Quick Suikoden III question

[Dahne]

Is there ANY way to use Fire magic without blowing my own people up?

[SoulBlazer]

Not quite sure what you mean. :/

I used Fire magic all the time without a problem -- you just got to make sure that the foes you are using it on don't have reflect or anything else like that. It's used the same way that any other spell is. I don't recall ever having the spell 'backfire' on me, though.

[Dahne]

You're probably thinking of Suikoden 1 and 2. The problem is, in Suikoden 3, fire magic hits all enemies *and allies* in the area. If you defend, the enemies come to you. If you attack, you go to the enemies. I can't find a way to keep the enemies far enough away that the spell will hit them without hitting my people too.

[maxlords]

There really isn't. Much as I love the story and characters...the combat system in Suikoden 3 was total ass and made you REALLY avoid using area effect spells like that that also hit your own characters. Occasionally I had success by having one team cast fire spells and the other two defend or heal, but it's a pain in the ass really. Magic go so ass-raped in that game :(

[SoulBlazer]

Oh, right. Sorry I forgot about that -- I bought Suikoden 3 the day it came out and tore through it in a two week period, and have'nt touched it since. While I do enjoy the game, it's my least favorite of the series.

I always just used the Auto battle command except for the boss fights, honestly. ;)

[Kid Fenris]

Is there ANY way to use Fire magic without blowing my own people up?

Your best bet is to give the fire magic to your fastest (or highest-level) character. He or she will sometimes get off the spell before the enemies act, though that works best when you're much more powerful than the foes in question. Fire magic also works well on the rare enemies that don't move. Other than that, fire BAD.

But then, you're probably not playing Suikoden III, now that Snake Eater is out.

[Dahne]

Damn straight. :D

[Funkenstein]

The only way I was ever able to do it was by basically unloading any fire magic I was planning on using first, and have everyone else hold back and defend for a while. It's a remarkably poor way to play the game though, and towards the end I basically did what most people end up doing and abandoned fire magic altogether. You can get by without it pretty easily.

Either that or only have characters in your party than can attack long-range (through either magic or guns/bows) so they don't get hit by the splash. *shakes head* I've heard they revamped the battle system for IV so it's not quite as crap-tacular.