After performing a bunch of work for the Porter's Guild in Rhapala, the group have discovered that they're not going to be riding a boat to their destination after all. Instead they will be trekking through the guts of a live volcano, which sounds... much safer. Better prep for a lengthy journey through the hottest place on the planet.
There are a few things you should do before entering Mt. Zublo:
- Get your active party inoculated against Flame in Rhapala. Flameblock costs 220 zenny per person, and will cut down on damage taken by a fair bit.
- Consider putting Garr in your party. He has a natural resistance to Flame that will give him an advantage.
- On the opposite end of the spectrum, don't put Peco in your party. Peco has a natural weakness to Flame. (You still can, if you really want, but he's going to take more damage than the average character.) Characters apprenticed to Yggdrasil similarly share a weakness to Flame.
- Include at least one character besides Ryu who knows an icy move. Nina does will in Mt. Zublo thanks to Iceblast, and Momo can equip Ice Chrysm for extra damage to her melee attacks. Ryu can pick up the Frost Gene at a house in the Maekyss Gorge, back near Genmel.
- Remove any weapons with the Flame property. If you received a Flare Sword from Beyd for completing his quest, for example, you shouldn't equip it on Ryu. Flame attacks will actively heal a lot of enemies in Mt. Zublo.
- Stock up on lots of healing items, primarily Vitamins. There are sections of Mt. Zublo where you'll need to walk across fiery floors to reach treasures, and you'll take damage with every step.
All this probably makes Mt. Zublo more dangerous than it is. It's just another dungeon. So long as you proceed with caution you should be fine.
Mt. Zublo
Monsters
- Lava Man - Steal Vitamin, Drop Firecracker, Learn Burn
- Lizard - Steal Panacea, Learn Blind
- Lizard Man - Steal Broad Sword, Drop Flame Shield, Learn Double Blow
- Vulcan - Steal Protein, Drop Magma Armor, Learn Lavaburst
Upon entering Mt. Zublo you'll find a shrine to the northeast, guarded by several members of the Porter's Guild. If you enter the shrine you'll find a huge, stone monolith, covered in writing that your characters can't decipher. Ryu will find it oddly familiar, however, a sign that it will be important later. Look east of the stairs leading up to the shrine and you'll find a chest containing a Protein, assuming you didn't visit Mt. Zublo earlier.
Go up the stairs near the shrine. The guards will let you pass this time. Take a left and head northwest and you'll find the main road, which is, as advertised, blocked by cooling magma. Go right instead and you'll find a path to the entrance of Mt. Zublo's cavernous belly.
Shortly after entering the cave sections you'll start running into enemies. There are two of them worth discussing in greater detail, as fighting them in a specific way can earn you a lot of XP.
Vulcan and Lava Man
The Lizards and the Lizard Men of Mt. Zublo probably look familiar by now, but there are two new faces you can also encounter: Vulcans and Lava Men. Both are Flame-elemental monsters, and in both cases you can receive more XP for defeating these monsters in specific ways:
- Vulcans are inactive when you first run into one, and won't take much damage from most attacks, aside from spells. Using a Flame attack on one will make it active, and it will begin casting Lavaburst to shower your whole party in flames. Defeat the Vulcan once it is active to receive 300 XP, a healthy amount for this point in the game. Vulcans are huge, so they will only appear in areas with lots of space.
- Lava Men are just normal enemies when first encountered, though if you hit one with a Flame attack it will receive a boost to basically all of its stats. Continue to do this and the Lava Man will get more and more powerful - and each time it does you will receive more XP upon its defeat.
Vulcans are a good source of XP during this first trip through Mt. Zublo. Lava Men, by contrast, are the best source of XP in Breath of Fire III, assuming you power one up, use Ivory Dice on it to boost its XP output, and then bring it down. That said, Lava Men become incredibly powerful after a few Flame boosts, and can wipe out your party if you get greedy. Equip armor resistance to Flame and use Frost attacks to bring down Lava Men. (And always remember to save before you trying powering one up. Things can go south very quickly.)
Head east from the entrance to Mt. Zublo. You'll come across two environmental hazards as you explore this area:
- Steam vents, which periodically blast out of the ground and damage anyone touching them
- Patches of magma, which can be crossed but cause damage whenever you take a step
The steam vents can be avoided pretty easily if you're careful. Magma sometimes has to be crossed, though it comes with two secret advantages: First, you can never actually die while walking on magma, and two, you won't run into any battles while walking across magma. Just make sure you heal once you step off of the magma, as your lead character is going to be at 1 HP.
You'll run into your first magma patch a short walk east of the entrance. Skirt around it and continue walking east. At the next intersection you'll find a small side chamber, and inside it is a chest containing Asbestos Armor. Equip this on any party member with a weakness to Flame and they will have an easier time surviving Mt. Zublo. To the northeast of the cavern, back in the main hallway, you can find a chest containing 800 zenny.
Head southwest from the cavern where you found the Asbestos Armor and you'll enter another area of Mt. Zublo, filled with slopes. The walls of this area emit a yellow gas, and if you walk through a stream of the stuff it will Confuse your characters, making them attack random targets in battle and changing your controls around as you explore the map. Take care not to run into these things, or you'll have to wander around about until the effects wear off.
Trek down the first slope to the southeast, either wading through magma or attempting to avoid the yellow streams along the eastern edge of the path. You'll find an exit partway down. If you continue down the slopes - this time you'll have to risk traveling through the yellow streams - you can find a chest at the bottom of the slope containing a Ring of Fire. This is worth the hassle to grab, as its bearer will absorb Flame attacks.
Use the rope ladders to your left to climb back up the slope, assuming you went for the Ring of Fire, and head through the cave in the northwest. Follow the main path generally to the east in the next area until you reach an intersection. Follow the northern path and it will eventually bring you to a huge magma field. On the south side of the magma you'll find a chest containing Flame Talons, and to the southwest you'll find the Miracle Gene. This will allow Ryu to assume an enormous form when he turns into a dragon, removing the other two characters on your team while he is transformed.
Leave the magma, heal your leader up, and return to the intersection. Head southeast and you'll hit another crossroads. To the west you'll find a chest containing Wisdom Fruit. To the east... well, you'd better heal up if your team is hurting, 'cause a nasty boss is waiting to the east.
Gisshan, Scylla, Charybdis
Steal: Waistcloth (Gisshan) / Power Food (Scylla, Charybdis)
Drop: Magician Rod (Gisshan) / Protein (Scylla, Charybdis)
Learn: Snap (Scylla, Charybdis)
Yikes, another toughie. Gisshan and his two lava pets work well as a team, and Gisshan will spend much of the fight healing Scylla and Charybdis while they attack your party. When Gisshan isn't acting like a cleric he can use Sleep or Confuse to cause further irritation, and occasionally he'll just outright defend. The two worms use melee attacks, Snap, or Wall of Fire to batter single targets.
Gisshan's not the most effective healer in the world, but he won't start using Vitalize until Scylla and Charybdis take some damage, so he's a natural first target. Transform Ryu into a Frost dragon and slice into Gisshan with Frost Claw. Any other Frost attacks you have on your remaining party members should also be used when you're not healing away damage, or dispelling Sleep / Confusion with a bop to the head. Once Gisshan is gone the two worms aren't a huge deal, though you still need to watch everyone's health.
Defeat Gisshan and his buddies and you'll find the exit to the northeast. The next room is a downward slope out of Mt. Zublo, and if you tilt the camera just before you leave you'll find a chest containing a Life Shard. Snag it and leave this fiery pit behind.