7th Dragon III Code: VFD is filled with dragons. Dragonsbane infestations have spread across different time periods, luring them to otherwise peaceful areas. In addition to the ordinary monsters and standard dragons that will stalk dungeons, there are two more extraordinary sorts of encounters people can have as they play. High and True dragons will often appear to test your limits at the game’s most important intervals.
It’s best to think of High and True dragons as boss encounters in 7th Dragon III Code: VFD. While some of the ordinary dragons, which could crash into your party or existing battle like an Etrian Odyssey F.O.E., can be fearsome, they don’t prepare you for these more advanced encounters. We’ve already gone over the standard dragon encounters, but they’re nothing compared to High and True dragon fights. Each turn, a High or True dragon will get to perform two attacks, and they’re never going to do something “nice” like sit back and defend. They’ll always use some sort of special attack or skill.
High dragons are 7th Dragon III Code: VFD’s mini-bosses. These will be scattered throughout a chapter and are a good way of determining your level of preparedness for that chapter’s True dragon. They won’t have similar attacks, but they’ll be far more powerful than the ordinary dragons roaming around the area. Think of them as the game’s means of testing your raw skill and abilities. High dragons will be fast, often have attacks that will hit every party member at once, and will apply status ailments to party members early in each battle and buffs to themselves almost immediately.
The good news is, you won’t often have to worry about situations with High dragons where you’ll need to call in an ally from the reserves to break through their defenses. The bad news is, this is because your party is often split up when encountering High dragons in 7th Dragon III Code: VFD. Due to the large number of warriors who’ll join your group, the game often forces your paths to diverge. Each time this happens, without fail, some High dragon is going to wait as a mini-boss for that smaller group.
Let’s take Chapter 5 as an example. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the story.) Since you’ll have nine people in your party by this point, 7th Dragon III Code: VFD splits you into three groups of three. Each one has a High dragon to defeat, with a save point conveniently placed before the encounter. You will need it, because all three of these foes are basically at the same level as an early True dragon. No warning is given regarding each path’s difficulty, so your most recently formed third team could very likely end up facing one of the most difficult dragons. Each High dragon in this portion has a gimmick, with the most hazardous utilizing an Instakill attack.
In fact, when I did play, my newest and weakest members went against this baddie. 7th Dragon III Code: VFD warned me about this High Dragon’s tendency to Instakill a whole party. I figured it was an exaggeration and went into the battle anyway. It killed my entire team in one shot. I had to reload, return to the present time period, purchase Dead Guard accessories for each of them, and hope for the best since a Dead Guard only has a 50% chance of preventing Instakill. I was fortunate in that, prior to the encounter, I had already been focusing on healing and resurrection skills for my Mage and second God Hand. Unfortunately, my new Banisher was the only person left standing after the High dragon’s Instakill assault, and I needed to use Hypno Crystal and valuable turns bringing the Mage and God Hand back to the battle. It’s that kind of scrambling you can expect from both High and True dragon fights.
It’s almost like 7th Dragon III Code: VFD throws so many ordinary dragon attacks and High dragon tests to ensure you don’t panic when fighting the True dragons. Keeping up a set and reliable strategy for a team can help you with encounters, and True dragons live to muck up your plans. They could keep you from using skills. They will buff themselves up early on, at a point where it isn’t possible to immediately break through their attacks and defenses. It is very possible for True dragons after the third chapter to kill a party member in one shot, if you aren’t careful. The last two True dragons in particular are incredibly devious opponents that could wipe out an entire party, even with healing and buffs, within two turns. They make Nyala and Spectus, the first True dragons you face, seem like ordinary encounters. I had to fight the final chapter five True dragon, whose identity is a delightful surprise, three times. The first two times I panicked, because targeting led to my supporters being taken out quicker than I anticipated. I’m still convinced I only survived the third time due to the right Duelist cards coming up to lay the final trap necessary to hit this boss with the Judgment attack.
Fortunately, I have a few strategies I’ve picked up that might help get you through one of these fights. You need one person in your party that is a dedicated healer and/or supporter. This is the character that could very well be using a heal spell every other turn. I use a Fortuner who constantly keeps the Forest Poetry health regenerating spell up, as well as the Dynamic and Magic Negate abilities that maintain increased physical and magical defense. The downside to this is, it means she has to use items for general healing. Which is fine, there are plenty that can target all allies. It’s important to also have one ally who can deal magical damage. If someone goes with a Mage, this character can also act as a backup healer. I prefer a Duelist, because I tend to have him set out the traps that could also inflict a status effect or lead to the majorly damaging Judgment attack if all three are out and tripped.
Finally, you need a damage dealer. 7th Dragon III Code: VFD goes all out to give you options in this area. The Samurai is fantastic if you want him to constantly keep assaulting the True dragon, even when the allies have fallen. His Invigorate can keep him healed, alive, and in top condition even if he’s the last man standing. His attack and defense increasing buffs, which affect only him, last 10 turns. He’s a powerhouse. Similarly, the Banisher has multiple bomb attacks that all deal increased damage to dragons, True dragons included. The trade-off is a need to reload and slightly lower defense at times than more focused attackers like the Samurai, Rune Knight, or God Hand. I prefer the God Hand myself, simply because my primary party does only have a Fortuner in the healing/support role and having a backup healer who has a tendency to keep herself alive with liberal use of the draining Drill Crawler suits me.
Finally, make sure you use a Unison Attack whenever you can. This is the ability that allows every character in the party to attack during the next round, regardless of how much mana they have or whether they’re in the field. Everyone has to be alive to trigger this, so keep things together until you can unleash at least one of these in a True dragon battle. It will turn the tide and give you an immediate chance to put all kinds of buffs and debuffs into effect, as well as deal massive damage.
Basically, the same advice I gave a month regarding regular dragons ago holds true here too. Fight every dragon. Even if it’s tedious. Even if it’s annoying. Those ordinary dragon encounters are going to get you into the right mindset to anticipate any unexpected assault a High or True dragon might launch. You’re going to get the experience and skill points necessary to max out the best healing, buffing, and damage dealing abilities. Plus, you’ll have the money needed for last minute expenditures on sudden accessories that might ward off. Use High dragon fights to assess your progress. Be prepared to spend additional time grinding thereafter, because the True dragons don’t mess around. Only deviate from patterns you know work when absolutely necessary, because the True dragons will surprise you when you panic.
7th Dragon III Code: VFD is immediately available for the Nintendo 3DS in North America and Japan.
Published: Jul 12, 2016 01:30 pm