Breath of Fire IV - Cray's Best Equipment

Nunchaku - 145 Attack.  Dropped by Trean in Abandoned Village.

OR

Linked Pole - 133 power.  Manillo Store.  Trade 75 stamp cards for it.

Gideon's Garb - 93 defence, +10 to attack.  Dropped by Battle Suit in Astana, near the end of the game.

OR

Life Armour - Defence 90.  Heals 100hp each turn.  buy from Manillo Store in Astana.  Costs one Whale, one Sturgeon, and three Bullcats.

It took me about half an hour of fighting to get the Gideon's Garb.  I bought one set of Life Armour when I first caught whales and sturgeons; Scias had it first, until I got his King Armour, then Cray, and now Ryu will wear it until I find him something better.

The Mist Armour you can buy in Chedo also has 93 defence, and is slightly lighter than the Gideon's Garb.  The main difference is that the Gideon's Garb also raises your attack, while the Life Armour constantly heals you, making them bother slightly better options.

Treans have a pretty high chance of dropping Nunchakus.  I got one off the third one that I managed to kill; not that it's much easier to kill one out of a group than the whole group.

You can see more information on the Manillo Stores here.

Breath of Fire IV - Ursula's Best Equipment

Electrifier - 110 attack, hits one, low hit rate.  Found in Fou-Lu's tomb.

OR

Culverin - 108 attack.  Manillo Store in Astana.  1 x Whale, 2 x Sturgeon, 2 x Barandy.

Angel's Vest -Steal from Star Gazer in Imperial Castle.

Breath of Fire IV - Nina's Best Equipment

 Ouroboros - 96 attack.  Casts Raise Dead if used as an item.  Steal from Beihl in the basement of the Imperial Castle.
 
Angel's Vest - 94 defence.  Steal from a Warder in the Imperial Castle.

OR

Star Dress - 92 defence.  Manillo Store in Astana near the end of the game.  Whale x 3, Acheron x 8.

You'll find both Warder and Beihl in the basement of the Imperial Castle.  It shouldn't take more than 20 or so steals to get the desired items.  Star Dress isn't really worth it, since Angel's Vest is so easy to get.  Unless you want to get eight Acherons, in which case, what else are you going to spend them on?

I found Warders appeared most often on B1.

Breath of Fire IV - Ryu's Best Equipment

GooKing Sword - 152 power.  You have a 1/256 chance of winning this sword by defeating a Goo King in the Imperial Castle.

OR

Dragon Blade - 128 power.  On B1 of the Imperial Castle.

OR

Royal Sword - 96 power, two hits.  Steal from Astral dragon, a boss near the end of the game.

Royal Armour - 102 defence.  Steal from Tyrant, a boss near the end of the game.

OR

Dragon Armour - 96 defence.  1F of the Imperial Castle.

OR

Life Armour - 90 defence.  Heals 100hp per turn.  Buy from Manilla in Astana; 1 Whale, 1 Sturgeon, 3 Bullcat.

Breath of Fire IV - Levelling with Bots for Fun and Profit

Full credit for this trick goes to the maker of this video; I'd never heard of it before.

In short, what you need to do is go to Sinchon and find some Bots. You can do this at any point after reaching Sinchon; I waited until I was able to apprentice all my characters to Bunyan. He increases all stats while decreasing the amount that HP and AP rises by each level.  After a couple of levels with him, I'll switch to Marlok to bring the HP and AP back up.  Remember that Masters don't decrease your stats; they just decrease or increase the amount that they rise by upon levelling. 

Anyway, you've found some bots.  Great!  Ideally, you want to be attacked by at least two or three, rather than one.

1. Hit them with a weak wind + water combo.  I gave Eddy to Ershin, and used that and Scias' Frost to create the combo.  Finish by having Nina heal whichever bot you focused the attacks on.
2. Use Nina and Scias to heal the other two Bots.  If you're facing two bots rather than three, just have Nina heal.  3rd character guards.
3. Everyone guards.
4. Rinse & repeat.  The bots will recover at the start of this turn, so your attacks will just break their bodies open again.

Every time you break the Bots open, their exp will double, to a maximum of 65535.  Have fun!

Breath of Fire Series

Another tiny piece of evidence for Breath of Fire VI being the prequel to Breath of Fire, if the games are connected; in IV, Deis says this is her first time on a ship.

Breath of Fire IV - Faerie Shops

The items and weapons that a faerie stocks depends on what type she is - ordinary, odd, lazy, or diligent.  You can have up to three faeries in a shop at a time, and each one will have her own inventory, so you should be able to work through these fairly quickly.  Each shop gains eight items.

Items

Ordinary
Healing Herb - 20z
Antidote - 12z
Panacea - 100z
Ammonia - 250z
Bamboo Rod - 250z
Vitamin - 100z
Wisdom Seed - 800z
Multivitamin - 500z


Odd
Molotov - 100z
Electrode - 100z
Void Sphere - 500z
Dynamite - 500z
Icicle - 600z
Napalm - 800z
Taser - 1200z
Belladonna - 200z

Diligent
Healing Herb - 20z
Antidote - 12z
Panacea - 100z
Ammonia - 250z
Vitamin - 100z
Wisdom Seed - 800z
Multivitamin - 1500z
Vitamins - 1000z

Lazy
Bird Drop - 2z
Rotten Meat - 2z
Scorched Rice - 4z
Knockout Gas - 100z
Flash Grenade - 100z
Poison Powder - 100z
Mouth Gag - 100z
Spoon - 120z

Weapons

Ordinary
Bamboo Stick - 130z
Glass Domino - 220z
Taegum - 3000z
Poison Ward - 2500z
Dream Ring - 3000z
UV Goggles - 3000z
Balance Ring - 3000z
Stunner - 7700z

Odd
Manly Clothes - 2000z
Talisman - 300z
Aura Ring - 500z
Life Sandals - 500z
Fire Ward - 2500z
Wind Ward - 2500z
Water Ward - 2500z
Earth Ward - 2500z

Diligent
Bamboo Stick - 300z
Glass Domino - 220z
Speed Boots - 4500z
Wisdom Ring - 5000z
Sage's Frock - 7000z
Winged Boots - 7000z
Titan's Boots - 6000z
Ice Blade - 4200z

Lazy
Pointed Stick - 10z
Short Skirt - 3200z
Hawk's Ring - 6000z
Artemis Cap - 6000z
Hidden Dagger - 4900z
Hunting Cap - 8000z
Harmonic Ring - 25000z
Shaman's Ring - 40000z

My Boyfriend's a Dick!

So I was idly minding my own business on facebook when someone posted this link.  That tumblr consists of screenshots from the iOS and Android app Boyfriend Maker.  It's a basic boyfriend sim, but what makes it so interesting is the chat feature.  If you've clicked on that link then you've probably guessed that the chat is a chatbot which is entirely user-taught.

A fake boyfriend taught how to interact by the internet?  How can that possibly go wrong?

Before we get into that, let's talk about the app itself.  It was removed when the controversy over the chat stirred up, but is now back in a new form, Boyfriend Plus.  I downloaded it immediately, just to see what would happen.  It's free, and theoretically, it's rated for ages 4 and up.  Like hell it's suitable for ages 4 and up.  I found it hilarious, but I knew what I was letting myself in for.  Do not, under any circumstances show this app to a child.  Do not show it to anyone without warning them.  The content can be quite threatening, and references rape and paedophilia, amongst other things, both subjects which can be incredibly triggering to people.

Okay, first thing.  You load up the app, and you're introduced to a new boy, who you can name.  Let's go with Vivienne (I know the image says Luke.  That was before I learned that Vivienne is more suitable).

The first thing the app encourages you to do?  'Flirt' with him.  By which it means kiss and stroke.  On the cheek and shoulder respectively, but still, that's pretty far for the first few minutes of meeting.

You're then encouraged to dress your boy up by buying him accessories (fake money, not real money).  You see why I said Vivienne was a good name for him?

Once you've dressed up your escort, you take him out to dinner.  The game rewards you for getting him to say certain words or phrases, in my case, 'hi', 'merry Christmas' and 'Happy New Year'.  I didn't bother with those.  Instead, when I asked my escort what he thought of those lovely gifts I just bought him (my man gots to look nice) he threw a racial slur at me.

....okaaaaay.  Moving on.  He brought up some random name, and told me she was the most beautiful girl in the world (what have people been teaching him?).  When I complained, he told me he loved me, then laughed in my face when I replied with an astonished "You love me?".  Then he demanded cookies.  So just like a real man then.  Also, dude, we're at a restaurant, I'm not going to just cook for you.  That's insulting to the staff.

So, I called him a creep.  He replied with "So are you.  You stalk your crush.  Don't lie".

...finally.  A man who understands me.

On our second date, I began by asking him why on earth he'd told a virtual stranger (well, I'm real; he's virtual) that he loved them.  He said he didn't know and apologised.  I told him I might forgive him.  Then I accused him of being an erotomaniac.  He seemed oddly pleased about that.

It was when I asked him to stop stalking me that things went a little weird. In short;  I appear to be tied up by a psychopath who is ranting on about tumblr.  And laughing at me.

Something to mention at this point;  talking on a date costs energy, which is refreshed by time.  It takes approximately four hours to refill your energy bar.  You can pay fake money to refill it, for $200 a pop (this will be relevant later).  You start with $1000, and are occasionally awarded more for things like getting your boyfriend to say those key words I mentioned earlier.  You also get $1 (or whatever currency they use) every time you talk to a random guy on the street.  Speaking of guys on the street, I think I'm the only woman on this bizarre world.  This probably explains why I'm tied up.

 I asked him to stop.  He said "no!".  I said "yes!".  Then he turned nice again, and asked me to be in a relationship.  When I refused he "grab[ed] an old scarf and shove[d] it in [my] mouth placing the tape over it again".

See the key word in that sentence?

Again.

Crazy fucking bastard had me gagged before!

I struggled.  He seemed to enjoy it.  Then I headbutted him, and....

Ran out of energy.

Will our intrepid heroine escape from the psycopathic, pretty, Phantom of Dudeworld?  Will Vivienne the Psycho ever stop staring?  What happened to the cookies?

Tune in next time to find out!

Breath of Fire IV - Master Notes

I'm having the same problem I had in Breath of Fire III, that of knowing who to apprentice to whom.  So I'm going with the same solution I used then - writing down which stats are most important for which characters.  So;

Nina

Essentially, a battle mage with healing magic.  So, intelligence and AP are paramount.

Ryu
Needs high AP for dragons, as well as high strength generally.

Cray
Strength and HP.  Maybe some magic and AP for spells, but I mostly use him for chaining combos.

Ershin
Strength and defence.  Again, I use her for linking combos, but the actual attack power isn't so important.


Scias
Attack, AP, and intelligence.  Essentially a red mage.

Ursula 
Can't recall her strengths at the moment.

Kobo Competitions

Kobo are currently running a competition in which you answer questions on books and win at least a 10% off code.  The codes can only be used on certain books, but I did find some interesting choices in that list.  The competition is open until the 28th of April 2013, and there will be a new question each day.  You can go back and answer the old ones at any time up till the 28th.  You can only use the codes until the 28th, so bear that in mind.

The codes go up to 75% off (though the most I've ever won is 30%) and if you answer all ten, you're in with a chance to win £950 (translated from $1500).

They ran a similar competition last month, so this is probably going to be a recurring thing.  Last time, I spent my codes on Dare Me, which was awesome.  Very dark and disquieting.

How to Handsew a Sleep Mask

I know this isn't a gaming post, but this is the best format I can think of to write it in.  And I'll give it a special tag and everything.

Sleep masks are a nice little project.  They can be handsewn in an hour or two, or machine stitched even quicker.  They're easy for beginners, and, best of all, they're functional.  I didn't realise how much light pollution was affecting my sleep until it was gone.  It makes such a huge difference to have something over your eyes.  Plus, if you need to sleep with a light on (if there's someone else in the room for instance) or during daytime, they're fantastic.  When I stayed at a youth hostel over Christmas (I was working in a homeless shelter) having my eyemask made such a huge difference to how well I slept.

My First Eyemask

The first thing you need to do is choose your fabric.  I made my first eyemask from scraps off an old jumper I had, and some other bits of spare fabric.  The one I made yesterday is made up off little bits of fabric that I bought for bandanas.  If you buy half a metre you can cut two square bandanas out of it and have a little rectangle leftover that's perfect for this.  The one I'm making now is made out of an old top which was very soft while being thick enough to effectively block light.

Next, make a template.  Scrunch up a sheet of paper (A5 is big enough) until it's soft, then lay it over your face and use a felt tip to draw around your brow- and cheekbones.

Once you've done that, trace whichever half is neatest onto a folded sheet of paper, neatening it up as you go. Unfold the paper, and voila...you have a symmetrical mask template.  Use it to cut a mask shape out of your fabric; I recommend at least four layers, depending on thickness.  Remember to leave margins for sewing.  At this stage, hold all of your layers over your eyes to judge how well they block the light.  If it's not dark, add a few more.

 Carefully pin your layers together.  You want them in this order;  the two outsides, facing towards each other, then the inner layers on top.  Carefully pin this shape together along the outsides.

This bit is optional, but useful; fold your mask in half, and pin a small section, running halfway down the mask, as shown below.  Pin through one of the top layers and all of the inner layers; do not pin through both top layers.  Sewing this, as shown below, shapes the mask for your nose.  If you want a more personal fit, hold the mask over your face and pinch.  This will reduce light seeping in from around the base of your nose.  If you pin through both top layers, you won't be able to turn the mask rightside out later.

Once you've done that, proceed to sew most of the way around the outsides of the mask, through all the layers this time.  Leave a small gap, and turn the mask rightside out.  Finish sewing it up carefully from the outside.  I used ladder stitch, and you can find a tutorial on that here.

Sew some ribbons to the side to close it up, and you're done.  To get the right length of ribbon, wrap it around your head one and a half times, cut it in half and sew each half to one side of the mask.  You could use elastic, or do something creepy and sew buttons over the eyes of the mask and fasten the ribbon to that so you don't have knots on your head while you're sleeping, but then you'll look like something out of Coraline.  Which could be awesome.  Try it.

Et voila, reversible sleep mask!

Kobo Achievements

The Kobo is an ereader, created by a Canadian company and affiliated with WHSmith (yes, I am aware that eReaders are not games.  I don't care).  I have a Kobo Mini which is adorably tiny and fits in my jeans pocket.  I bought my Kobo just before Christmas, since I was going to stay in London in order to work in a homeless shelter.  In 2011 I took a pile of books which were heavy, awkward, and finished before I came home.  The Kobo was a LOT easier.  I wasn't sure about eReaders before I got one, but I love it.  I'll write a full review at some point, but, for now, I just want to talk about the achievements.  I'm planning on getting a Kindle as well, so maybe I'll just write a comparison.  If you're thinking of getting an eReader, and you have a smartphone, I highly recommend starting with the various free apps.  They work in much the same way as the eReaders do, and should give you an idea.  I wish I'd done that.

Anyway.  Kobo has a 'reading life' section which lists various statistics, like how much of your library you've read, and how long it's taken you.  It also has various awards or achievements that you can earn for completing various tasks (like X-Box achievements).  As well as the eReader, I have the Kobo app on my phone, and there are some achievements unique to the iOS.  There's also at least one unique to the Kobo Vox, which I don't have, and have no intention of buying.  There are several which are only available with newspaper or magazine subscriptions, and I've not intention of moving out of the UK to take advantage of those, either.

The table below is not a comprehensive list, but it will be as complete as I can make it.  You can have a look at some of the awards here, although I'm fairly sure that's not a comprehensive list either.  I don't have an android, and I gather that there are a few different achievements on there, and a few are time specific and have since been discontinued, so I've not heard of most of them. Unfortunately, Kobo seems to have lost interest in the awards system, as they've not added any new ones in some time.

When you first open your kobo, you'll see many of these awards greyed out.  I think a few of them only appear once you've got them, but don't ask me which ones.

Achievement	System	How-To
Afternoon Rush Hour	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 4pm and 6pm.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
All You Can Eat	Kobo, iOS	Fill your eReader with books.  I think I had somewhere between 50-100 on mine when I got this (I've since cleaned off a lot of the free ebooks, on the grounds that the paperback versions of Austen, Dickens, et al sat on my bookcases for years and I never read those either.  Can't abide Austen).
Author-ized Reader	iOS	I believe this has to do with the 'author notes' feature mentioned here.  I'm planning on reading Me Before You anyway; will update when I can. I've just discovered that you can't get it from reading the preview, even if you look at 'all notes' and click on the threads started by the author.
Better in Bed	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 10pm and 12am.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
BookLover	Kobo, iOS	Link your Kobo account to your eReader.  Although this is theoretically available on the Kobo, a glitch means it doesn't work.  However, if you unlock it on the iOS (by downloading the free app and logging in), it will sync across systems.
Breakfast of Champions/Eat It	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 5am and 7am.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Classic Attack	iOS	Read the five classic novels that come with your Kobo.  If, like me, you deleted the stupid things, these are the editions in question; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Dracula Grimms' Fairy Tales Pride and Prejudice Since I've read all but the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I feel no guilt whatsoever about cheating.  Just spend ten minutes flicking through the books while watching TV. Note:  You can't get this by flicking to the start of each chapter, then through all the pages of the last one.  Do one book per day, and then do the Lost in Austen award in the same way, and you'll be most of the way through the Twain award by the end.
Deep Thinker	iOS	Make a note in any book.  Long press to highlight a word, then click 'add note' when the menu comes up.
Facebook	Kobo, iOS	Connect your Kobo account to Facebook.  This should be straightforward.  I did it fairly early on, in a 'gotta catch 'em all' spirit, so I can't quite recall how to.
Fanatic	iOS	Own more than five ebooks by one author.  Mine was Sheri Tepper.  You could probably get it with Dickens, since all of his are out of copyright now, if you don't fancy buying five books by any author.
Freeloader	iOS	Add ten free eBooks to your library.  If you're stuck for ideas, try here.
Fully Loaded	iOS	Add items from outside Kobo to your library.  I highly recommend Alicorn's Luminosity and the sequel, Radiance, but it's up to you. Go to the app screen in itunes, scroll right down, and click on the Kobo icon (incidentally, I had no idea you even could scroll down that far).  Add a document or two (PDF or ePub) then sync.
Graveyard Shift	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 1am and 5am.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Happy Hour	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 6pm and 8pm.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Highly Decorated	Kobo, iOS	Unlock twenty other achievements.
I ❤ My Library	Kobo, iOS	Add a book to your library.
I Eat Books for Lunch	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 12pm and 2pm.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Inverted Comma	Kobo, iOS	Highlight something.  Press and hold on a word to highlight, tap to make the dictionary definition go away, wiggle the little end markers if you like (this is a total pain to get right without lots of practice) then hit highlight down in the bottom left.
Juggernaut	Kobo, iOS	Turn 10,000 pages.  It took me about two months to get this.  Keep reading, you'll make it.  This is probably easier to get on the iOS due to the smaller screen.  You lightweight.
Just the Highlights	iOS	Highlight twenty different passages.  These can be single words.  Personally, I just picked random words in Grimms' Fairy Tales.  Made some very odd sentences.  It took a few minutes for my awards to catch up with my highlighting, so don't worry if it doesn't pop up immediately.
Kill the Commute	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 7am and 9am.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
LOLZ	iOS	Write a note with the word 'lol' in it.
Night Rider	Kobo, iOS	I have this award, but I'm not totally sure how I got it.  The description congratulations me on reading all night long, and I know I got it early on.  I typically read at night, but I'm not sure for how long, or which specific times.
Not an Open Book	Kobo, iOS	Finish a book.  This doesn't work if you open the mini-menu for a book (press and hold on book's name in library) and 'mark as finished'.  You need to go to the last page and close it by tapping right.
Off the Wall	iOS	This one drove me absolutely mental.  You need to share what you're reading in a very specific way, which took me a great deal of googling and experimentation to figure out. Step 1:  Press and hold on the cover of a book in your library.  You will be taken to the overview screen. Step 2:  Press the very rightmost button at the top of your screen in order to see a menu that includes 'share to facebook'.  Share this way, and it will count towards the award. Step 3:  Repeat for a total of five times.
Once Upon a Time	Kobo, iOS	Open a book for the first time.
Page Turner	Kobo, iOS	Read for two hours straight.  I did this during a very boring shift at the homeless shelter.  I was in clothing, which is where we have piles of donated clothes for people to sift through.  Even if no one wants to come down and shop, there still has to be someone sitting there.  That was my job.  Mine and Opal Kobo's (that's her name).
Papillon	Kobo, iOS	Share on facebook ten times.  I found the easiest way to do this was to share my highlighted passages.  My friends list got very sick of my Jinian Footseer quotes.  Tough, they should have fucking read it.  It's a good book.  My favourite.  And considering I've read over a hundred books so far this year alone, that's saying quite a lot.
Playing Hooky	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 2pm and 4pm.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Pressed for Details	Kobo, iOS	Press and hold on the title of a book in your library.
Primetime	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 8pm and 10pm.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Quoth the Maven	iOS	Highlight ten different things and post them to facebook by clicking and holding until the option comes up.  Easy peasy.
Reading Life	Kobo, iOS	Set up your ereader. Impossible not to get.
Scout Leader	Kobo, iOS	Unlock ten other achievements.
Sleeping In	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 9am and 12pm.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Total Recall	iOS	Reread any book.  I did this accidentally, with Francesca Lia Block's The Rose and the Beast.  There are plenty of short stories you could read through twice with ease.  If you get the PDF of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, then that'll help with the Freeloader, too.
Total Closer	iOS	Finish ten books.  If you can't do this, I feel bad for you, son.  I got ninety-nine problems, but not-reading ain't one.
The Twain Award	iOS	Open any book in the Kobo app once a day for two weeks.  Doesn't have to be the same book.
Lost in Austen	iOS	I believe you need to read five different Austen novels.  Bloody Austen.  Can't abide her.  There's something direful in the sound.
Witching Hour	Kobo, iOS	Read five times between 12am and 1am.  Open any book between those hours, on five different days.
Word Up!	Kobo, iOS	Use the Kobo dictionary to look up ten words.  Simply press and hold on a word in any book and it'll come up.
-	iOS	-

Completion Project - Breath of Fire IV Update

I'd forgotten how much I really like noting things down and writing my mini-guides.

Speaking of guides, I found the following in this one and had to try it;

   Nina's secret Combo
        Fire Magic + Wind Magic + Melee Ability (by Nina) --> Phoenix 

   Ursula's secret Combo
        Earth magic + Fire magic + Melee Ability (by Ursula) --> Reflect 

   Scias' secret Combo
        Wind magic + Water magic + Melee Ability (by Scias) --> Ice Sword

That guide is so useful. Seriously, go check it out.

Anyway, my little dudes are currently running around near Shyde, not saving Cray (I don't like Cray; he has nothing on Rei), earning Zenny to buy at least one of every item, playing with combos, and generally having fun.  So far, I've seen Nina's Phoenix and Scias' Ice Sword, which, it turns out, causes instant death.  Awesome!

Breath of Fire IV - Masters

The Breath of Fire IV Master system is very similar to that in Breath of Fire III.  In short, throughout your journey, you will come across people who will offer to teach you various things, raising and lowering your stats as long as you're their apprentice.

Unlike in Breath of Fire III, you do not earn spells based on how many levels you spend serving under a certain master.  Instead, you earn them when you complete specific tasks.  This makes it a lot easier to play around with your character's statistics and bonuses.

Two masters, Momo and Stoll, raise certain stats without lowering others.  I see no reason not to leave characters apprenticed under one of these two as long as you have no other goals.

Masters are listed in the order that you meet them.

Rwolf
AP + 2
Power -1
Wisdom + 1 

You will find Rwolf in the Valley of Kurok, between Chamba and the Dam.  All you need to do to apprentice with him is agree with him.

Skill	Obtained
Eddy	Perform a 5-hit combo.
Plateau	Perform a 10-hit combo.
Magic Ball	Perform a 15-hit combo.
Flame Pillar	Perform a 20-hit combo.

Please note that you don't have to hit the exact numbers; you could perform a twenty hit combo and receive all of his skills.

 General tip; if you use the same type of skill one after the other, the number of hits will increase. While typing, I managed a 6-hit combo by having Ryu cast blind, Cray use snap, and Ershin use wild shot. The snap attack attempted to blind the enemy as well, which would have resulted in another hit if it had worked. The wild shot hit three times, then attempted to blind and lower the defense of the enemy, only one of which worked. It's easy enough to get ten hits early on, when you run into a Red Cap with five caps. Have Cray use Rock Blast, pray that at least four survive, and have Ryu use burn.

You'll also find a lot of information in this FAQ, including this important little tidbit;

After a fire spell, you need wind to create an explosion spell
After a wind spell, you need water to create a thunder spell
After a water spell, you need earth to create a disaster spell
After an earth spell, you need fire to create an eruption spell

Stoll
Agility + 1

You'll find Stoll in the hideout, after you've caught him for Marlock (unmissable, part of the story).  He will offer to teach you in return for all your zenny.  I highly recommend buying rather than trading weapons up to this point, and then going off and buying a bunch of healing items to use up the last of your cash.  As long as you have at least one zenny to give him, he'll accept you.

You can then liquidate your assets (by selling them) and get some cash back. Just remember not to sell the last of any unique item. Look at the table for why.

Skill	Obtained
Steal	Have 80+ items in your inventory.
Cowards Way	Have 120+ items in your inventory.

Not much to say about this one, really.   Hoard like a maniac.  Items in all categories count.  Like in Breath of Fire III you can't unequip weapons, so get a spare of whatever's cheapest.  That said, for a long part of the game, you can't reach him at all, and by the time you get him back, you'll have well over 120 items, so you probably don't need to be worried about that.

I put everyone except Nina (who was under Rwolf) under Stoll at this point.  It's not like they had anything better to do.

Una
  HP + 12
AP -2
Power + 2
Defence + 1
Wisdom -1

Una is in the Elder's House in Worent, on the second floor.  Speak to her after defeating Kahn for the second time, and she'll agree to teach you if you apologise.

Skill	Obtained
Pilfer	Do more than 1,500 damage in a Combo.
Super Combo	Do more than 3000 damage in a Combo.
Blitz	Do more than 10,000 damage in a Combo.

Njomo
HP - 8
AP +1
Agility + 2

After Ahm Fen, head east towards the hut Njomo shares with her husband.  She will only let you apprentice with her once you've built at least one house in the Faerie Village. 

Skill	Obtained
Faerie Attack	More than eight Faeries in the Village.
Faerie Breath	More than twelve Faeries in the Village.
War Shout	More than sixteen Faeries in the Village.
Faerie Charge	More than twenty Faeries in the Village.

Momo
HP + 8

Momo is in the windmill in Wyndia.  There are no prerequisites to apprenticing with her.  Just agree to listen to her stories.

Skill	Obtained
Spray	25+ hours of playtime.
Clip	30+ hours of playtime.
Oracle	40+ hours of playtime.
Egghead	50+ hours of playtime.

Abbess
AP + 2
Power -2
Defence - 2
Wisdom + 4


The Abbess in Chek will become your master once you've met with a few of the dragons.

Skill	Obtained
Concentrate	Meet with more than 70 different enemies.
Sanctuary	Meet with more than 70 different enemies.
Celerity	Meet with more than 70 different enemies.

Marlok
HP + 16
AP + 3
Power -1
Defence - 1
Agility - 1
Wisdom - 1

Marlok will become your master if you go back to Synesta and show him the Tin Ball after he loans you the money for a Sandflier.

Skill	Obtained
Charm	Show him a Copper Ball or better.
Monopolize	Show him an Electrum Ball or better.
Roulette	Show him a Platinum Ball or better.

You buy the initial treasure from a Frogman in Sarai's Inn (a Lead Ball) and then upgrade it by exchanging it.  Yes, it's a straw millionaire game.   I won't post the upgrades here; I'll make a post about them later.

Kryrik
HP +25
AP - 2
Power + 3
Defence + 2
Agility - 2
Wisdom - 2

Kryrik is one of the sailors in Shikk.  After reaching Lyp, go back, and if you've performed a 25 hit combo, he'll allow you to apprentice to him.

Skill	Obtained
Megaphone	30+ Combo.
Spiritblast	40+ Combo.
Cleave	50+ Combo.
Disembowel	70+ Combo.

Easiest way I know to do this is Celerity, Vitalise, Vitalise.  Save first, because you can only use Celerity once every three hours.

Gyosil
HP - 8
AP + 2

Gyosil is in Lyp.  As long as you have over 3000 Fishing Points, he will agree to teach you.  You can read my general post on Fishing here, and you can see most of the points here.

Skill	Obtained
Ring of Ice	4000+ Fishing Points.
Spanner	6000+ Fishing Points.
Master's Rod	9500+ Fishing Points.

Lyta
AP + 1
Defence - 1
Wisdom + 1

Nun in Synesta Orphanage.  She will teach you after you have begun learning from Gyosil.

Skill	Obtained
Supplication	Ryu at level 20+.
Holy Strike	Ryu at level 25+.
Resist	Ryu at level 30+.
Benediction	Ryu at level 35+.

Kahn
HP + 20
AP - 4
Power + 3
Agility + 1
Wisdom - 3

After you get out of the Saldine Flats, head north again.  Kahn is waiting at Fish Head Beach.

Skill	Obtained
Focus	Fight 300+ Battles.
Shout	Fight 400+ Battles.
Tiger Fist	Fight 500+ Battles.
Flex	Fight 600+ Battles.

Bunyan
HP - 16
AP - 3
Power + 1
Defence + 1
Agility + 1
Wisdom + 1

Skill	Obtained
Backhand	Do over 3000 damage in a single attack.
Counter	Do over 5000 damage in a single attack.
Shadowwalk	Do over 8000 damage in a single attack.
Final Hope	Do over 12000 damage in a single attack.

To unlock these,I gave Nina the Palliate skill, learned from Lampkins (give them a panacea to heal them, then either moon tears or croc tears when they ask for water).  She used her Inspire (learned at level 26) skill to raise her wisdom to max.  Almost 40,000 damage.  Well, healing power, not damage, but Bunyan counts it the same.

Breath of Fire IV - Save Images

There are twelve spots to save in for Breath of Fire IV.  Each spot shows a different portrait, as listed below;

1. Ryu
2. Nina
3. Cray
4. Scias
5. Ursula
6. Ershin
7. Fou-Lu
8. Faerie
9. Imperial Commander
10. Mamie
11. Lord Yuna
12. Yohm
13. Bunyan
14. Kahn
15. Marlok

Breath of Fire IV - Fishing

  I pretty much struck with Tec3 until I reached Ocean Spot 1, where I got the hang of tec4.  Tec3 goes ba, baba, baba, and tec4 goes bababa, baba, ba.  If those written examples didn't help, listen to the drums in the background music.  They cycle through the four tecs.  Have a listen and try to match (you don't have to hit them at the same time as the BGM does as long as you get the right rhythm).

Rods

• Wooden Rod: Buy in Sarai for 50z.
• Bamboo Rod: Manilla Shop in Wyndia (2 x Sea Breams) OR Ordinary Fairy Item Shop, 250z
• Deluxe Rod: Tidal Flats.
• Angling Rod:  Manillo shop in Lyp (2 x Salmon, 2 x Dorado, 2 x MartianSquid).
• Spanner: Earn 6000 fishing points, and claim from Gyosil in Lyp. 
• Master's Rod: Earn 9500 fishing points and claim from Gyosil in Lyp.

Fishing Spots

River Spot 1
Jellyfish, Sweetfish, Trout, Rainbow Trout

When you get to the little desert canyon bit on the way to Sarai from the Cliffs, exit to the side, and another path will open up.

I went with just casting straight into the water fall from the sticky-out rock on the side of the river, and had quite a bit of luck there.

The Trout went for the Straight, while the Sweetfish and the Jellyfish will bite on anything.  You probably don't have much chance of catching a rainbow trout on your first visit, and will need to come back when you've got something better than baby frogs and straights. I finally caught one under the waterfall with a Flattop.  If the fish gets stuck behind the rock, try using left or right instead of x to tap it out.

On returning here after reaching Synesta, I was able to catch everything near the waterfall using FlatTops.  However, RainbowTrouts were easier to find at the other end of the river.

Lake Spot 1
Jellyfish, Piranha, Bass, Blue Gill, MartianSquid

On the way to the Sandflier Warf, you'll run into a patch of desert with a sign in the middle.  Exit to the northeast and a path to the fishing spot will open up.  

In the rocks to the right of the pier, I found Blue Gills and Bass went for my Baby Frogs.  Piranhas and Jellyfish bit on Flattops and Deep Divers.

A piranha ran off with my deep diver when my attention wandered, and I didn't save scum to get it back because I'd caught quite a few fish by that point.  Annoying.

When I returned here later, I found it was pretty easy to catch Jellyfish, Piranhas, and Blue Gills in the rocks to the right, with my Frogger lure, but I just couldn't get my hands on any Bass'.  Not until I switched back to the Baby Frog, when I caught two in a row.

Ocean Spot 1
Man-o'-War, Flying Fish, Blowfish, Sea Bream

From Ludia, head east to the crossroads, then go north to Shyde.  Along the way, you'll run into a '?' spot.  Enter, read the sign, then exist to the west.

I caught a Man-o'-War and a Flying Fish near the rocks with a Popper.  Man-o'-Wars bit a lot on Hangers, too.  In fact, Man-o'-Wars bite on anything.

I caught a Blowfish using a Frogger, standing just below the tip of the cliffy bit, and aiming out towards the sea.  Flying Fishes bit quite a lot on Flattops, near the rocks.  Had no luck with Sea Breams on my first visit.

Returning here later, I was able to catch Sea Breams using the Angling Rod and the Crab lure, and casting straight out from the little cliff.

River Spot 2
Jellyfish, Trout, Browntail, Rainbow Trout, Salmon

Speak to the fisherman on the first screen of Kasq woods, and he'll tell you about this spot.

On my first visit here, I played with my new level 2 lures, catching at least three fish with each.

I started standing on the bridge, facing into the waterfall.  I found that Trouts bite on Tails, Toads, Flattops, Hangers, Warblers and GoldTops.  Browntails bite on Hangers, Warblers and GoldTops.  Jellyfish bite on Toads and FlatTops.

Fishing into the marshy area on the other side of the bridge was broadly similar, with lots of Trout and Jellyfish biting.  I caught a few RainbowTrout with FlatTops and GoldTops.

I finally caught a Salmon near the waterfall with a Toad.  I also caught another RainbowTrout there with a FlatTop.


Chamba Spot
Jellyfish, Bullcat, Acheron

When you're finally able to access most of the map again, after getting the shift spell, head to North Chamba.  At the entrance, the man outside will warn you not to go inside.  Ignore him, go inside, and slaughter the monster.  After talking to the man again, you'll be able to fish in the mist.

On my first visit here, I could only get Jellyfish, even with my best lures.  Gru.

On returning later, I was able to catch an Acheron between the two buildings on the top right, that is, to the Southeast, using the Angling Rod and the Dancer Lure.

Even later;  For me, the most successful way to catch Acheron was between the two buildings to the southeast, with a dancer lure.  Cast the lure to about 25m, let it sink, tech 4.  I caught three Acherons in a row, all biting at around 20m.

Ocean Spot 2
Man-o'-War, Sea Bass, Flatfish, Octopus, Bonito, Spearfish, Whale

From Lyp, take the ship to the north.  You'll see a blue flag; explore there, and you'll find the fishing spot.

I used my shiny new level 3 lures here (from the Manillo Shop in Lyp), and cast straight out into the sea.  I only caught Man-o'-Wars and Sea Bass with my Fat Frog and Platinum Top, but caught a Bonito with the Deep Diver and the Swisher.    I also got a couple of Man-o'-Wars and a Sea Bass with a Deep Diver.

Later, I came back here and used these tips from HotaruYuuki to catch Whales;

Whale : Ocean Spot 2, cast 25m (I'm using bamboo/spanner) toward the rock. I used dancer (lv 3 winder). You can stand on the bridge connecting the land and the boat. Wait until your lure gets to the ground. Use tech 4. If you dont catch anything after two consecutive tech 4, cancel and cast your lure again.

Spearfish: Same as the whale, but start doing tech 4 when your lure starts sinking. Spearfish don't live as deep as the whale.

I accidentally caught a couple of Octopodes and a Flatfish doing this.  However, I didn't catch a Spearfish until I read this thread, specifically Alltra's posts. Using the Angling Rod and a Dancer, and teching as soon as the lure hit the water, I got a Spearfish first try.  A big one too - maximum points and a crown!

...and then another one jumped right into my line as I was letting the lure sink to try to get a Whale.  For god's sake.

In the same trip, I got the King Whale (this is how I refer to crowned fishies)!  I'd almost caught him twice before, but, annoyingly, when the bar went even the teeniest bit to the right of the gold box, it would break my line.  But I got him this time!

Lake Spot 2
Bass, Piranha, Blue Gill, Black Bass, MartianSquid, Dorado

At the '?' spot south of Lyp, go east.

Again, I used my level 3 lures.  I caught a Blue Gill and a Black Bass with the Fat Frog.  The Black Basses practically leapt onto the line, which was useful, because you need those to get even more shiny lures in Lyp.

Later in the game, I had some trouble catching a Dorado here, so I used this video for tips.  It took a while, but it did eventually work for me.  And then I got an Angling Rod!

Saldine Spot
Blowfish, Moorfish, Sea Bream, Black Porgy

You come to this fishing spot automatically, as part of the storyline.

Using all of my Level 3 lures, I caught a bunch of Blowfish and Moorfish.  Nothing else.  


Lake Spot 3
Jellyfish, Angelfish, Black Bass, MartianSquid, Dorado, Barandy

East of Chiqua.  Speak to the fisherman on the Chiqua docks, and he'll direct you.

I caught Angelfish and Jellyfish with all my level 3 lures.  Just couldn't seem to get ahold of anything else.

Came back later; casting straight out from the dock, with the Bamboo Rod and the Crab lure, I got a MartianSquid.  I got quite a few Martian Squids later, with the Angling Rod.


River Spot 3
 Sweetfish, Trout, Browntail, Rainbow Trout, Salmon, Bullcat, Sturgeon

When Ryu reaches the Emperor's Tomb, go to the '?' spot to the west, and exit to the south.

To catch a Sturgeon, use these tips from HotaruYuuki to catch Whales;

Sturgeon: River Spot 3, cast south of the bridge. Sturgeon can be found behind the rock. I used worm (Crab). Wait until your lure gets to the ground then do tech 4.

I also caught a couple of Salmon and a Bullcat this way.  Aim for the frothy green plants.


Ocean Spot 3
Flying Fish, Sea Bass, Flatfish, Octopus, Bonito, Angler 

There's a '?' spot midway between the Highway and Kwanso.  Enter it, and you'll see a sign in the middle.  Exit to the west to open a path to the final fishing spot.

Catching Angler is a complete pain in the arse.  I used a crab lure with the Angling rod, and stood on the cliff to the right, casting straight ahead.  I caught one near the buoy, about 25m out.  They live deep.

Completion Project - Hi!

Bored, I've decided to continue with my completion project, and finally finish Breath of Fire IV.  It was the first Breath of Fire game I ever played, and the only one I've not completed.

Ryu and Nina have just reached Sarai.  The problem with playing a game that you haven't played in ages is you forget all the little tricks.  Should I go and catch five jellyfish because I'll need them right after the Fishing Spot gets cut off?  Is there a missable learnable spell?  At least I've remembered to avoid picking up items as Fou-Lou due to the lack of shared inventory.

I've been playing Vandal Hearts II and Final Fantasy X-2 recently.  Oh, and I got a copy of Persona 4, which is fantastic.

Final Fantasy IX - Quina's Blue Magic

Ability	MP Cost	Effect	Who and Where
1000 Needles	8	Always does 1000 damage, regardless of armour.	Cactuar (Donna Plains)
Angel's Snack	4	All party members use a remedy (taken from your inventory).	Ironite (Burmecia, Mist Continent) Epitaph (Oeilvert) Behemoth (Treno, Memoria) Mistodon (Iifa Tree)
Aqua Breath	14	Does damage equivalent to 25% of opponents max HP.	Axolotl (Qu's Marsh) Clipper (Qu's Marsh)
Auto-Life	14	Character is revived once upon KO.	Carrion Worm (Cleyra) Cerberus (Ipsen's Castle) Gimme Cat (Salvage Archipelago)
Bad Breath	16	Target is afflicted by confuse, darkness, poison, slow, and mini.	Anemone (Qu's Marsh) Malboro (Pandemonium)
Doom	12	Target is afflicted with doom.	Ash (Memoria)
Earth Shake	20	Inflicts earth damage on opponents.	Adamantoise (Forgotten Continent) Earth Guardian (Earth Shrine)
Frog Drop	10	Overcomes any defence to inflict damage of (Quina's Level)*(Frog's Caught).  To maximise frog-catching, try to always leave a male, female, and, if possible, a golden frog in the pond, so it repopulates faster.	Gigan Toad (Qu's Marsh)
Frost	18	Inflicts freeze status on target.	Kraken (Crystal World) Chimera (Memoria)
Goblin Punch	4	Non-elemental attack.	Goblin (Mist Continent) Goblin Mage (Donna Plains, Lucid Plains)
Limit Glove	10	Inflicts 9999 damage when Quina's is at 1HP.  To learn this early, take Quina up through Lindblum as soon as you get him/her, and out onto the Lindblum Plateau.	Blazer Beetle (Mist Continent) Axe Beak Catoblepas (Treno, Forgotten Continent) Jabberwock (Forgotten Continent) Mandragora (Bentini Heights)
LV3 def-less	12	Lowers defence if target's level is a multiple of 3.	Carve Spider (Nolrich Heights, Bentini Heights) Lamia (Gizamaluke's Grotto) Grand  Dragon (Popos Heights) Lizard Man (Daines-Horse Basin)
LV4 Holy	22	Deals holy damage to enemies whose levels are multiples of 4.	Feather Circle (Fossil Roo, Esto Gaza) Amdusias (Treno, Pandemonium)
LV5 Death	20	Instant death to enemies whose levels are multiples of 5.	Dracozombie (Iifa Tree) Lich (Crystal World)
Magic Hammer	2	Randomly reduces targets MP.	Magic Vice (Burmecia)
Matra Magic	8	Reduces target's HP to 1.  Use on Quina, in conjunction with Limit Glove, for easy early damage.	Draonfly (Cleyra, Gargan Roo) Armstrong (Forgotten Continent) Land Worm (Kiera Desert)
Mighty Guard	64	Casts shell and protect on all party members.	Ant Lion (Kiera Desert) Gigan Octopus (Beach of Lost Continent) Gargoyle (Ipsen's Castle)
Mustard Bomb	10	Inflicts heat status on enemy.	Grenade (Gulug Volcano) Malaris (Crystal World)
Night	14	Casts sleep on everyone (your party included).	Abomination (Fossil Roo) Grimlock (Desert Palace)
Pumpkin Head	12	Does damage equivalent to that suffered by Quina so far.	Basilisk (Burmecia) Bandersnatch (Alexandria, Mist Continent) Hedgehog Pie (Eunoras Plain) Ladybird (Eunoras Plains)
Roulette	18	KOs a random participant (your own party included).	Ghost (Dali, Bentini Heights) Hecteyes (Terra, Outer Continent)
Twister	22	Inflicts wind damage on enemies.	Abadon (Pandemonium, Terra)
Vanish	8	Makes a character invisible (cannot be targeted).	Hornet (Gizamaluke's Grotto) Gnoll (Condie Petie Mountain Path) Drakan (Desert Palace)
White Wind	14	Restores the equivalent of 1/3 of Quina's maximum HP to all party members.	Griffin (Fossil Roo, Donna Plains) Garuda (Popos Heights, Oeilvert, Lost Continent)

Final Fantasy - Bestiary

Monster	Location
Goblin	Around Cornelia
Goblin Guard	Near Temple of Chaos
Wolf	Around Cornelia
Crazy Horse	Around Cornelia
Skeleton	In and around Temple of Chaos
Black Widow	Temple of Chaos
Gigas Worm	Near Matoya's Cave
Warg Wolf	Near Matoya's Cave
Werewolf	Near Elfheim
Zombie	Temple of Chaos
Ghoul	Temple of Chaos
Garland	Temple of Chaos
Cobra	Near Matoya's Cave, in Terra Cavern
Ogre	Near Pravoka and Elfheim
Ogre Chieftain	Near Marsh Cave
Lizard	Near Matoya's Cave, in Terra Cavern
Pirate	Pravoca
Sahagin	Circle Sea
Sahagin Chief	Circle Sea
Privateer	Circle Sea
Shark	Circle Sea
Goggler	Circle Sea
Tarantula	Near Marsh Cave
Ghast	Near Marsh Cave
Scorpion	Marsh Cave
Shadow	Marsh Cave
Green Slime	Marsh Cave
Crawler	Marsh Cave
Gray Ooze	Marsh Cave
Gargoyle	Marsh Cave
Bloodbones	Marsh Cave
Piscodemon	Marsh Cave
Astos	Western Keep
Mummy	Western Keep
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Anaconda	Terra Cavern
Hyenadon	Near Terra Cavern
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Minotaur	Terra Cavern
Hill Gigas	Terra Cavern
Gnoma	Terra Cavern
Troll	Terra Cavern
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Sigh

I really wanted to play Final Fantasy VII today, but it just won't work on my PS2.  I gather that this may be due to the PS2's weak laser, which may not be able to see through psx discs anymore.  I'm buying an old psx, to see if my games will play on that.

Anyway, for now, I'm playing the first Final Fantasy, just for funsies.  Might play through the series in order, if I don't lose interest first.