Dragon Transformations Guide
As with all previous Breath of Fire games, Ryu's special powers enable him to transform into a Dragon. This is the first Breath of Fire game though that incorporates a new system that involves Dragon Genes which are found throughout the world. For more information on where each Dragon Gene Location is follow the link provided to be taken to that guide.
When you decide to transform into a Dragon you'll be able to pick up to three different Genes which will enhance that transformation. Some of these Genes won't boost your abilities but instead will allow you to change which Dragon form you transform into. For example, Fusion gene guarantees you'll be a hybrid of some kind and the Flame Gene will guarantee you share some fire properties.
As you play the game you'll have to learn which transformations you like best and also which Genes are good for using with each other. If you don't feel like learning all of this and you'd rather just hear from me which Dragon Transformations I used/found best, head over to Almar's Most Used Dragon Transformations Guide and I will go into more detail there.
For everyone else who wants to make their own decisions and experiment a bit, you'll find the rest of this guide broken into two parts. The first part, just below this paragraph, breaks down the Dragon Genes into two categories, Enhancing Genes and Primary Genes. Enhancing Genes are ones that you'll use to boost the power of a transformation whereas Primary Genes will be the Genes you use to determine your transformation.
Enhancing Genes
Flame - (Flame Claw & Breath)
Frost - (Frost Claw & Breath)
Thunder - (Thunder Claw & Breath)
Shadow - (Shadow Breath and Chlorine)
Defender - (Dragon Breath, Snap and Counter)
Eldritch - Grants Remedy, Restore, Vitalize & Tier 3 Magic (Inferno if Flame; Blizzard if Frost; Myollnir if Lightning)
Primary Genes
Reverse - Reverses the property you choose for your dragon. It basically takes up a whole slot and defeats the purpose of a previous slot.
Thorn - A balanced dragon
Miracle - Allows Behemoth Dragon Transformation (MeteorStrike, Blitz and Charge abilities)
Fusion - Allows Hybrid Dragon Transformation
Force - Allows Warrior Dragon Transformation (Gambit and Aura Abilities)
Gross - Terrible
??? - Allows Mammoth & Golden Knight Hybrid Dragon Transformations
Mutant - Allows Pygmy Dragon Transformation
Trance - Allows Tiamat (Shadow + Trance) and Myrmidon (Force + Trance). Comes with abilites of all different elemental types.
Failure - Nothing
Radiance - Shining Claw and Divine Breath abilities
Infinity - Allows Kaiser Dragon Transformation
Whelp
This is the first Dragon Transformation you'll ever be able to do and it is by far the weakest. In order to transform into a Whelp, all you need to do is use a single Dragon Gene when you go to transform. A single gene of *most* types will get you the Whelp transformation.
The type of Whelp you transform into determines on the gene that's used. Fire will be a fire whelp, Ice an ice whelp and so on and so forth.
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Dragon Transformation
This is one of the most common larger Dragon Transformations which is made by combining any two of the following genes; Flame, Frost, Thunder, Shadow, Radiance, Defender, Eldritch and Thorn. The type of dragon that you get will determine on which Dragon Genes you use for the transformation.
Breath and Snap are two abilities that this dragon has.
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Trygon Transformation
The Trygon gets its name since it's the combination of the Flame, Frost and Thunder Genes. This dragon can use the abilities; Flame Breath, Frost Breath, Thunder Breath, Dragon Breath and Snap. Since you get the Flame, Frost and Thunder Genes early on in Breath of Fire III it's one of the easiest to make good early Dragon Transformations.
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Hybrid Dragon Transformation
The Hybrid Dragon is one of the more unique Dragon Transformations since it will change depending on the allies you have in your team when you use it. Some of the transformations with the Fusion Gene are very powerful, like the Tiger Transformation shown in the screen shot above. It comes with an ability called Shadowwalk which costs a decent amount of AP but always Critically Hits.
Much like the Infinity Gene, the Fusion Gene is a dominant gene. For those who don't know much Biology that means if you use Fusion with basically any other Genes (with the exception Infinity) it'll be the dominant gene and make you into a Hybrid.
Hybrid Fusion Transformations:
Tiger Transformation - Rei + Momo or Nina
Onion Transformation - Peco + Garr or Rei
Knight Transformation - Momo + Nina or Peco
Avian Transformation - Nina + Garr or Peco
Whelp Transformation - Garr + Momo or Rei
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Behemoth Transformation
Behemoth form is one of the only dragon forms that changes the battle chemistry to just Ryu. This form is so large that Ryu takes the place of all three party members and takes on the enemies all by himself. After he loses this form, your party returns and the battle continues like normal.
For this reason, the Behemoth form is good to use when you have a weaker party or are against enemies that confuse/inflict lots of status ailments. Aside from extremely high defense, HP and attack power the Behemoth comes equipped with hard hitting AoE attacks like MeteorStrike and Blitz.
Behemoth Transformation Gene Combination:
Miracle Gene combined with any other Dragon Gene. Exceptions include, ???, Failure, Fusion. Also if you use the Miracle Gene with Shadow/Trance or with Force/Trance or with Thorn/Reverse you won't get a Behemoth transformation.
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Tiamat Dragon Transformation
Much like the Behemoth Dragon Transformation, Tiamat takes place of your entire party - leaving only Ryu on the field. The Tiamat dragon form has extremely high stats, devastating AoE attacks and as far as I was able to tell, is immune to all status changes.
Tiamat is one of the most powerful and cheapest to maintain AP wise dragon forms. It's not as good for boss fights since he lacks really hard hitting attacks but he'll lay waste to most regular enemies throughout the game. Doom Breath, Venom Breath and Shadow Breath are the three signature attacks that come with the Tiamat Dragon Transformation.
Tiamat Transformation Gene Combination:
Shadow + Trance Gene Combination will always form the Tiamat. I'd recommend using Defender or some other stat boosting gene with it.
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Warrior Transformation
Warrior is a dragon that looks like Ryu just with clawed feet, a tail and wings. It comes with the Gambit, Aura and Focus abilities, Aura is a super powerful holy attack but costs 20 AP. You can perform this Dragon Transformation by using the Force Gene.
This is one of my favorite Dragon Transformations due to the speed of which he attacks, increased health and attack power. If you're looking to just take your ordinary Ryu and make him extremely OP this is the way to go. Aura is also a devastating attack if you can keep refueling his AP.
Warrior Transformation Gene Combination:
The Force Gene used with any Gene EXCEPT, Miracle, Trance, Failure, Fusion or Infinity will make the Warrior Dragon Transformation. Use the other elements/genes available to you to change what type of Warrior Transformation you want.
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Myrmidon Dragon Transformation
Myrmidon is the Dragon Transformation that I found myself using most of the time. You can perform this transformation by combining the Force and Trance genes along with an elemental gene or some other gene that will boost your potential. The Myrmidon comes with high attack power, speed and HP along with a different Dragon Claw ability for almost every elemental type.
Since the Myrmidon comes equipped with a bunch of different elemental attacks it allows you the diversity needed to attack almost any enemies weak point. All of that strength and it only costs 16 AP a turn to keep the Myrmidon form active.
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Pygmy Dragon Transformation
This Dragon Transformation is basically just a worthless transformation. The Pygmy has some decent stats but all around it's pretty terrible of a transformation. Unless you wanna see the sprite's animations and stuff I would recommend you just avoid this one altogether.
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Kaiser Dragon Transformation
Using the Infinity Gene with any other Dragon Genes (except the Golden Kaiser combination) will result in the regular Kaiser. The Kaiser Dragon Transformation is one of the most costly ones out there and honestly it's not worth the price. In this transformation you lose all control over Ryu, he'll have the Berserk status ailment on himself and you won't be able to dispell it.
Both regular and Golden Kaiser forms are immune to all status changes.
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Kaiser 2 Dragon Transformation
The Golden Kaiser Dragon Transformation, not to be confused with the regular Kaiser transformation, is the most costly transformation in the entire game. The only difference between the Golden Kaiser and the regular Kaiser is the Golden one you have full control over.
Both regular and Golden Kaiser forms are immune to all status changes.