Breath of Fire III: Container Yard FAQ

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Breath of Fire III: Container Yard FAQ
Written by R. Stone ([email protected])
Version 1.0
September 4, 2000
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Disclaimer: Please do not copy, reproduce, or otherwise man-handle or make
a profit off of this work with-out asking for permission from me first (as
well as offering some royalties ^_^). This is for private-use only and may
not be printed for sale. Basically, this FAQ is free to use for the internet
community as long as the credit goes where it is due and this FAQ doesn't
get altered. If you want to alter this FAQ for some reason (ex. make an HTML
version) or post it on your website, just do me the simple favor of
contacting me beforehand. Oh yeah, and for all of those people who actually
read this far into the disclaimer, congratulations, the word for the day is
"dishwasher". Have a nice day.

This document was created with MS DOS Edit, the world's most old skool word
processor you can imagine. There are 76 characters per line (I think) and I
used 5 space tabs (default is 8 but that's too many IMO). If the letters and
numbers below line up correctly, then you are using a proper word processor.
Also, make sure you are using a fixed width font like Courier New or
Fixedis.

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-- Table of Contents --

I. What is the Container Yard?
II. Why is the Container Yard So Important?
- The Transporter
- The Enemies
- TankBot
- Berserkr
- ArchMage
III. Revisions
IV. Credits

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I. What is the Container Yard?
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The Container Yard is that bunch of containers located near Caer Xhan.
When you enter it on the World Map you will get a "?" over Ryu's head, and if
you press the guide button you will get a message stating "There are lots of
containers piled up..." At this location there is a Transporter (which is
quite helpful if you want to go back to the main part of the World Map
without a bunch of hassle) and a few super-powerful enemies who give up
good items and tons of experience. So as you can see, there is definitely
a reason to go here, and some sort of excuse for why you should also build
up your characters in this area too (once you are powerful enough at least).

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II. Why is the Container Yard So Important?
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There are two reasons why the Container Yard is worth mentioning: it has
a Transporter and it has the most powerful enemies in the game (some might
argue even harder than the final boss). The latter is actually the much more
important reason, because the enemies (as well as being the most powerful)
give up a ton of experience and good items.

-- The Transporter --

You probably arrived at the Container Yard before you even realized that
you were there, and this was because of the Transporter that is located
there. You might remember teleporting here before you even crossed the desert
to get the Radiance gene.

You may now note that once you've entered the Container Yard through the
normal entrance, that their is a box blocking access to the Transporter here.
And being that the transporter here is pretty helpful if you want to go back
to the rest of the World Map and not have to cross the desert again to access
a Transporter. So here's how you get that box out of the way. First off,
before even entering the Container Yard, put Garr in your party (and have him
be the first character in your party). Now go into the building where the
Transporter is located and use Garr to push against the box (using the action
button, I think it defaults as triangle) blocking access to the ladder that
allows access to the Transporter. There you go. Now you can get back to the
main part of the World Map rather easily, so you can go talk to your masters,
go fish, etc. before going into Caer Xhan and then Myria.

-- The Enemies --

This is what the bulk of this FAQ is centralized on, as the enemies here
in the Container Yard have some interesting qualities that I think are worth
looking over a bit. Most notably, the enemies here are extremely tough to
beat (except for the TankBot) and give up good items and experience. For all
of these strategies for beating the enemies in the Container Yard, I use the
team of Ryu, Rei, and Momo. Ryu and Rei are utterly essential to every
strategy listed in this FAQ, but you can interchange Momo with another
character if you have the Robe of Wind still in your inventory (so it can be
casted as an item for the Speed spell).

:: TankBot ::

The TankBot is a purple version of the weaker mech type (similar in
appearance to the HyperBots in Momo's Tower) and are by far the easiest and
most common enemy in the Container Yard. This is the enemy that you will most
likely run into while in the Container Yard.

TankBot Stats
-------------
HP: 270
EXP: 500
Zenny: 0

Steal: Wisdom Seed - Item - Restores 20 AP
Drop: Wisdom Seed - Item - Restores 20 AP

Abilities: Defend - Lowers damage received
Transfer - Restores 10 AP
Sacrafice - Chance of reducing all enemies lives to 1 HP, kills
user

Defeating the TankBot
---------------------
As you may have surmised by looking at the TankBot's stats, this enemy isn't
that difficult to defeat, yet the most important thing to notice is that this
guy isn't put into the Container Yard to kill you (actually that's impossible
for them to do), but more as an annoyance tool and a way to get lots of
Wisdom Seeds.

Recommended Levels...

Rei: 30+
Ryu: 30+
Momo: 30+

Recommended Equipment...

Rei: Weapon - Slicer or Holy Avenger
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Sun Mask
Armor - Burglar Garb
Accessory - Speed Boots
Accessory - Speed Boots

Ryu: Weapon - Royal Sword, Goo King Sword, or Dragon Blade
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Dragon Helm
Armor - Dragon Armor or Life Armor
Accessory - Thunder Ring
Accessory - Spirit Ring

Momo: Weapon - Atomic Bomb
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Silver Tiara
Armor - Mist Armor, Diana's Dress, or Force Armor
Accessory - Ring of Fire
Accessory - Thunder Ring

Recommended Items...

None

Recommended Skills...

Rei: Pilfer - Learned at Level 1.
Ryu: None
Momo: None

Recommended Formation...

Chain Formation
Order: Rei, Ryu, Momo

Strategy...

Round 1
-------
Rei: Pilfer
Ryu: Attack
Momo: Attack

As long as you go before TankBot (as you should if your Rei is fast
enough), then you should have no problems. Most of the time Rei will be
able to steal a Wisdom Seed from the TankBot, and then Ryu and Momo
should easily be able to finish off the TankBot with their normal attacks.
If you can't defeat the TankBot in one round with this strategy you need
to build up your characters some more and not even be in the Container
Yard. Also, if Rei isn't able to steal a Wisdom Seed from the TankBot,
don't worry, you'll have PLENTY of opportunities to do it again.

Rewards...

500 EXP split between the living members of your party, and maybe a
Wisdom Seed (and who couldn't use some Wisdom Seeds?).

:: Berserkr ::

The Berserkr is a purple version of the stronger mech type (similar in
appearance to the DeathBots in Myria) and have a titanic amount of HP,
defense, and attack power. They will show up more often than ArchMage's,
but not that much more.

Berserkr Stats
-------------
HP: 12000
EXP: 30000
Zenny: 6000

Steal: Aries Gloves - Shield (All) - Def44 Wgt2 Pwr+10
Drop: Rufad's Spear - Weapon (Garr) - Pwr108 Wgt2 Holy Damage

Abilities: Attack - Powerful physical attack to single. Does ~300 damage.
Flame Whip - Fire attack to all. Does ~250 damage.
Berserk - Attack power goes up, but dies after 3 rounds.

Defeating the Berserkr
----------------------
Killing the Berserkr isn't an easy task, and you definitely need to have
your characters at high levels to beat him. The dissillusion with the
Berserkr is that people think his attacks will kill you no matter what, but
this isn't the case at all. Sadly, you have to have somewhat built-up
characters (especially Ryu, but this doesn't seem to be too much of a problem
since you have Ryu in your party all of the time). Also note that Berserkr
begins the fight confused, and for some reason can't use Flame Whip because of
this. He'll become unconfused if you hit him or 3 rounds elapse (whichever
comes first).

Recommended Levels...

Rei: 35+ (Speed must be 100+)
Ryu: 40+ (Must have 500+ HP in Myrmidon)
Momo: 35+

Recommended Equipment...

Rei: Weapon - Slicer or Holy Avenger
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Sun Mask
Armor - Burglar Garb
Accessory - Speed Boots
Accessory - Speed Boots

Ryu: Weapon - Royal Sword, Goo King Sword, or Dragon Blade
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Dragon Helm
Armor - Dragon Armor
Accessory - Titan Belt
Accessory - Spirit Ring or Shaman's Ring

Momo: Weapon - Atomic Bomb
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Silver Tiara
Armor - Mist Armor, Diana's Dress, or Force Armor
Accessory - Ring of Fire
Accessory - Artemis' Cap

Recommended Items...

MultiVitamin x25+ - Can be bought in Dragnier
Wisdom Seed x10+ - Can be stolen from TankBots
Ammonia x10+ - Can be bought in Dragnier (and everywhere else)

Recommended Skills...

Rei: Resist - Learned from Fahl with 6 levels gained
Ryu: Accession - Learned at Level 1
Momo: Speed - Learned at Level 17
Might - Learned at Level 20
Aura - Learned from Ladon with 9 levels gained

Recommended Formation...

Chain Formation
Order: Rei, Ryu, Momo

Strategy...

Round 1
-------
Rei: Cast Resist.
Ryu: Accession with Force and Trance genes.
Momo: Cast Speed on Rei.

It is necessary that you go before the Berserkr does, as you will then
be set up so that the Berserkr can't harm you. See, once the Berserkr is
able to act in Round 1, Rei will be unharmable (due to Resist), Ryu
should be able to withstand an attack by the Berserkr in Myrmidon form (if
he is high enough level like I mentioned earlier), and Momo will be the
only vulnerable one, but can be revived during the next EX turn. Also
note that the Berserkr can't use Flame Whip this round because you haven't
attacked him yet (which would unconfuse him and allow him to use it).

EX Round 1
----------
Rei: Use Multivitamin on Ryu if he's damaged, use Ammonia on Momo if she
got killed, or cast Speed on Momo if the Berserkr attacked Rei (and
therefore did no damage because Rei was guarded with Resist).
Ryu: Cast Aura. Should do 1000-2000 damage.
Momo: N/A

Rei should be able to get an EX turn due to Momo casting Speed on him in
Round 1. Ryu should have EX turn due to his Accession. And now that you
are using Rei to heal with every EX turn you get, each round will start
out with all three of your characters being able to act first again.

Round 2
-------
Rei: Cast Resist.
Ryu: Cast Aura. Should do another 1000-2000 damage.
Momo: Cast Might on Ryu.

Once again Rei is being guarded by Resist, and since Berserkr likes to
attack Rei A LOT, this is to your advantage. Ryu will keep supplying the
damage in the form of Auras, and he'll start doing even more damage now
that Momo is casting Might on him. If Berserkr attacks Ryu, he should
have enough HP to withstand it (barely), and if he attacks Momo, oh well,
life's tough. If the Berserkr uses Flame Whip this round, Rei is guarded
by his Sun Mask and Momo is safe with her Ring of Fire. Also Ryu's
Myrmidon form should easily be able to handle the attack without getting
killed (and allowing Rei to heal him during the next EX turn).

EX Round 2
----------
Rei: Use Multivitamin on Ryu if he's damaged, use Ammonia on Momo if she
got killed, or Pilfer if the Berserkr attacked Rei (and
therefore did no damage because Rei was guarded with Resist).
Ryu: Cast Aura. Should do 1100-2200 damage.
Momo: If she's alive and Speeded, cast Aura (or some other powerful
attack like Triple Blow or Super Combo).

Now the entire cycle is pretty much set up, and beating the Berserkr now
only depends on having enough AP with Rei and Ryu. This is where it
really helps to have an AP cost reducing accessory equipped on Ryu.

Round 3+
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Rei: Cast Resist.
Ryu: Cast Aura. Keeps on plugging at Berserkr's HP.
Momo: Cast Aura. When she runs out of AP use regular attacks.

So the trend is to keep casting Resist with Rei whenever the Berserkr is
able to attack. This serves two purposes: it keeps Rei alive so he can
keep the party's speed up and it allow him to heal or revive who ever is
ailing during the EX turn. Ryu will continue to be the main damage guy
and it is a priority to keep him alive. Momo basically acts as a target
the rest of the round, but ends up staying alive for much of the fight
since Berserkr is so anxious to attack Rei all the time. Use Momo to do
the miscellaneous junk that might be required the rest of the fight
(such as using an Ivory Dice, Speeding herself, or attacking).

EX Round 3+
-----------
Rei: Use Multivitamin on Ryu if he's damaged, use Ammonia on Momo if she
got killed, or Pilfer if the Berserkr attacked Rei (and
therefore did no damage because Rei was guarded with Resist), or
attack if you have already stolen the Aries Gloves from Berserkr.
Ryu: Cast Aura. Should do 1100-2200 damage.
Momo: If she's alive and Speeded, cast Aura (or some other powerful
attack like Triple Blow or Super Combo).

Practically the same thing as EX Round 2. Just make Rei your main
healing guy and make sure Ryu is attacking with Aura. Momo's role in the
EX turns isn't that crucial, so just attack with her or something.
Continue this pattern until Berserkr is dead.

Rewards...

30000 EXP divided between the living members of your party (60000 if you
used an Ivory Dice like I suggested), and every once in a while the
Berserkr drops Rufad's Spear, which isn't nearly as good as the Beast
Spear but can be used as an item to cast Shield (which is pretty neat).
It's also pretty easy to swipe Aries Gloves from the Berserkr while
you're fighting him as well (and Aries Gloves happen to be the best
shields in the game and every one can equip them so you should steal a
bunch of 'em).

:: ArchMage ::

The ArchMage is a purple (started to notice a coloring trend in this place?)
version of the Mage type (looks like Adepts, Codgers, and the master Mygas)
and has an average amount of HP, but can regenerate 1500 HP at the end of
every round. ArchMage's have incredibly powerful magic attacks, and most of
the time will kill the person it is cast upon. The ArchMage is probably the
most rare of all of the enemies in the Container Yard, so call yourself
lucky if you encounter them a lot.

ArchMage Stats
-------------
HP: 2500
EXP: 48000
Zenny: 3000

Steal: Soul Gem - Accessory (All) - Saves user from death once
Drop: Holy Avenger - Weapon (Rei and Ryu) - Pwr125 Wgt4 Holy Damage

Abilities: Benediction - Casts Raise Dead on all party members (may fail).
Blizzard - Ice attack, all. Does 300+ damage.
Mind Sword - Non-elemental attack, single. Does 400+ damage.
Myollnir - Lightning attack, single. Does 500+ damage.

Defeating the ArchMage
----------------------
The most important thing to note about fighting the ArchMage is his lack
of that much HP (only 2500). The problem about fighting him is that he
automatically restores 1500 of it every round. So basically, the way to kill
the ArchMage is to do at least 1500+ damage every round (but with my strategy
you do the entire 2500 in one round). A really easy way to beat the ArchMage
your first time is to just have Ryu use an Hourglass and then transform into
a Myrmidon and cast Aura for the rest of your turns. But since there's only
a very small amount of Hourglasses in the game (and they are un-copyable),
another strategy is necessary.

Recommended Levels...

Rei: 40+ (Speed must be 100+)
Ryu: 40+
Momo: 35+

Recommended Equipment...

Rei: Weapon - Slicer
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Sun Mask
Armor - Burglar Garb
Accessory - Lion's Belt
Accessory - Thunder Ring

Ryu: Weapon - Royal Sword, Goo King Sword, or Dragon Blade
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Dragon Helm
Armor - Dragon Armor
Accessory - Titan Belt
Accessory - Shaman's Ring or Spirit Ring

Momo: Weapon - Atomic Bomb
Shield - Aries Gloves
Helmet - Silver Tiara
Armor - Mist Armor, Diana's Dress, or Force Armor
Accessory - Thunder Ring
Accessory - Ring of Ice

Recommended Items...

MultiVitamin x10+ - Can be bought in Dragnier
Ammonia x2+ - Can be bought in Dragnier (and everywhere else)

Recommended Skills...

Rei: Weretiger - Learned at Level 1
Resist - Learned from Fahl with 6 levels gained
Ryu: Accession - Ryu learns this at Level 1
Momo: Speed - Learned at Level 17
Aura - Learned from Ladon with 9 levels gained

Recommended Formation...

Chain Formation
Order: Rei, Ryu, Momo

Strategy...

Round 1
-------
Rei: Cast Resist.
Ryu: Accession with Force, Thunder, and Gross genes.
Momo: Cast Speed on Rei.

Once again it is extremely important that your speed is high enough that
you go before the ArchMage (and get the subsequent EX turns for Rei and
Ryu next turn). Ryu should now be a Warrior dragon that negates electric
attacks (such as Myollnir), and so now Ryu shouldn't be too concerned
about his health (hopefully his HP is high enough to withstand Blizzard).
Momo has both the Ring of Ice and Thunder Ring equipped should the
ArchMage use Myollnir or Blizzard (which is the case most of the time). And
of course Rei has Resist so nothing can hurt him.

EX Round 1
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Rei: Transform into Weretiger.
Ryu: Use Focus.
Momo: N/A

Rei should be able to get an EX turn due to Momo casting Speed on him in
Round 1. Ryu should have EX turn due to his Accession. Since we don't
want to waste precious turns attacking ArchMage when we aren't prepared
yet, you use this EX turn to build up your strength (in the form of
Weretiger and Focus). Note that it helps to have a Lion's Belt equipped
on Rei so he doesn't attack your party. If you are sure that one Focused
Aura and another unfocused Aura just with Ryu will do the ArchMage in,
I'd recommend that you NOT have Rei transform into Weretiger, but have
him increase Ryu's strength by using War Shout.

Round 2
-------
Rei: Attack with Weretiger. Should do 300-500 damage.
Ryu: Cast Aura. Since you focused during your EX turn, it should do
tremendous (1500-2500) damage.
Momo: If she's alive, cast Aura. If it hits, should do 200-300 damage.

As you can see, all three of these attacks (should they work like
planned) when combined should kill the ArchMage. Most likely, the
ArchMage will kill Rei at the end of the round (if you didn't kill the
ArchMage yet). And if ArchMage has attacked Ryu with Mind Sword TWICE
and ended up killing him (and this is VERY unlikely), Rei's EX attack
will most likely kill the ArchMage. If this doesn't happen, then luck
wasn't on your side, just run away. Also, if you decided not to
transform into Weretiger last round, use Resist this round.

EX Round 2
----------
Rei: If he's alive, attack with Weretiger. Should do 300-500 damage.
Ryu: If he's alive, cast Aura. Should do 1000-2000 damage.
Momo: N/A

If you don't kill the ArchMage by the end of this turn, your chances are
pretty much screwed. If anyone is even alive or able to act after this
round, I'd recommend running away IMMEADIATELY. But the odds are with
you in winning this fight, so if you don't win this time, I pretty much
guarantee that you will win the next fight if your stats are high
enough. Lastly, if Rei isn't Weretiger'ed, use ShadowWalk or Super Combo
if you have it with him this turn.

Rewards...

48000 EXP (yeah that's a lot) divided between the living members of your
party, and everytime (yes EVERYtime) the ArchMage will drop the Holy
Avenger, which both Rei and Ryu can equip, does has a strength rating of
125, with a weight of only 4, and does holy damage on top of that. You
can also use the Holy Avenger as an item to cast Might (very cool).

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III. Revisions
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-- Version 1.0 (23.4 KB) --

The first (and most likely the last) version of this FAQ. All sections are
brand new in this version.

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IV. Credits
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I guess I better give some thanks to the people at #rpg-frontier on the
IRC server Espernet (www.espernet.com), for some of their helpful input on
the enemy strategies for Berserkr and ArchMage. Also I'd like to say that I
used Fritz Fraundorf's BoF3 FAQ for a reference tool also. I guess that's
it. What do expect from such a tiny FAQ? Thanks for reading this, this FAQ
was mainly just way for me to collect all of my thoughts on BoF3 and I'm now
certainly looking forward to BoF4. Oh yeah and if you want to contact me
about the FAQ, e-mail me at [email protected] and have the title of the
e-mail relate somehow to the FAQ (ex. Your BoF3 FAQ, so on and so forth).
Later.

EOF