BREATH OF FIRE V - DRAGON QUARTER (US)
GUIDE TO ATTAIN A PERFECT D-RATIO
VERSION: 2.0
by: Brian Watters
[email protected]   or   [email protected]

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| INDEX (Ctrl+F to Jump to Section)                                       |
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| X0001: INTRODUCTION & VERSION HISTORY                                   |
| X0002: UNDERSTANDING THE D-RATIO                                        |
| X0003: SETTING UP BEFORE THE GAME                                       |
| X0004: RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT                                            |
| X0005: DURING THE "PERFECT" GAME ATTEMPT                                |
| X0006: OPTIMIZE THE USE OF YOUR DRAGON POWER (D-Dive/D-Count)           |
| X0007: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS                                              |
| X0008: QUIT (from menu) - Explanation                                   |
| X0009: GIVE UP (from menu) - Description                                |
| X0010: SoL: RESTORE (from GIVE UP menu) - Description                   |
| X0011: USING SoL:RESTORE FOR ITEMS AND PARTY EXP                        |
| X0012: SoL: RESTART (from GIVE UP menu) - Description                   |
| X0013: Credits & Legal Issues                                           |
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| X0001: INTRODUCTION & VERSION HISTORY                                   |
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This guide contains some spoilers since it's a guide to "master" the game.
I recommend not reading this guide if this is your first time playing.

Having played through this game about 10 times in total, the following are
my recommendations to attain a 1/4 D-Ratio (a perfect rating). Getting a
perfect rating is arguably the "purpose" of this game. It is fairly
difficult to do, and this guide is designed to help people achieve it.

First of all, it is mathematically impossible to achieve a 1/4 D-Ratio on
your first play-through. You should follow a full walkthrough for your very
first play-through, and probably your second play-through as well. The full
walkthroughs, however, will not necessarily help you to get a 1/4 D-Ratio.
This guide should be used once you have completed the game at least once.
Furthermore, this guide should be used on a new+ game, not a first attempt.
Following my recommendations in this guide should make it easy for you to
get a perfect 1/4 D-Ratio (with a little practice).

Please send me an email if you have any particular questions or concerns.

v1.0 - Dec 27, 2009 - Original document outline (still at 1/16 D-Ratio)
v2.0 - Jan 20, 2010 - Completed document having personally attained 1/4

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| X0002: UNDERSTANDING THE D-RATIO                                        |
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The D-Ratio is your game's "rating" or "score". If you play poorly, then
your D-Ratio may not improve (but it can never go down). If you play well,
it may improve thus unlocking additional scenes in the game or additional
rooms to explore. The following items contribute to your "score":

(refer to Kouli's guide on GameFAQs for a more detailed list here)

A) Game Clear Time
     Maximum of 10 points for finishing the game in under 8 hours.
     Note that when I got 1/4, the game took me about 7 hours.
     Time spent in Kokon Dungeon does not count towards this time.
     Note that when I got 1/4, Kokon took me about 3 hours.
     You should expect around 7-10 points here.
B) EX TURN Acquisition Percentage
     Maximum of 10 points for getting EX TURN at least 95% of the time.
     I didn't keep an exact count, but I definitely got above 90% here.
     You should expect around 7-10 points here.
C) Map Completion Percentage
     Maximum of 10 points for clearing at least 98% of all rooms.
     You must enter each section of each room, thus making it "appear".
     on the individual floor's map in order to get 100% completion.
     Once your D-Ratio is about 1/64 or better, all rooms are unlocked.
     You should get 10 points here. Just be careful not to miss any room.
D) Number of Unlocked and Opened Blue Treasure Chests
     Maximum of 10 points for opening 42 Blue Chests.
     It is only possible to get 42 Blue Chests, so you must get them all.
     This number disregards Blue Chests from Kokon Dungeon.
     You should get 10 points here. Just be careful not to miss one.
E) Number of Saves
     Maximum of 10 points for zero saves using a save token.
     You can use the "Quit" function from the menu without affecting saves.
     Warning: if you are using a PAL version, Quit does not work properly.
     When I got 1/4, I used one "hard" save right before doing Kokon.
     Expect 9 points here (US version) or 7-8 points (PAL version).
F) Number of Kokon Horay Levels Cleared
     Maximum of 10 points for clearing all 50 levels.
     You should definitely get 10 points here.
G) Average Level of Ryu, Nina, and Lin Upon Completing the Game
     Maximum of 50 points for an average character level of 50.
     You should definitely get 50 points here.

The total possible score from A+B+C+D+E+F+G equals 110. You only need a
score of 100 or higher to get the highest possible D-Ratio of 1/4.

Adding the likely scores indicated above:
7to10 + 7to10 + 10 + 10 + 7to9 + 10 + 50 = 101 to 109
The game does not tell you your exact score, but I estimate I got 108.

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| X0003: SETTING UP BEFORE THE GAME                                       |
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The following tips are not all essential, but are highly recommended if
you hope to continue a "cleared" game and attempt to get a 1/4 D-Ratio:

* Play through the game fully at least 3 times to get all the best skills
  and equipment. Especially Nina's 30 AP direct damage attacks.
* Recommend equipping the shield skill "Leech Power" to everyone.
* Make sure you have 1,500,000 Party Exp saved up first, and make sure
  your equipment is finalized before you begin your 1/4 D-Ratio attempt.
* 1,000,000 Party Exp is required to get your 3 characters to Level 50.
* Another 400,000 is required to get your 3 characters to Level 40 to
  breeze through Kokon dungeon. Keep the remaining 100,000 (future games).
* It takes about 40 SoL:Restore's to get 1,500,000 Party Exp from the
  Geovator fight with Origin & the Clones. You can get 40,000 Party Exp
  per fight (kill both clones on turns 1, 2, & 3, also kill Origin turn 3).
* It's about 4 minutes per SoL:Restore, so 4 min x 40 = about 3 hours...
  it's not too tedious (compared to other RPG's) to get enough Party Exp.
* Also, make sure you have a decent amount of zenny (500,000) before your
  new 1/4 attempt game (you will want it to buy restorative items).
* Your money carries over from previous clears, so it's easy to get.
* Finally, make sure to have about 80 AP Up's saved in your stored item
  list. When you start a new game (from a cleared game), your stored items
  aren't lost. You can get 80 AP Up's by performing SoL:Restore in areas
  where enemies give you frequent AP Up's. Your stored items are accessed
  by talking to the girl that identifies weapons and selecting Item Linker.
* But take note that any items in your backpack are lost forever when
  starting a new game.

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| X0004: RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT                                            |
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(Requires going through Kokon Dungeon on at least 1 previous play-through)
Note: to access Kokon use a Fairy Drops or talk to the fairy in any town,
make sure your ants have dug all the way to Kokon, talk to the fairy in
the colony and select "move", then select the dungeon. That takes you to
the entrance, and you must then walk into the dungeon to begin level 1.

Ryu: Dragon Blade+X (accuracy/range) - found near Odjn in 2nd play-through
     Legend Blade+9 (power) - found in Kokon Dungeon
     Violet Blade+X (speed) - found after defeating Violet

Nina: Wizard Wand +9 - found in Kokon Dungeon
      Wizard Wand +7 - found in Kokon Dungeon
      Holy Heart (kills undead) - found in Kokon Dungeon or in Nina Shop

      Note: although it's possible to get two Wizard Wand +9's, it is
      better to keep a +7 and a +9 to avoid confusion. I recommend
      attaching Nina's 9 direct damage skills to the +9, and whatever else
      you like to the +7. Since the Holy Heart has long range, it should
      also be full of direct damage skills. Furthermore, keep your skills
      consistent (for example, the X button for 10, 20, and 30 AP skills
      should all be the same element, so you can combo easier against
      enemies with a certain weakness).

Lin: Sniperscope+X (accuracy/range) - found occasionally in shops or boxes
     Grenade+9 (power) - found in Kokon Dungeon
     Third one is up to you, perhaps an elemental weapon of your choice
     I personally use a high level Autorifle (found in many places)

Armor: Each character should have one with high defense, one with high
       move, but typically equip the one with status immunity. Sometimes
       you may need to equip one with high move to take a few extra steps
       in combat, but afterwards you should re-equip the one with status
       immunity. You can buy the armors with status immunity from the last
       shop in the game, just before the Geovator fight against the Clones.

Shield: Recommend equipping one with "Leech Power" threaded, and never
        change your shield since it wastes time. You can find one good
        thread-able shield for each character in Kokon Dungeon. Also carry
        the high defense sheild for each character from Kokon, and for the
        third shield carry one that halves damage. It may be a good idea
        to equip your least favorite character with the -30 AP shield that
        halves all damage when you play through Kokon, to stay safe.

Special Note - Violet Blade
Every time you beat the game, the next time you pick up this weapon,
its level will increase +1. I have confirmed this up to +5 so far.

Special Note - Dragon Blade
Upon beating the game at least once, walk right at the intersection where
Odjn is. Head down to the area below him and you will see a shiny sword.
The higher your D-Ratio, the higher +X it will be. This is the best sword.
When my D-Ratio was 1/16, the Dragon Blade was +8 as I recall.

Special Note - Sniperscope
This weapon for Lin can be difficult to find. I have found a basic
Sniperscope for sale is various shops, and have found Sniperscope+3
in a random box before the Centre area. If you find one, hold on to it.

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| X0005: DURING THE "PERFECT" GAME ATTEMPT                                |
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* Immediately upon starting the new 1/4 attempt game, use Party Exp to
  raise Ryu, Nina, & Lin to Level 50 as soon as possible. Ignore Bosch.
* Immediately use all 80 AP Up's on your characters, preferably Ryu.
* Typically put Ryu in the lead because he is the best at getting EX TURN.
  Lin may be able to get the long range EX TURN, but Ryu is generally
  better because he can quickly swing his sword at charging genics.
  Only use Nina for EX TURN when you can easily lure the enemies with bait.
* Always carry 10 Fresh Meat or similar items to use as bait.
* Using the Dragon Blade, use Ryu's Side Slash + Vertical Slash combo
  attack often, resulting in the powerful X Blade spread attack. You
  should only do this with the Dragon Sword because of its accuracy bonus.
* Always press START then X to skip the talking scenes. If you don't, your
  time limit will be hurt significantly.
* Always use QUIT, and never use a Save Token. This creates a temporary
  "soft save" and doesn't count against your number of saves. For those of
  you using PAL, you must use a "hard save" and take the score penalty.
* Never change your skills in any of your weapons. This wastes time.
  Set up all your equipment properly before starting the game.
* You must get every Blue Chest - only kill genics required to get the
  keys to the chests, throw bait and run past the other genics. You can
  buy more bait, but you can't buy more time.
* Make sure you always have at least one backpack spot for Blue Chests.
  I believe you must always remove the contents of the Blue Chests or else
  the game won't consider that chest "opened".
* After getting the chest, throw away whatever you got from the chest
  immediately. You should not need anything from any of the blue chests.
* You must clear every possible room including the D-Ratio locked rooms.
  This requires some back-tracking in just a few places.
* Never pick up any items on the ground, and never get contents from any
  basic boxes. It's pointless since your equipment is already max.
* Never use Ryu/Nina/Lin to attack any White/Yellow/Orange/etc boxes.
  You don't need items except healing items which you can buy in stores.
* Don't pick up any new equipment found in the new game. Your equipped
  equipment must already be optimized before starting the new game.
* Again, resist the urge to pick up anything laying on the ground, no
  matter what it is. You don't need it, and it wastes precious time.
* Don't pick up HP/Str/Def/Agi/Mov stat increasing items. Again, this
  wastes your time, and you are level 50 so you don't need stat bonuses.
* Items you might consider picking up:
  AP Up's - you will likely save up about 15 of these during your
  playthrough. Do not use them! Save them for use inside Kokon.
  Consider picking up 7th Sense's and the attack+25% boost for boss use.
  Consider picking up items that restore your AP gauge for use in Kokon.
* Discard any item you accidentally pick up without hesitation.
* Only purchase and hold on to restorative items and tonics as required,
  don't buy anything else, not even status heal items.
* You should typically equip all 3 characters with the armor that
  prevents all status changes, so you should not need to heal status.
* Finish battles fast: focus on speed rather than preventing damage.
* Make sure to get a Fairy Drops once in one of the towns... but only
  use the Fairy Drops once: in order to go through Kokon dungeon.
  All other actions in the fairy colony only waste your time.
* Recommend Kokon near the end of the game (right before Geovator battle).
  Reason: take a full backpack with many Trauma Kits & Tonics.
* Time spent inside Kokon does not count against your play time.
* Don't bite off more than you can chew inside Kokon. If you try to fight
  all genics on a floor in a single battle, you might die (later floors).
* Keep your characters spaced out in the Kokon battles. Getting hit with a
  few area attacks could wipe out your party if you aren't careful.
* Only in Kokon: equip one character with a -30 AP half-all-damage shield.
* Do not use any SoL:Restore's - this hurts your time. You are at level 50
  already, so you do not need to SoL:Restart or SoL:Restore.
* When you first gain D-Dash, abuse it! It only hurts your D-Counter after
  your first fight against Bosch. So... don't use D-Dash after that fight.
* I finished in 7 hours without using D-Dash except before 1st Bosch fight.
* Don't transform into a dragon on the first several bosses. And never let
  Ryu's turn end if he is still a dragon (2% for nothing... ouch!)

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| X0006: OPTIMIZE THE USE OF YOUR DRAGON POWER (D-Dive/D-Count)           |
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For those of you who don't know: you die and it's game over if your
D-Counter reaches 100% (the big number in the corner of the screen).
Therefore, you must make the best use of your limited dragon power.
This is arguably the most annoying aspect of the game, but it makes the
game much more challenging and strategy-oriented. The guide below assumes
you are Level 50 and therefore have a very high attack strength.

* If you have one, you can use a 7th Sense or Attack Boost +25% on Ryu
  before transforming. This reduces the number of "D-Charge's" needed by 1.
* For most difficult bosses: D-Dive (1%), Charge (2%), Charge again (2%),
  Twister (1.5%), Twister again if needed (1.5%).
* Versus Origin: Charge 3 times then Twister Origin twice (ignore clones).
* Versus Bosch when he transforms into a half-dragon (when he looks like
  Ryu's dragon): Charge three times then Twister twice.
* Example: 1% 1st fight vs. Bosch, 6.5% final fight vs. Tantra,
  0% vs. Regen Bosch, 6.5% vs. Daemond, 6.5% vs. next Regent,
  8% vs. last regent, 10% vs. Origin, 6.5% vs. Bosch, 10% vs. D Bosch,
  20% for random walking around = about 75% used in total.
* It is easy to finish with < 30% on your counter. But instead, use your
  dragon power to finish the hard fights quickly, in a single turn.
* But don't abuse it or you will die.  I recommend using the above
  percentages as indicated (approximately).
* Even the most powerful bosses take less than one minute to defeat if you
  use your dragon power properly, whereas the boss may have taken 5 to 10
  minutes without using your dragon power.
* Alternatively, you could use your D-Dash ability on the field more often
  as long as you are willing to spend the extra minutes on the boss fights.
* Vs Dover (Kokon boss), have Ryu go first, D-Dive (1%) then Vortex (1%),
  then revert to normal Ryu, then have all 3 characters attack Dover for
  big damage. Repeat this process each turn. This fight is extremely long
  unless you follow this exact procedure.

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| X0007: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS                                              |
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* I recommend keeping a copy of the world map printed out for reference
  when you are trying to get 1/4 D-Ratio. I also personally marked on the
  map which rooms have Blue Chests... this helped me a great deal.
* Ryu's "Discharge" is generally not worth using since you play for speed.
* Lin's "Shatter" does a ton of damage when standing right next to an
  enemy. However, it is ineffective against a few enemies.
* Ryu's "Reversal" is also generally not worth using. Ryu's power will be
  so high at Level 50 that two Slice's do more than one Reversal.
* Item shops for ants: after putting ants to work there, don't forget to
  go to the shop and choose which shop type you want.
* But remember, when trying for 1/4 D-Ratio, only use the fairy colony
  once, and only use it to go to Kokon dungeon.

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| X0008: QUIT (from menu) - Explanation                                   |
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* Makes a temporary save (US/JP versions only), and ends the game. When you
  continue, the temporary save is immediately deleted... permanently.
* You can turn off the PlayStation(R) power without having to find a save
  point, and this doesn't increase your total # of saves.
* Any time you are attempting to increase your D-Ratio, you should always
  use "Quit" instead of using Save Tokens (and pray that your power never
  flickers off... don't play during a thunderstorm... seriously...
  otherwise you may have to start from the beginning)

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| X0009: GIVE UP (from menu) - Description                                |
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* Brings up the SoL Restore/Restart menu. If you do it from the menu, you
  keep all your Zenny & Party XP. If the SoL menu is brought up by any
  other means, you lose half of each (avoid this at all cost).

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| X0010: SoL: RESTORE (from GIVE UP menu) - Description                   |
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* This will take you back to your last "hard save" using a save token.
* You Retain: Party Exp, Equipment, skills, zenny, items/equipment in
  the storage locker, game time, and fairy colony progress.
* You Lose: any % changes to your D-counter, level & stats of characters,
  all items in backpack, and any game progress (such as cleared rooms,
  boxes opened, and genics defeated).
* Whatever was in your backpack is gone, instead you have 5 heal kits,
  1 tonic, and 1 save token (US & JP versions).

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| X0011: USING SoL:RESTORE FOR ITEMS AND PARTY EXP                        |
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SoL:Restore may seem complicated if you have not done it before, but if you
do not use SoL:Restore it would take you a ridiculous amount of time to get
enough Party Exp to raise your characters to Level 50. Follow these steps:

Step 1) Save your game using a Save Token (thus creating a "hard save").
Step 2) Fight a battle or battles as desired, thus earning Party Exp, but
        do not use this Party Exp on any character.
Step 3) Open boxes and Blue Chests as desired and keep or sell the items.
Step 4) If you have earned items you wish to keep since your "hard save",
        then store those items in your item storage locker by talking to
        the girl that identifies unknown weapons and select Item Linker.
Step 5) DO NOT save your game with a Save Token, this is very important!
Step 6) Select "Give Up" from the main menu, and then select "SoL:Restore"
        This will overwrite your previous "hard save" with a new one.
        Be very careful not to select "SoL:Restart" or you will cry.
Step 7) Your game will automatically end and "Retries" increases by one.
Step 8) Load the new "hard save".
Step 9) You will still have all the Party Exp that you have earned, and
        your items in the item storage locker will still be there, and
        your D-Counter percentage will revert to the value of your
        previous "hard save" back when you used the save token.

Discussion: You may use the above procedure an unlimited number of times
in order to gain large amounts of Party Exp, or in order to stock up on
large quantities of rare items such as Gold Exp or AP Up. The only real
drawback is that it increases your "Retries" and basically labels you as
as cheater. I don't generally like to cheat on any games, but in this
case I did because it would take at least 10 play-throughs to get enough
Party Exp to try to reach Level 50 for your 1/4 D-Ratio attempt.

For the purpose of this guide, I recommend you use the SoL:Restore
function until you have 1,500,000 Party Exp and 80 AP Up's. If you begin
a new+ game starting with that much Party Exp and AP Up, you will have a
much easier time getting a perfect 1/4 D-Ratio.

The best place to get Party Exp quickly is during the fight with Origin on
the Geovator. Abuse D-Dive to kill 2 clones on turn 1, 2 clones on turn 2,
and 2 clones then Origin on turn 3 to get 40,000 Party Exp. Killing them
all on turn 1 will only get you 15,000 Party Exp. Make a "hard save" with
a save token immediately before the Geovator. Note that you will not be
able to save any items and any items in your backpack will be lost. After
the battle, use the SoL:Restore function. Also note that if Ryu is not in
dragon form when a turn ends, there is a chance that Origin will not
create more clones... so always make sure to remain in dragon form. To get
1,500,000 Party Exp, it took me about 3 hours.

There are several places where AP Up's are abundant, but I personally
prefer getting them from defeating numerous Brokenheart genics just after
MidSector Borough. So I make a "hard save" with a save token at MidSector
Mall. Then, defeat Brokenheart genics and collect AP Up's. Next, deposit
all your AP Up's in the item storage locker at Trinity Pit. Finally, use
the SoL:Restore function. To get 80 AP Up's, it took me about 3 hours.

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| X0012: SoL: RESTART (from GIVE UP menu) - Description                   |
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* Starts you at the beginning of the game with 0% D counter, but retains
  everything else including items/backpack pages/time/etc. I think. I can't
  confirm this because I've never used it, never plan to use it, and...
* I recommend that you never using this, unless this is the very first time
  you have ever played this game and you made a big mistake. But personally,
  if you did make a big mistake your first time (like me), you might as
  well just start a totally new game and overwrite your failed attempt.

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| X0013: Credits & Legal Issues                                           |
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Although I've typed this myself, I feel I should give thanks to everyone
else whose work I have read and used while playing this great game, making
this possible. If any of you feel I have not given you enough credit,
please let me know:

        [email protected]   or   [email protected]

Thanks to everyone whose work I have read & used on GameFAQs:

Billy Lee
Cyril
DavidK519
Split Infinity / Xythar
HolyLancer9
Ryu Killer Dragon
lvl53sora
Kouli
Raiu
Wild Aggies' TestaALT
Elkayhm
DeeBlackthorne

And a big thanks for the World Map goes out to: XenoXiaoyu

Legal Issues: Don't try to make any profit from this guide.
              I only want this guide to be posted on GameFAQs.com.
              You can make a link to the GameFAQs page if you want.
              But, please don't post this guide anywhere else.
              Don't sign up my email for any junk mail or promotions.
              But feel free to email me any questions about this game.