other damage redundant during a boss fight. They barely contribute during random battles. In fact, in boss battles, what I needed from non-Ryu characters was healing and buffs, at which Rei is subpar and Garr is shit.
Rei is clearly a support unit. He has the ability to use a healing item before the enemy has a turn and he can steal or use debuffs, though less effectively than Nina or Momo. If you unlock the chain formation, then Ryu can benefit from Rei's Agility to get Dragon EX turns, but I got tired of commanding Rei to defend all the time. He can use Disembowel at the start of a fight to maybe instantly remove one enemy from play.
Garr is a tank. Apprentice him under Fahl, pick a formation that gives him the highest chance of taking hits, put him on point,
Make Battles Last Longer with Peco
Peco has a counterattack rate of 50%. This is a good way to draw out the length of a battle with numerous extra animations. If Peco can hit really hard and reliably 1-shot enemies in random encounters, use him. If not, you're better off relying on concentrated deliberate damage. An additional downside to relentless counterattacks is that you can't do a lot of stealing if Peco keeps killing all your marks. I only use Peco for learning abilities from masters. I hear some people really like Peco and think he's OP. They must be playing this game wrong.
Everything you need to know about skills and masters
General Tip: Use your levels wisely. It's easier to learn all the skills/spells you want if you keep your levels low. For example, Peco starts out on level 1. That means if you save him for when you meet Deis, you're only 15 minutes of grinding away from unlocking all the best attack spells.
The only important masters are numbered.
I've provided my amazing 2 cents on which masters beyond that have what value.
#1. Meryleep!
The best skills in this game bar none are Shadowwalk and Aura. Shadowwalk comes from Meryleep. It is a guaranteed crit that costs 8 AP. She also gives Charm which is very useful for getting certain special late game item drops. She also gives 2 Agility at level up.
#2. Falh
He gives invaluable stat boosts for spellcaster types with low HP and Def. Defense is very valuable in this game! Most attacks have to get through your defense. For other attacks, such as Magic which essentially does it's base damage + some amount of Int, and breath weapons which do damage based on current HP/Max HP, they need to beat sheer HP. I don't recall using his skills except Resist during Berserker and Arch Mage fights, but I'm usually not happy unless I learn it from Balio and Sunder.
#3. Ladon.
Get Aura. Maybe. Actually, I recommend Aura over Shadowwalk for Berserker and Arch Mage. The extreme stat growth he offers works best for characters who a) don't need AP, can afford to sacrifice HP, and who you would like to improve their overall stats. This is if you want a more powerful car with less fuel economy. or b) if you're grinding out levels over level 50 when all your stat growth tanks; There's no point in doing that though.
Steal and Monopolize are wonderful. Her stat growth is terrible however. It's such a meager difference to natural growth. I don't know who it complements, but probably Momo for the early game because she also gives a slight bonus to Attack hit chance.
#4 Bunyan
I recommend Bunyan for any character who will rely on melee damage. His skill Focus is also worth noting. Focus can be stacked and combined with Shadowwalk and Aura to do the best damage in the entire game: 2,000+ damage with Aura. Super Combo is an expensive pain in the ass. I will gladly never play a mini-game to make sure my attack works. Disembowel is probably useless. I never bothered getting it from him after I earned it.
The Rest.
Deis
She gives you the best attack spells in the game. These can be good for Momo. I've heard that Peco makes a good wizard too. Nina learns them later. I have never used Celerity, but it might be amazing.
Giotto
Like Ladon, this guy alters your stat growth in an extreme way. His actual quality is that you can get Ruy a lot of HP and AP early to mid game. This is the option for if you want a weaker car with more fuel economy. His skills are ass.
Emitai
He teaches Mind Sword. It's a very cheap single target attack spell that a wizard can use over their Attack command. In my experience, this is stronger than Magic Ball and generally useful. Barrier and Enlighten are good on paper, but I seldom need Barrier or rely on Magic to do a lot of damage.
Hachio
A crappy Bunyan clone who teaches a skill called Demonsbane which I found to be a lesser choice for skills and Mighty Chop which is just an easter egg. In theory, your wizards can use Might Chop instead of Attack indefinitely and be able to contribute without using AP, but they nerfed it.
Mygas
Magic Ball is OP at the beginning of the game. You can do 40~60 damage to one enemy for 2 AP. I don't think this spell gets any stronger. If you unlock Typhoon from him in the early game, it's useful for grinding and emergencies. I think Meditation might be useful but I've never experimented with it.
Yggdrasil
Shield is the only good spell he offers, though you may find it redundant. Face it, the only reason you use Yggdrasil is because it's early game and you're done with Mygas and you don't want to spend your mage character's levels on a non-magic master.
Durandal
I think this master is a waste of perfectly good levels.
Hondara
You can't unlock Hondara without learning everything from Durandal. That's a shame because I like this guy's spells. Well, I like them on paper. In case it's not clear, I never used his skills.
Other Skills worth Learning (This list is Short)
Burn
Have Ryu learn this from Mage Goos in Cedar Woods. It's cheap and effective against Nut Troops on Mt. Myrneg and that's all it's for. Actually, you can also use it on Vulcan's in Mt. Zublo to wake them up and power them up for exp!
Blind
This can be learned from Rippers and has a pretty good success rate. Blind the Nue boss. I stop using it very early on. It has a secret use. If you blind Eye Goos, they drop 30 experience.
Frost
Ryu can use this on mud men at Mt. Myrneg to paralyze them an make them drop 70 experience. You can give it to Momo after that so she can have a reliable attack.
Double Blow
Stronger than a regular attack but weaker than a crit.
Bone Dart
I've heard good things but I always gave up on learning it!
Lava Busrt
An AOE, medium powered fire spell and you get it pretty early. That's cool!
Cure
Secret powerful healing skill learned from the paralyzed enemies in the desert level. You have to cure their paralysis using a panacea and then they might use it. I forget how to make them use it, but I don't think it's hard.
Low Level Strats
Why low level? Because you want to maximize your opportunities for stat growth and learning skills from masters.
Get Magic Ball and Typhoon Skills Early.
- Keep Teepo (or Ryu) on level 1 until you unlock Mygas. Apprentice Teepo under Mygas and you can be ready to learn all his spells by the time you complete McNeil Manor. These skills automatically go to your Skills book in your camp after you lose Teepo. Give Nina Magic Ball and Typhoon right away for easy fights.
- Run all the time. It's fine. Your defense drops for that round of combat though.
- Kill Teepo a lot.
- Have extra Healing Herbs.
- Clear the ? Forest blocking the path to Mt. Glaus while you still have Rei in your party.
- Why would you do this? Because leveling up to level 8 from level 7 is actually a lot more work than leveling from 1 to 7.
- Earn a ton of money for equipment and healing items by farming Silver Knives from the Manilo Fishing Shop. Silver Knives go for 600 Zenny each. It might take you 2 hours to farm 6,000 Zenny. You don't have to worry about missing money from escaping all the fights.
- Fun fact, you can get away with not buying any gear until the Contest of Champions. If you do your fishing, you can actually get better armor from the fishing spot near Momo's Tower and since you're running away from most fights, weapons aren't important.
Having any AP restoring items in the beginning can make a big difference if you're underleveled.
- Rainbow Trout restores 5 AP.
- Sea Bream restores 5 AP.
- Black Porgy restores 20 AP. Located in fishing spots near Momo's tower and southeast of Mt. Zublo. Use frog bait. Get 10.
- Wisdom Seeds 20 AP (Steal from ghosts and spectres at the lighthouse. Spectres also appear at angel tower.)
Boss Strats
NUE
Blind it and do your best.
AMALGAM
Equip Silver Knives from the Manillo Shop. This fight is actually not dangerous at all.
MUTANT
This creature regenerates 250 HP each turn. You can make him lose his regenerating ability by hitting it with fire attacks until he stops. You shouldn't go all out or use your dragon forms until then. Spend the first few rounds preparing any buffs you might have, healing, defending, and using Molotovs on him.
Contest of Champions Round 1
- Claw: Honestly, I don't remember. Luck?
- Cawer: same as above.
- Patrio: same as above. Remember to steal from these three.
- Dodai: If you target the Dodai under your opponent, your opponent will target your Dodai. When your Dodai is low on HP, use a multi-vitamin on him which you can purchase at the item store at the arena. Dodai is worth 3000 exp.
Contest of Champions Round Two
- Ematai: Not a threat.
- Golems x2: Concentrate on one at a time and keep your HP up. Do not bother learning Spirit Blast, it sucks when you use it.
Stallion
Balio and Sunder fuse. He can use Jolt and when his HP gets to about half or less, he starts using a skill called Utmost Attack that does 50 damage to everyone so keep your HP up at all times!
Gazer
Ryu should be some sort of fire dragon and everyone else should defend, heal and buff Defense. Don't bring any party members who can't take a hit because gazer has AOE attacks.
Dolphin
His weakness is electricity.
Gisshan, Scylla, and Charyb
Ice moves!
Garr (Angel Tower)
Nothing to worry about.
Dragon Zombie
Fire and High Defense.
Mikba
Ryu can use either the Holy Dragon form or the Fire Dragon form. Holy will hit harder with Radiant Claw but consume more AP. Rei is useless.
Huge Slug
Fire Warrior form. Not even a fight. Basically, this is how every boss fight will go from here on.
Shroom
Fire Warrior form.
Gaist
I think his weakness is Ice. Make sure to examine his ashes after the fight before you leave the room!
Angeler
Inoculate yourself so you are protected against electricity before the fight. He has no weaknesses, just throw down.
Ammonites
I think I lost to them on accident once. Use the Thunder Warrior form. It's not even a fight.
Elder
I don't remember this guy being a threat.
Manmo
Non-challenge.
Chimera
I don't remember a damn thing about you.
Arwan
Totally forgot.
Dragn Lord
This was unsatisfyingly quick. I felt cheated. Fake boss.
Myria
Speaking of fake bosses, I remember this one being too easy too. She might have had a cheap spell or two.
Level Grinding Strats
Experience is divided among the surviving party members. You can kill off one or two to get one party member extra EXP. You can use the Monopolize skill from D'Lonzo to have one character get all the exp. This is also a valid way to keep characters from earning exp if you want to control their levels.
Low Levels
There are some enemies that give bonus exp if you do the right thing to them.
- Eye Goo: Blind them and they drop 30 exp.
- Tar Man: Use Frost or ice magic to paralyze them and they drop 70 exp.
Go to Mt. Zublo and fight Vulcans, giant boulders with faces. If you use a fire skill on them, not a fire/wind skill, they will wake up and become worth 900 exp each. This is really the best way to grind experience until the late game.
Level 30+
This game is basically designed for you to peak at level 35 or so. That's when the experience to next level gets really high! Here's what you do if you want more levels late game.
Lava Men
This strat is not recommended because I haven't achieved it yet, so I can't say what you're really in for. Go back to Mt. Zublo and fight the lava men. You can power them up casting fire skills/spells on them. You can do a combination of powering them up and using an item called Ivory Dice, see the next paragraph, to get the max possible exp in a single fight, but they're wicked hard. Give it a shot and see what happens, but don't have expectations of pulling it off.
Ivory Dice
These can be farmed from a late game Manillo shop. If you use one in battle, the EXP you'll earn doubles. The effects stack if you use multiple Ivory Dice in one fight. See the next paragraph "Secret Enemies."
Secret Enemies
If you want to much higher, go to the Container Yard and fight some Berserkers and Arch Mages. They are very challenging, but they can drop a ton of exp. Use your Ivory Dice here. Get inoculations for Fire and Electric property damage too.
Dragon Gene FAQs
What is the difference between Thorn and Gross?
Thorn affects the elemental genes, Fire/Ice/Thunder/Shadow/Radiance so that instead of taking 0 damage form the corresponding elemental attack, your elemental form will recover HP from corresponding elemental attacks. Gross improves your HP, Power, Defense, Wisdom, Agility. Gross and thorn are interchangeable if you pair one of them with Eldrich, Defender, or Force genes. Either Thorn or Gross will cause the same improvements to the Defender, Eldrich, and Force Forms. Stacking thorn and gross will get you a stronger form, but is not going to get you any significant improvements.
How does Fusion work and is it useful?
I have no goddamn idea!
Warrior vs Kaiser Form?
Infinity + Failure or Trance + Radiance + Infinity combined give you a Super Saiyajin Ryu. Kaiser can use Focus and Shadowwalk or Focus and Aura if Ryu knows the skills. The warrior is more AP affordable, has slightly higher Power, and has Focus and Aura built in.
Puzzle & Mini-Game Strats
No comments:
Post a Comment