Ahhh, bliss. After a terrible, maddening trek through the superheated dunes of the Desert of Death, the party has arrived at Oasis, a small paradise on the edge of the dunes. The people of Oasis happily nurse Ryu and company back to health, and with Nina fully recovered from her heatstroke you can set off on the road to God once more.
First, though... shall we look around a bit?
- The house of Fa'ah, where you regain control of the party, has nothing in it. The house next door, however, has a dresser containing 800 zenny.
- If you speak to the woman by the water - she's carrying a water jug, and was speaking to Rei during a cut scene - she'll fill you back up to 16 Water Jugs. This will allow you to re-challenge the Desert of Death, if you so choose.
- Across from the water is an item shop. Inside is a man who will share stories of his trips into the Desert of Death. His instructions will help you find items hidden throughout the Desert of Death. (These are covered in the Desert of Death section of the guide.)
- Next to the item shop is the inn. You don't need it right now.
If you exit Oasis to the southwest you'll wind up back in the Desert of Death. Go up the hill in the north of the village to reenter the world map.
Once you leave Oasis you'll be on the home stretch. Caer Xhan, your final world map destination in Breath of Fire III, is a short walk to the north. Before we head there, though, we'd best have a look at the only other location on this side of the desert.
Container Yard
Monsters
- ArchMage - Steal Soul Gem, Drop Holy Avenger
- Berserker - Steal Aries Glove, Drop Rufad's Spear
- TankBot - Steal Wisdom Seed, Drop Wisdom Fruit, Learn Sacrifice / Transfer
At first glance there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to this little area. The Container Yard consists of a small shipping area, filled with crates, and a building with a Portal Drive inside. Take Garr inside and he can smash the box near the Portal Drive into the wall, allowing you to get up to the pad and teleport to Relay Point A. You can also grab the Radiance Gene, if you didn't teleport to this area earlier in the game.
(Yes, rather than cross the Desert of Death all you had to do was climb down a box. Don't think about it too much.)
This place is much more than just a means of returning to the rest of the world, however. Normally when you run around you'll get into battle with TankBots, which are normal, somewhat bland foes. Occasionally, however, you'll get into a fight with one of two much more powerful enemies, and before any visit to the Container Yard you should absolutely save your game. You will most likely get wrecked if you run into either of these guys without preparation.
Berserker
Steal: Aries Glove
Drop: Rufad's Spear
Learn: Berserk
The 'easier' of the two rarer enemies in the Container Yard, the Berserker is still pretty danged dangerous. Its normal attack is usually enough on its own to OHKO weaker characters, and will drain stronger characters of most of their health. That doesn't take into account its full range of attacks, either:
- A powerful melee hit (pew pew)
- Fire Whip, a Flame attack on the whole party
- Berserk, which raises the Berserker's power for a few turns (quite unnecessarily)
For the most part the Berserker will use either Fire Whip or its melee attack, both of which are terribly powerful if you don't take any precautions. Transform Ryu into a Flame Dragon - a Flame Warrior will likely do best here - and equip gear that either absorbs or resists Flame. The Sun Masks that you can buy in Caer Xhan will do in a pinch. Putting everyone in the Defense Formation will help survivability, though the Attack Formation with Ryu in the lead is also good, as it cuts down on the time spent in battle.
Once you're all set up and fighting the Berserker, all you want to do is use your most powerful attack with Ryu (likely Aura) while your other two party members hold back, providing healing support via items and spells. Feed Ryu with Wisdom Fruits as needed to ensure that he doesn't change back. With luck the Berserker will use Fire Whip most of the time, which will do no damage to your party thanks to the Flame protection. Have your other non-Ryu party member revive any downed fighters with an Ammonia. So long as Ryu remains in dragon form and keeps attacking, the Berserker will go down... eventually. It has 12,000 HP, so anticipate a lengthy fight.
Unlike the next battle, where you'll receive a Holy Avenger for winning every time, you are not guaranteed to receive a Rufad's Spear when you beat the Berserker. So. Plan to be here for a very long time if you want to collect this elusive item.
ArchMage
Steal: Soul Gem
Drop: Holy Avenger
Learn: Benediction
Potentially the nastiest enemy in all of Breath of Fire III, the ArchMage is a trained party killer. Though this guy doesn't have nearly as much HP as the Berserker, he's a more dangerous enemy thanks to his attack list, as well as his capacity for regenerating HP. You can expect the following attacks from the ArchMage:
- Mind Sword, which hits a single character for high physical damage
- Myollnir, which hits a single character for high Electric damage
- Benediction, which revives a party member
ArchMage will always use Benediction if you only have one party member left, and since his attacks only ever target one person at a time this means that you can't lose to the ArchMage. The problem is that the ArchMage rejuvenates 1,500 HP every turn, so you likely can't beat the ArchMage, either. (Though at least this means you'll always be able to run away... eventually.)
The ArchMage's ridiculous regenerative capabilities require you to inflict a ton of damage in a very short period of time, and Ryu will always be your best choice for this. Equip Thunder Rings on your party members to negate the damage from Myollnir, then have your other two party members buff Ryu with Focus, Might, and War Shout. Turn Ryu into either a Warrior Dragon so he can use Aura or a full-blown Kaiser, granting him access to Bonebreak. With enough buffing Ryu can outstrip the ArchMage's healing and blow through his 3,000 HP within a few turns.
Unlike Rufad's Spear, you will always receive a Holy Avenger for defeating an ArchMage. Given that this is Rei's best weapon and Ryu's second-best, that's great news.
Whether you spend much time fighting in the Container Yard or not, your next destination is to the north.
Caer Xhan
A town devoid of human life, Caer Xhan is inhabited entirely by robots - including some fallen, doll-like figures that should look awfully familiar by now. There's no fighting to do here, so you can look around hassle-free, though there's not a ton to fine, despite the apparent size of this ancient city.
There are two shops near the entrance to Caer Xhan, one offering items, the other equipment. You won't find better weapons and armor on sale outside this shop. Southwest of the entrance to Caer Xhan, down some steps, you'll find an empty home. Inside is a set of shelves containing a Protein.
Go down the nearby stairs and you'll find a side room with a lever that will turn off the lights, revealing security lasers. Weave around them to open the chest. Head northeast to find more security lasers blocking a doorway in the north. Once you get through you'll emerge near a control room. Turn off emergency power at the control room's command console. This will be important shortly.
There's a drop outside the control room that will return you to the main road, though in a new area. Further northwest you'll find a final building. Check the console by the entrance and you'll activate the lift on the second floor. This will open the way to Myria Station, Breath of Fire III's final dungeon. Ready to meet a goddess?