Breath of Fire III/Battle System

In many areas of the game, it is possible to encounter enemies and have to face random battles. When you meet an enemy, a ! will appear over the head of one or more of your characters. Breath of Fire III has a turn-based combat system. At the beginning of each battle, the player selects a move for each character of the group from the appropriate menu that appears in the center of the screen. After selecting all the moves, the battle begins. The player-controlled characters and enemies make their moves in an order determined by the agility of each. When each character has made their moves, if there are still living enemies on the battlefield, you need to select the moves again from the appropriate menu. The fight continues until the enemies are defeated or until the group is knocked down (in this case it is game over). The battle menu commands are described below.

Formation
The parameters of each character during the battle and the likelihood of being attacked also depend on the formation used. The formation in use can be changed from the appropriate Tactics section of the main menu. In this section it is possible to select a formation and assign a position to each character, among those in use. Using the most suitable formation and assigning the best position to each character is very important to easily overcome battles. There are six formations in all available in the game. The first three will be learned automatically, progressing in the adventure, while the other three must be learned by as many Masters. The data for each formation are shown below.

Normal
This formation does not benefit any member of the group and everyone has an equal chance of being attacked. To be used only at the beginning of the game, when there are no other formations available yet. After that, it is definitely worth using other better formations.
 * Position 1: no benefits. Chance of being attacked 33%
 * Position 2: no benefits. Chance of being attacked 33%
 * Position 3: no benefits. Chance of being attacked 33%

Attack
Probably the best formation in the game. The leading member of your party is drastically increased his attack power, even if his defense is slightly reduced and he will be more likely to be attacked. Then put a character with high attack and defense values in position 1 to optimize the effects (Ryu is fine) and equip him with a good armor.
 * Position 1: Power +70%; Defense -20%. Chance of being attacked 50%
 * Position 2: no benefits. Chance of being attacked 25%
 * Position 3: no benefits. Chance of being attacked 25%

Defense
Another very useful formation, especially for overcoming the toughest battles. This formation allows you to discreetly increase the defense of all your characters, making them more resistant to enemy attacks. However, keep in mind that your agility will be significantly reduced and that enemies will therefore probably attack first.
 * Position 1: Defense +25%; Agility -33%. Chance of being attacked 33%
 * Position 2: Defense +25%; Agility -33%. Chance of being attacked 33%
 * Position 3: Defense +25%; Agility -33%. Chance of being attacked 33%

Chain
This formation can be taught to you by Bais (see the ../Masters/ section) and allows you to have the agility of the character in position 1 for the whole group, but at a very high price. Your defense is in fact halved. However, by placing a character with high agility in position 1, you may be able to defeat all enemies before being attacked, remaining unscathed. A formation that can give you a great advantage, but also risky.
 * Position 1: Defense -50%. Chance of being attacked 50%
 * Position 2: Defense -50%; same Agility of Position 1. Chance of being attacked 30%
 * Position 3: Defense -50%; same Agility of Position 1. Chance of being attacked 20%

Magic
Lee (see ../Masters/ section) can teach you this formation, in which the group member in position 3 is increased magical power and is also less likely to be attacked than the other two. Putting a character with high magical power like Nina in this position can produce good results. Obviously, however, the magical power of the other two members is reduced at the same time.
 * Position 1: Intelligence -25%. Chance of being attacked: 40%
 * Position 2: Intelligence -25%. Chance of being attacked: 40%
 * Position 3: Intelligence +50%. Chance of being attacked: 20%

Refuge
You can learn this formation from Wynn (see ../Masters/ section). This formation is practically the same as the Normal one. The only difference is that the group member in position 1 is more likely to be attacked than the other two and that all three will recover 1 HP each turn. Definitely not very useful.
 * Position 1: Recovers 1 HP each turn. Chance of being attacked: 50%
 * Position 2: Recovers 1 HP each turn. Chance of being attacked: 25%
 * Position 3: Recovers 1 HP each turn. Chance of being attacked: 25%