Chapter 5

You start by watching a cutscene. Choose to sleep, then watch some more dialogue. When you regain control of your FC, try to leave Budehuc on foot. A brief scene follows involving Franz, who explains a situation at Le Buque and Mt. Senai. Geddoe and his mercenaries decide to help Franz.

You'll now have temporary control of Geddoe, even if he isn't your FC. Head to Le Buque now from Budehuc. Entering the Harmonian town, watch a cutscene. Head over to the netting and examine the door on the first house to the right (Iku's house). Enter the second room of the house with your group, and that's where your mission is laid out. Head for Mt. Senai immediately.

There's nothing new here, so you should be able to handle the monsters easily, and you should know the way through Mt. Senai by now. Make your way towards the far end of the mountain, and when you do, you'll meet up with Luc and Sarah. They demand that Geddoe hand over his rune, and when he refuses, you know what's coming next...

Boss Battle: Luc, Sarah, three mirages, two salamanders

Like many fights with Luc, Sarah, and Yuber, you aren't required to win. Fortunately, Yuber, who has likely become your bane by now, isn't here, and this battle can actually be quite easy. Sarah, as always, uses healing and water magic and occasional fire magic, while Luc attacks using wind and a Pale Gate rune. Have Aila use defensive spells and Great Blessing, and to target all enemies at once, use Thunder Storm, Explosion, and any other move that can do damage to the entire group (salamanders are immune to fire, however). Make sure you target Sarah first; her healing spells always cause problems. Center spells and attack on Luc next; his Pale Gate rune can cause some serious hurt. For winning this battle, you receive a Wind Magic Ring.

Whether or not you've won this battle, it makes no difference. After some more dialogue, Sarah uses a new rune to send all of your party members sprawling. Sarah then takes Geddoe's rune from him. Now, a long cutscene plays. Head out of the shrine, heal, and go through the tunnel. You'll find an army of monsters waiting for you. You'll now fight three battles against Mirages, Salamanders, and Ghost Armors. BE SURE TO SELECT THE "We can't just run away!" option three times between battles. DO NOT abandon the villagers. When you do, Duke's team arrives on the scene. Choose the "Please help us!" option, and Duke and his crew clear out the monsters for you and the kidnapped villagers.

Now, re-enter Le Buque and go to the main town area. Watch the long cutscene, and then Duke, Elaine, Gau, Nicholas, Franz, Ruby, and Iku join the 108 stars. Not a bad addition!

You are now in control of Chris at Budehuc Castle, even if she isn't your FC. Be sure to boost her skills at the Training and Education centers, and equip her with a water rune. Make sure her skill with water magic is high, too. Now, head to the castle entrance. Now your objective is for Chris, Borus, Salome, and Roland to go to Brass Castle.

When you arrive at Brass Castle, head to the other side of the castle. You'll discover Yumi, who needs Chris' help in Alma Kinan Village. Chris, Borus, and another four party members that you can select will go help Alma Kinan. Make sure you select a strong party fit for physical fighting.

Head towards Alma Kinan Village. As you approach it, Yumi stops and initiates a surprising cutscene. You are then forced into another battle.

Boss Battle: Sarah, three Azodesses

If you have a water rune equipped and have the ability to cast Silent Lake, this fight can be almost embarassingly easy. Cast Silent Lake immediately. This prevents Sarah from using any of her spells or healing. Since the Azodesses' attacks are fairly weak, this battle is pretty much over. Take out the Azodesses first, which is no problem, as they have low HP, then gang up on Sarah. Without her spells, she's nearly helpless. Should Silent Lake wear off, simply cast it again. Winning this fight gets you a rare Drain Rune.

As she did with Geddoe, Sarah uses her newest rune to knock all of your characters out of the fight. She then steals Chris' rune as well.

This time, you control Hugo, FC or not. Sgt. Joe enters and suggests that Hugo makes a round of the castle. To do this, simply visit Iksay.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

When you get back, you find a messenger from Brass Castle at the gate to Budehuc, reporting that Harmonia has attacked Brass Castle and that reinforcements are needed. Hugo decides to take five other people with him and help Brass Castle until the army can mobilize. Bring Fubar and make sure Hugo can mount him. Also, taking Percival and Leo is actually a very good idea.

When you get here, you'll notice that Brass Castle has a complete lack of people. Upgrade and heal if you need to, and then approach the right bridge of the castle. You'll notice many more people on the right courtyard of the castle. When you reach the bridge, you'll meet up with Salome and Roland. Your party will then be attacked by three groups of five Harmonian soldiers each. They're good at physical attacking, but one blast of Explosion or Thunderstorm will finish them quickly. After these fights, Luc, Sarah, and Yuber show up again, and Hugo loses his rune. Now, all of the five runes are in Luc's possession, and Hugo finally learns what Luc is intending to do. After Luc leaves, a cutscene shows Chris arriving from behind with Alma Kinan reinforcements. With Sarah's power drained, Sarah and Yuber quickly retreat to the woods.

First of all, DO NOT let any characters die here, as they may fall permenantly (reset your PS2 if this happens; it isn't worth the risk). Yuber starts with eight units, including his own (Luc and Sarah aren't fighting this time). If you have a sufficient amount of the 108 stars up to this point, you may have more than he does! If this is the case, this fight is going to be easy. If not, you're probably going to have more trouble. Either way, follow the same guidelines for the first Brass Castle fight: Stay on the castle territory circles. Having the damage you take reduced by 40% is going to be a big help against Ghost Armors and Chimeras. Let Yuber's units come to you, and when they come in range of your units, attack them and force them into a retreat, hopefully much weaker, or even dead. When Yuber's unit comes near you, use at least two lightning spells on him to soften him up before engaging him. With Yuber's health reduced, and your damage reduced by 40%, Yuber will be much more manageable. You'll receive several reinforcements throughout this battle. Geddoe, Ace, Queen, and Jacques with Joker as support arrive at the south, Thomas and Cecile arrive from behind with Karayan fighters, and an unexpected ally shows up from the northeast. With all of these units in your possession, you should be able to easily beat Yuber.

You are automatically brought back to Budehuc after this fight. You are told to meet up in the conference room to discuss the final fight. This is your last best chance to collect the other 102 stars (the other six you will receive later), upgrade your skills, and level up your characters. When you are ready, enter the conference room. Sasarai explains the situation. Luc has lost the backing of the Harmonian army due to a recent discovery about the plot of the true runes, and now he invokes hordes of monsters instead. Sasarai also reveals the destructive capabilities of what Luc is trying to do. Nobody has any idea where Luc is, but an unlikely person enters, and informs the Fire Bringers of the location of where Luc and his followers are. If you want to, set up the battle formation for your upcoming battle. When you are ready to leave, go to the courtyard in Budehuc (the one just outside the castle entrance). Two cutscenes will follow, and the Fire Bringers leave to put an end to Luc's plans.

This area has battle circles in the shape of an oval. You start with your army on the southmost square. Luc, Sarah, and Yuber appear to the far north, and summon monsters to aid them. If you have all 104 stars up to this point, you should actually outmatch Yuber's army (which is really saying something, since Luc summons a lot of units). If you only have the required stars, you're going to have much more trouble. There are a few strategies to win this fight. The first is to try to get your units to the ruin circle, which reduces your damage by 40%. You can also go northwest into the forest circles, which reduce damage by 20%. You can also split up your units and have them go both ways, or even stay at your starting point. However, keeping your units together, especially if you have less units than Yuber, is highly recommended. Particular units of interest are ones with powerful stone golems as leaders, and magic leaders behind three chimeras. Sarah's unit will also continually summon more units to the battlefield as you kill them. Also, after a few turns, Luc leaves the battlefield to prepare for the ceremony. Yuber and Sarah will start approaching you, so take cover in a forest or the ruins. Again, use lightning and fire skills to weaken them, and then attack them with your most powerful units. You don't need to kill Sarah, but it stops her from summoning more enemies to the battlefield, making your job to kill Yuber a lot easier. Yuber is only accompanied by three skeleton warriors, which aren't much of a threat. When you kill Yuber, your heroes enter the Ceremonial Site ruins.

Before saving, MAKE SURE none of your party members are dead from the strategic battle from outside. Before that, a cutscene plays between several of the characters. There are four paths in the Ceremonial Site, each of them leading to one of your main foes.

At this point, whoever the bearer of the True Lightning Rune is (either Geddoe or Hugo) will go to the right path, where Yuber is waiting. If your lightning rune bearer is Geddoe, put your usual team of mercenaries into the party and you should be fine. As for Hugo, take anybody you want, but whether you're using Geddoe or Hugo, make sure your characters are resistant to lightning and fire, are agile and strong, and can handle physical fights, because you probably know by now how deadly Yuber is. In the True Lightning Corridor, you'll encounter Ghost Armors, a few Golems, and occasional Chimeras. Unless you need to level up, don't bother with these enemies; they'll only make you weaker against Yuber. When you reach the Altar of Lightning, Yuber appears to block your way, and challenges your party to a fight.

Boss Battle: Yuber, a hellsteed, three skeletons

This is, to say the least, one of the hardest fights in the game. In addition to all of his vicious attacks, Yuber uses his special rune to perform the attack Eight Devil, which will do massive damage or simply slay the victim outright. Have a Water Rune handy for healing and reviving characters; you're going to be using it more than once. The Hellsteed can do 150 damage in an attack, and Yuber can attack twice or even three times for 100-200 damage per hit. The skeleton warriors are powered up, but don't pose as much of a threat. To win this fight cleanly, take out the skeletons first, preferably with magic. They're the easiest to kill. Then, target the Hellsteed. One round of your characters' attacks should be able to do him in (if not, attack again). MAKE SURE you heal if a character goes under 300 HP. When Yuber is alone, you'll have an easier time, but Yuber is still ridiculously strong. Attack him with magic if you can to make sure you do damage to him. When Yuber goes Berserk, he can do over 300 damage to even the strongest tanks. If you're going to attack him physically, only use EXTREMELY ACCURATE characters; any others will just miss Yuber altogether. Don't be distressed if you have to reset a few times; it's natural for a boss this hard, especially if this is your first time through the game.

After a hard won victory over Yuber, the scene reverts back to the entrance chamber of the Ceremonial Site. Your control will now go to whoever posesses the Water Rune (either Hugo or Chris). You don't need a strong party for the Fire Rune, so take the best characters you have with you. The upcoming battle can easily be compared to Yuber's fight. When you have your party together, set out through the True Water Corridor. You'll encounter similar monsters here, and again, if you don't need leveling up, just ignore them. When you get to the Altar of Water, Sarah stands guard over it this time. Get ready for your next fight, because it's a doozy.

Boss Battle: Sarah, two Azodesses, two Horrobeasts

The new horrobeasts have a huge amount of HP and do 100-150 damage with every hit. The Azodesses now present a bigger problem: They have much more HP than in your previous encounters, and their silencing techniques are much more accurate. On top of all of this, Sarah has a new form of attack: A Pale Gate rune. To survive this fight, you'll need either a Shield Rune for Great Blessing or a Water Rune for Kindness Drops (preferably Water). You'll probably need to use it once a round, and you SHOULD use it once a round. DO NOT cast Silent Lake, it may stop Sarah and the Azodesses from spellcasting, but the Horrobeasts do so much damage that it's a necessity to have magic available to heal. As always, Sarah heals and attacks you even more, inflicting 100-200 points of damage to the entire party. The best way to defend yourself is to use a Mother Earth Rune and cast Canopy Defense every round you can. It will save you more than once. Attack as fast as you can to prevent Sarah from healing before you kill her guards. Kill the Azodesses first again, then whittle away at the Horrobeasts while continually healing. When Sarah is alone, cast Silent Lake on her. She will only be able to use her much weaker physical attack. She can actually dodge quite a bit, but without her magic, she's much more manageable.

Here, you see a brief scene with Sasarai, Dios, Thomas, and Cecile...

Now that the True Lightning Rune and the True Water Rune (and hopefully the True Earth Rune) are back in your posession, it's time to go after the True Fire Rune. You will now be controlling whoever you selected as your Successor. You can also now put everybody (including the other two heroes) in your party. Take whoever you want with you. You don't need a strong party for the True Fire Rune, only enough manpower to fight the monsters on the way to the Altar of Fire. When you get there, Albert will be waiting for you. He willingly hands over the True Fire Rune, explaining his intentions in doing so. Congratulations: You now have your runes back! Save at the Altar of Fire, and when you're ready, go through the exit on the side of the altar to get to the Altar of Wind.

Here, you find your last remaining opponent: Luc. Your Flame Champion steps forward and confronts him, but Luc uses magic, and transports your Flame Champion to a strange place...

You find yourself in a dark, shadowy, yet strangely familiar place (where you are sent will differ depending on who your Flame Champion is). You must now fight off two groups of strange enemies called Guardians. They're easy to beat, and they give out a ton of EXP. When you kill them, Luc appears, and finally explains the true meaning behind his intentions...

Your Flame Champion is transported back to the Altar of Wind, and you are given one last chance to back away before challenging Luc. DO NOT FACE LUC RIGHT AWAY. Instead, go back and save, heal, and complete any remaining side quests. This is your last chance to do any optional castle building or any other side quest in the game.

While Luc awaits you patiently at the Altar of Wind, take your time to prepare for the final fight. Get a strong party together, and equip armor that makes you resistant to one or more elements. Sharpen your weapons up to their maximum level, and upgrade your party's skills at the education and training centers. Take runes into the fight that can hit multiple enemies at once, and also bring with you Mother Earth, Flowing, and Shield Runes; you'll be using them more than once. Also, make sure your characters are at least level 55. If you can get all of them above 60 before the final battle, you shouldn't have as much trouble. When you're ready to confront the final boss, approach Luc in the Ceremonial Site at the Altar of Wind.

This is it: The final fight! I hope you're ready, because it isn't going to be easy. When you refuse to hand over your runes and are determined to stop Luc from taking them, Luc summons the entire power of the True Wind rune and the power of the rune takes a physical form: The final boss!

Final Battle: The Wind Rincar, Fire Crystal, Water Crystal, Earth, Crystal, and Lightning Crystal

If you're level 60 or above, you should be able to stand some of the Wind Rincar's attacks, but you're still going to have a very difficult time. The crystals each have roughly 3,000-5,000 HP each, and the Wind Rincar has nearly 8,000. The Wind Rincar uses a physical attack, two vicious wind element attack, and an ultimate non elemental attack that can deal 200-300 points of damage to your entire party. The Wind Rincar can also, on chance occasions, absorb your magic attacks and hurl them right back at you for extra damage. If this happens, cast Kindness Rain immediately and revive any fallen allies. The four elemental crystals also use a variety of their elemental magic, including defensive and healing spells.

Your first priority is to cast Canopy Defense using a Mother Earth rune. If you don't the combined attacks of all five enemies can wipe out half your party in one round. With Canopy Defense, you become immune to everything except the Wind Rincar's physical attack. The trick is to destroy as many of the five Crystals as you can so that when you can no longer cast Canopy Defense, you won't have to face all five enemies. Cast Clay Guardian as well and make sure you have Kindness Rain and a reviving spell handy; you're going to be using them more than once.

Your first priority is to take out the Water Crystal. If you take out any other crystals before it, the Water Crystal will simply revive them using a healing spell, causing all of your hard work to go to waste. Use Final Flame and other powerful non water magic to kill the Water Crystal (each crystal as well as the Wind Rincar is naturally immune to its own element). Another good idea is to cast magic such as Explosion and Thunderstorm that hit every enemy at once while centering it on the Water Crystal. This way, the Water Crystal as well as the Wind Rincar and the other Crystals get damaged. When you've destroyed the Water Rune (it isn't hard to destroy with only 2,000-3,000 HP), focus next on the Fire and Lightning runes, as they'll cause you major hurt if you don't have Canopy Defense. Keep healing and recasting Canopy Defense every round as long as you can. Use lightning attacks on the Fire Crystal and fire attacks on the Lightning Crystal; but don't spend all of your magic here. Also use physical attacks to take them out (hopefully you brought along a heavy hitter or two). Wait until they're destroyed, then go after the Earth Crystal. The Earth Crystal uses Earthquake and casts defensive spells over itself and its allies, but it doesn't do as much damage, so it isn't that big of a threat. The only problem with the Earth Crystal is its massive HP amount (around 5,000). Unload magic that can hit both the crystal and the Wind Rincar and center it on the Earth Crystal. Also use high level magic that attacks a single enemy, such as Final Flame and Hammer of Raijin. Still, be conservative; you need to save some heat for the Wind Rincar.

When the last crystal is gone, go after the Wind Rincar. Hopefully, by casting magic such as Explosion and Thunderstorm, the Wind Rincar is at least damaged. Now that you have only one foe remaining, hit the Wind Rincar with every spell you have (excluding wind elemental magic, of course). However, the Wind Rincar can actually change its element resistance. This can be annoying at times, but by using all five types of magic, you should still be doing plenty of damage. The Wind Rincar will use its ultimate non elemental attack more and more often. Keep healing with Kindess Rain and Great Blessing, and heal someone whenever their HP goes below 175. When you're out of magic, use physical attacks and any combos you might have in your party to kill the Wind Rincar. By using strategy and tactics, you should be able to kill this bad boy. Congratulations, you've beaten Suikoden 3! Now sit back, watch the ending, and enjoy the secret chapter if you got all 108 stars!

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