Part 14: Coffee Shop and Plant

Main Walkthrough

Dump

Monsters

  • Bomber - Steal Vitamin, Drop Ivory Dice, Learn Air Raid
  • Eye Bulb - Steal Mandrake, Drop Vitamins
  • Fire Slug - Steal Panacea, Drop Moxa
  • Pain Weed - Steal Bat Amulet
  • Rank Weed - Steal Bat Amulet
  • Slug

Deciding to take a quick break from getting Nina back to Wyndia, the group has agreed to help one of Momo's associates deal with a little... problem. The mutations from her father's Plant keep getting taken to the nearby Dump, and one of them has become violent. Time for a little disposal work. 

Most of the monsters in the Dump are vulnerable to Fire attacks, so equipping Flame Chrysm on Momo (assuming you picked it up at the Tower) is recommended. The one big exception is the Pain Weed, which absorbs elemental attacks. Stick with neutral attacks and Skills.

The path splits in two right at the entrance, and if you head north you'll find a conveyor belt that's lined with huge crates. For the moment heading this direction is useless. Head south and follow the path until it splits in two again. Take a right and you'll find another section of the conveyor, as well as a lever. 

Pulling the lever will move the conveyor a short distance to the southwest. Yank on the lever until you can move between the crates on the belt. This will allow you to get at a chest on the other side, containing 1,200 zenny. This will also allow you to get on another chest on an upper ledge, accessible by returning to the entrance and taking the northern path. This chest contains High Boots.

Hop off the ledge near the chest and you'll wind up near the lever from earlier. Run northwest across the conveyor to find an exit to the second section of the Dump. The conveyor continues here, and if you wind your way through the raised ledges to the south you'll find that it ends in a lava pit. Check the south end of the lava pit, walking along the edges, for a chest containing a Magic Shard.


There are two levers at the end of the conveyor belt. If you pull the red lever the belt will move crates closer to the lava, and if you pull the blue lever it will move further the crates further away. Pull the red lever until the first crate on the conveyor is lined up with the ledges on either side of the conveyor, like the picture above. This will also line up another crate further up the belt. Run back west and north and you can find a path between the rock pathways, over the crates, and up to a chest containing an Artemis' Cap. This accessory will improve its bearer's accuracy, and is practically made for Momo.

Cross the conveyor near the lava and check the east side of the cavern. You'll find a cave doorway surrounded by vines, and, sure enough, inside you'll find your target.

Mutant

Steal: Nothing
Drop: Nothing
Learn: Nothing

Kind of a tragic battle, this. The Mutant appears to be a fierce opponent at first, given its AOE attacks and ability to regenerate its health, though this battle is pretty easy. You can expect the following during this fight:

  • Normal melee attacks
  • Venom Breath, which can Poison the party
  • Dream Breath, which puts the party to sleep
The Mutant's healing factor will wear off after several turns, so it's not that big of a deal. The Mutant has a rather extreme vulnerability to Fire attacks, allowing all three of your characters to get in hard hits. Have Ryu use Flame Accession, Momo her Flame Chrysm, and Nina Simoon. Heal as necessary with Momo or Nina. It won't take long before the Mutant gives up.

Once the battle is over the Mutant will come to its senses... and then, realizing that it was meant to be destroyed, it will beg the party to toss it into the lava pit. Pull the red lever to do the deed. (Or pull the blue one for a bit of misplaced levity.) The Mutant will burn...


... and in its place a weird little onion guy will appear. Okay then. Nina will name him Peco, and he'll join the group. At this point you'll need to form a party of three - Ryu must always be in the group, otherwise it's your call - and you can trek back out of the Dump, the way you came. You should not put Peco in the group right now, as he's at level one and not prepared for combat in any way.

Trek back to the world map. Before you return to the Plant, put Peco in your party via the camp's diary and head over to Yggdrasil, the tree growing to the southeast of the Plant. With Peco leading the party you can now speak to Yggdrasil, and if you give it a Wisdom Fruit - there were several to pick up before now, so hopefully you haven't used them - the tree will become a Master to the party. Though apprenticing a party member to Yggdrasil makes them more susceptible to Fire damage, they will also receive bonuses to Int, Def, and AP, making this a great Master for your casters.

(And despite what you may think, don't apprentice Peco to Yggdrasil. He's a poor fit. We'll discuss why at the end of this guide.)


Return to the Plant. Palet will greet the party at the entrance, then tell them he has a plan for getting everyone past Balio and Sunder. Rest at the inn to the northeast of the entrance and, the next morning, Palet will stick the group in a hay cart bound for Wyndia. Alas...


... the kids trusted the wrong person. Again. Back to Genmel with you.

Once again, however, the horse brothers will prove themselves to be too greedy, and Balio will hatch a plan to make a bunch of money. The scam? The kids will participate in the Contest of Champions, a battle tourney for underground types, and with the odds against them winning the horse brothers stand to make a killing, given Ryu's draconic powers.

At this point you'll be stuck in the area surrounding Genmel for the entirety of the Contest of Champions, though the team can roam freely, train, buy items, and whatnot. One member of the party (Momo or Peco) needs to remain with Balio and Sunder as a hostage while the others fight in the tournament. You can enter the Arena in the northwest of Genmel to get started.

Peco is the natural choice to be a hostage, given his low level and lack of equipment. There's another reason, as well: You can make Peco so much more powerful if you wait. Time to discuss the onion.


Training Peco

Despite how he looks, Peco is one of the best physical fighters in Breath of Fire III. There are a few reasons for this:
  • Peco's natural stat growth pushes him towards high HP and Def
  • Peco regenerates a bit of health each turn
  • Peco has the highest Reprisal rate of anyone in your party
Peco also joins the party at level one, meaning he can be apprenticed to a Master and reap the full statistical benefits of their tutelage. There's an ideal Master for Peco who gets unlocked in Genmel shortly after you complete the Contest of Champions: Fahl, the drunken bartender who let the kids escape during their first trip to the town. Fahl specializes in physical combat, and raises his apprentices' HP, Pwr, and Def, at the expense of Int and Agi.

Can you use Peco in the Contest of Champions? With a bit of training in the field, yes, absolutely. Should you? Probably not, since Fahl isn't available yet. It will take a while for Peco to come into his own as a fighter, and given that the Contest pits you against a string of boss battles, now is not the best time for the onion to go to war.

Main Walkthrough