Part 37: Factory

Main Walkthrough

Desert of Death

Monsters

  • Cacti - Steal Croc Tear, Drop Vodka Shot
  • Drak - Steal Titan Belt, Drop Mind Shield
  • Magnemite - Steal Napalm, Drop Royal Armor, Learn Air Raid / Flying Kick / Lavaburst
  • Scorpion - Steal Antidote, Drop Protein, Learn Double Blow

After traveling through forests, up mountains, beneath cities, and across an entire ocean, you've arrived at Breath of Fire III's greatest challenge. Not the final dungeon, but the precursor to the final dungeon. A wasteland that stretches endlessly in all directions, eager to swallow up anyone dumb enough to step into its sands. A true, sinister horror. Welcome to the Desert of Death.

When you depart the Factory and walk into the desert you'll wind up in a little base camp. Here Horis will explain the rules of traveling through the Desert of Death. We'll start by going over those rules in greater detail.

Traveling through the Desert

Unlike the rest of Breath of Fire III, the Desert of Death does not put you on a map with an overhead perspective. Instead you walk forward in a straight line, staring at the horizon and using the stars in the sky to guide your path. Time passes, as well, so night will eventually become day, and if you continue walking will turn back to night again.

It is crucial while traveling that you only walk during the night. The Desert of Death is not as straightforward as you might think, and you'll need to change directions a few times to reach the other end. If the stars aren't out you might lose your way. As soon as the sun reaches its peak and the stars vanish from the sky, heed the prompt you receive and set up camp. You can do this from the menu screen, using the tent icon on the right side of the menu.

Occasionally you'll need to orient your camera towards a direction that has no stars. Tap the directional pad four times to move from one cardinal direction to the next. If you're headed north and want to go east, for example, you would tap the right button four times. If you wanted to go from east to west you would tap the right or left button eight times.

Water

Before you leave Horis's camp you can fill up on Water Jugs from the pot beside his tent. The Water Jugs will go into your inventory, and as you explore your party will become thirsty. If you don't drink some water your party will begin to lose HP from their max totals, similar to what happens when a character is knocked out and not revived. You'll receive 16 Water Jugs each time you check the pot, and you absolutely must do this before you head out into the desert.

As long as you don't get lost you don't need to worry about running out of water. There's enough to reach the other side of the desert. That said, you can take a few more steps after hearing that the party is thirsty before you drink up. This will help you conserve your water supply.

Combat

Similar to the world map, you'll occasionally run into randomized battle zones while exploring the Desert of Death. Unlike the world map, you are forced into these areas, and will need to leave them to continue. 

It is essential that you leave these zones as quickly as possible during your first trip through the Desert of Death. The perils of combat aside, whenever you enter one of these zones the camera will spin around, and you'll lose your previous orientation. You need to remember which direction you were headed so you can get back on track, and the last time you spend preoccupied with monsters, the more likely it is that you'll successfully reorient yourself.


Stars and Landmarks

As mentioned earlier, you need to use the stars to navigate the desert. They appear on the horizon, and if you swing Ryu around in a 360 degree arc the stars will move relative to your orientation. As you move deeper into the desert the stars will rise and dip, and you need to be able to recognize them despite their positioning. There's also the occasional landmark that might appear on the horizon. We'll explore all of the above.

  • The North Star is your most important guidepost. It appears as a bright red glow on the horizon, and is high in the sky. It will always lead you north.
  • The False North Star is one of your worst enemies. It looks similar to the North Star, but it appears lower on the horizon, to the right of the true North Star. Always ignore the red star that is lower in the sky.
  • The Evening Star is another important guide post. It appears as a bright blue glow on the horizon, in the west. You'll need to use it later in the trek to reach your destination.
  • The Mirage Oasis is an earthbound location that appears under the False North Star. It looks like a lit settlement, though there's nothing in that direction if you head towards the Mirage Oasis. Avoid falling for this cruel trick at all costs.
You'll also see a number of other, dimmer, unnamed stars as you walk, most notably a constellation of three blue stars that moves around a lot. Ignore these other stars, as they'll just mess you up.


The Rakda

During your first trip to Dragnier you probably met a Rakda. They're desert-dwelling creatures that have an innate instinct for finding their way out of trouble. Horis will send a Rakda with you as you explore the Desert of Death, and it will always be present at your camp. 

If at any point you get lost and think your journey is doomed, speak to the Rakda and you'll have the option to jump back to the Factory. From here you can return to Dragnier and stock up, or go back out into the desert and try again.


Reaching Oasis

Your goal during this initial trek through the Desert of Death is to find Oasis, a small town on the other side of the wastelands. Horis will tell you how to reach Oasis before you leave, and he'll give you written instructions that you can view in camp. The written instructions will send you in the wrong direction at a crucial point, so... don't use them.

Follow these directions to reach the other end of the Desert of Death in one piece:
  • Travel towards the North Star for two full nights. Ignore the False North Star to the right of the North Star.
  • On the third night, turn east, with the Evening Star directly behind you. Walk east until the Evening Star disappears below the horizon line, which will take a little over two days. Eight taps of the directional button will put you back on track after looking directly at the Evening Star.
  • Once the Evening Star is gone, turn back north and follow the North Star the rest of the way. Ignore the False North Star and its stupid oasis.
You'll know you've almost reached the end of the line when you hit a cut scene. Make sure your party is healed up while following the North Star the second time around, as you've got a boss to fight.


Manmo

Steal: Power Food
Drop: Aries Glove
Learn: Nothing

You know, after all that desert, this guy isn't so bad. Manmo tends towards physical hits, and has a high Reprisal rate that will punish your team if you use normal attacks. You can expect the following attacks from Manmo:
  • A normal melee punch
  • Feign Swing, which does... nothing...
  • Focus, which boosts Manmo's attack
  • Howling, which can Confuse your party members
  • Quake, which inflicts Earth damage on your whole party
Manmo is weak to Frost attacks, so spells are effective on him - though after all that walking, you should probably just wipe the floor with Manmo using Accession. Transform Ryu into a Frost Dragon (any size will do, though something huge will prevent Howling from harming your party) and use Frost Claw to decimate the beast. Manmo's HP is a bit low compared to where you fight him, so you shouldn't need too many turns to take him down.


Once you've defeated Manmo the party will reach the edge of endurance, and Nina will collapse. She's sick, and you can't keep traveling with her in this state. Look around the campsite a bit and you'll notice that the Rakda is still feeling well. Slice the Rakda up for its Rakda Meat using Ryu's Field Action. Its sacrifice will save Nina... though now you have no way back to Dragnier.

...

Fortunately, the next day will see you out of the Desert of Death and on to Oasis. So. Don't worry about the Rakda too much. You did it!


Extra Items

Assuming the first trip through the Desert of Death wasn't taxing enough, you can also find some rare, valuable items by trekking through the dunes several more times. A man in Oasis's item shop will give you instructions on finding two of these items, and there are two more that are also hidden in the desert. You can find all of them in 'random' battle zones once you reach the correct area.

Always make sure to get Water Jugs in Oasis before returning to the Desert of Death. The girl by the water's edge will fill you up with more.
  • Leave Oasis and head south one night, walking with the North Star at your back. After breaking camp the next night, proceed south until you hit your first battle zone. Once you exit, turn west. It's four turns to the left if you're pointed north at Oasis. Walk west for four days, adjusting your course as you go. The Evening Star will rise slowly into the sky if you're headed in the correct direction. Start checking battlefields during the fourth night and you should find a Royal Sword. It appears as a sword on the map. This is one of Ryu's most powerful weapons.
  • Leave Factory (you can jump there by Rakda after entering the desert) and travel north two days, as you would when heading towards Oasis. Turn west on the third night, towards the Evening Star, and walk that direction for three nights. On the fourth night you'll find a Life Armor in one of the battle fields. It appears as a breastplate on the map.
  • Leave Oasis, turn west - it's four turns to the left when facing Oasis - and start walking. After seven days or so of going straight west, start checking the battlefields for a chest. Inside the chest are Death Claws. Be careful not to steer yourself directly towards the Evening Star, as it won't be directly to the west as you travel along the edge of the desert. The Evening Star should be one turn to your left if you're on the correct course.
  • Leave Oasis, then immediately turn east, four turns to the right when facing Oasis. After roughly seven days of traveling you'll find a chest containing Speed Boots. (There are really not worth the time to get, but... if you insist.)

Main Walkthrough