Briggs

Briggs (パヤヤーム Payayāmu) is a major NPC and supporting character in Golden Sun: The Lost Age and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. While not necessarily an antagonist, he is involved in two separate boss encounters in The Lost Age.

Biography

 * Note that several elements depicted in The Lost Age relevant to this subject seem to contradict each other; parts of the following information and some of the ordering of the sequence of events are therefore assumed.

History
Briggs was presumably born and raised in Champa. In his early life he is described as formerly being a real brat, but in the present age he has become a swarthy middle-aged man who was eventually recognized as the greatest of Champa's sailors, so he was subsequently named the captain of the sailors of Champa. He is also described as having "never been sick a day of his life." While he is recognized as tough and boasts of it, Briggs is also very insecure around those even more powerful than himself, instinctively running away from someone who defeats him in battle.

Champa's survival relies entirely on the sea to run its fish market, and until recent years Briggs worked as a fisherman gathering fish both to sustain Champa in terms of food and to travel to Izumo and sell fish there for trade and commerce. But in recent years, apparently even before the eruption of Mt. Aleph (perhaps this was caused by the first disturbance at Mt. Aleph in the prologue to Golden Sun), the oceans have warmed up and the fish have gradually depleted in number, so Champa's sailors eventually had to resort to committing piracy far abroad to survive. This made Champa feared as a pirate town, and Briggs was the most effective and fearsome of its pirates, so he thus developed the reputation of a dread pirate across the Great Eastern Sea. Briggs kept his craft a secret from his grandmother, the town matriarch Obaba, because she obviously disliked the notion that Champa had to take from other towns in order to preserve itself, so she could never forgive Briggs if it turned out he was among the populace that facilitated piracy.

Eventually, shortly before the end of Golden Sun, Champa's predicament became so unbearable that the Champa elders decided that it was up to Briggs to lead the best of Champa's sailors, henceforth referred to as Sea Fighters, out into the Great Eastern Sea to look for food and jewels to save the village from poverty and starvation, without resorting to piracy like the rest of the town had. Briggs took up the responsibility and brought his wife Chaucha and toddler son Eoleo along for the effort. He left the town in a moderately-sized oar-powered boat.

Madra
Despite leaving under this pretense of honorable conduct, Briggs quickly resorted to piracy, stealing from towns such as Daila in his initial raids. He justified his actions by simply claiming that desperate times called for desperate measures, and that the ends justified the means. As the crew searched for more loot to pillage, their travels brought them south towards Madra. It was then that the great Tidal Wave, caused by the return of Poseidon, occurred within the Great Eastern Sea. The continent of Indra was shifted downward, becoming sandwiched between the continents of Gondowan and Osenia. Briggs' boat was swept up in the wave and crashed into the newly formed Osenia Cliffs, wrecking it. While this was a major setback for Briggs and his family (and group of four Sea Fighters), Briggs was still set on the objective of getting food for Champa, and of course they would just have to find another ship somehow in the future.

Shortly after crashing into Indra, Briggs was found out by the nearby town of Madra, where he was arrested and thrown into jail. Even as news of Briggs' capture spread across the Great Eastern Sea (and it was much welcomed news indeed, which attests to Briggs' reputation), Chaucha and the Sea Fighters remained out of Madra's reach and were trying to come up with a plan to free Briggs. Unfortunately for Madra, a second group of warriors from the Kibombo tribe, hailing from lower Gondowan, who were under orders by the Kibombo witch doctor Akafubu to acquire any gemstone that would look suitable for a coronation ritual that would take place back at the Kibombo hometown. One night both parties struck Madra simultaneously. The Champa attempted to dig under the Eastern wall and chanced upon the Madra Catacombs allowing them to enter Madra easily. However, they met resistance from the local merchants and failed to reach the prison. The Kibombo meanwhile, discovered a weak point in the western wall where part of the wall was either weakened or destroyed and successfully entered the town through it. As they fought their way through town, they released Briggs from prison and injured the item merchant and a handful of others. Briggs and the Champa eventually retreat across the land-bridge to Osenia while the Kibombo return to the Gondowan Cliffs to regroup.

It is unclear whether the two raids were coordinated or coincidental, as many Madrans are convinced they were working together, while the Champa and Kibombo make no mention of the other party. Initially, the Madrans didn't realize that the Kibombo were involved at all. However, when the Kibombo made a second raid upon the town, several Madrans realized that the Kibombo weapons left behind matched those of the western party from the first raid.

Alhafra
With Briggs back in the crew, the group traveled east to the town of Alhafra, a wealthy and powerful port town that the group assumed would be the best bet for finding a ship to return home with. Because of the town's power, Briggs made sure that no piracy was committed, as he felt the risk was too high. So after destroying the bridge west of Alhafra (so that any possible pursuers from Madra couldn't reach them easily), Briggs and the crew entered Alhafra, where they saw that the town had built and possessed a ship unlike any conventional ship seen before in Weyard: a large, wooden sea vessel that is powered not by the rowing of oars, but by catching wind in the sail hoisted on its mast. It was damaged by the tidal wave, however, so they couldn't use it to sail back to Champa.

Despite this setback, Briggs still bought the ship with the gold he had pilfered from Madra. Although Briggs and his crew acted predominantly as brutal pirates, not all of their transactions in Alhafra were illicit, because sometime as they were sailing the seas, they happened upon Treasure Isle to the northeast of Champa, wherein they found some very valuable jewels and some strong weapons as well. While a switch on the ground caused pillars to rise up and block their expedition to retrieve all the treasures the ones they were able to get their hands on were worth enough to buy a huge stockpile of food for Champa. This was then stored within their new sailing ship's storage area. Briggs and his family convened in the interior of the ship while the Sea Fighters tried to figure out how they could get the ship's broken mast back onto the ship, which they deemed possible, had there not been a giant rock pinning down the mast into the water, preventing any movement of the mast at all. For the moment the group was stuck in this position.

Fate throws Briggs' party another curveball shortly afterward, a group of Madrans led by the Elder of Madra and the Mayor of Alhafra managed to find their way through Yampi Desert into Alhafra, having been assisted by the Adepts Felix, Jenna, and Sheba, and the scholar Kraden. While one reason they all came to Alhafra was to stop Briggs and get him to answer for his crimes of piracy, the real reason was this: Shortly after Briggs and his crew fled Madra, the townsfolk were in an uproar, and a survivor of the tidal wave, a man named Piers, who was in the area at the time, was falsely detained and imprisoned by the townsfolk because they suspected he was one the Champa, which was obviously untrue to the Elder and the Mayor. Not content with having someone in their jail just because the town needed a scapegoat, the Elder and Mayor came over to Alhafra to get the testimony from Briggs that Piers was not one of his men. Felix's group is accompanying them because they are personally interested in freeing Piers so they can join up with him and be able to use his Lemurian Ship afterwards for their own quest across Weyard.

While the Elder and Mayor of Madra meet with the Mayor of Alhafra in the latter's mansion, Felix's party confronts Briggs inside the ship about Piers, where Briggs brushes them off and shows indifference towards whatever Madra might have done with some uninvolved party. A brawl ensues between Felix's group and Briggs and his Sea Fighters. Felix wins the tough battle, and Briggs concedes, saying even pirates have a code of honor. When the Mayors of Madra and Alhafra arrive, they secure Briggs' vow that Piers is not one of his men. A method to win points with these mayors occurs to Briggs when he clarifies that since the ship was bought with Madran gold, it belongs to the Madrans. The Mayors of Madra are quite pleased with the concept that they will have a ship which they can use for trade between Madra and other towns, so the Mayors agree that Briggs should now be jailed in Alhafra's prison while they await the repair of their new ship to commence. The Mayors stay in Alhafra Manor while the other Madrans return to Madra to give the news concerning Piers. Briggs in the meantime requests that Chaucha and Eoleo can stay inside the ship while it is repaired, which the Mayors grant.

Felix's party decides to try and fix the ship themselves with their Psynergy powers, so that they could conveniently sail back to Madra on it afterward with the Elder and Mayor of Madra to return to Piers, but the boulder pinning down the mast proves too much for even the Adept's considerable talent, and are forced to travel back to Madra on foot. Before leaving, they see Chaucha and Eoleo visiting Briggs in the jail, where they remark about how the gruel Briggs and his men must eat is disgusting. Eoleo fiddles around with a nearby key with Psynergy power, to Felix's considerable surprise. Briggs realizes that Felix can sense Eoleo's power and scolds his son, as he had come up with a plan for escape that involved Eoleo using his Psynergy to get his hands on the cell's keys, something which he had to be sure Felix wasn't going to interfere with. This escape plot would only occur in the future, however, because as it turns out, the greedy Mayor of Alhafra resents the Madrans owning the ship Alhafra built, so he holds off on repairing the ship and instead used the funds to repair his town, which had suffered considerable damage in the tidal wave. This is not only to the chagrin of just Briggs and Chaucha but the Mayor of Madra as well, especially considering that the Alhafran Mayor is using Madran Gold to fund his greedy ambitions.

Much later on, having joined up with Piers and travelled across the Great Eastern Sea, Felix's band returns to Alhafra to remove the boulder pinning down the mast for good, using their newly acquired Burst Psynergy. This was simply done on a whim, as Felix had a hunch that doing so would help these towns out immensely. The town takes immediate notice, to which the townsfolk rally together and raise the mast, finally fixing the ship. This is Briggs' cue to bust out of jail; Chaucha subdues and blindfolds the guard standing watch while Eoleo uses his Psynergy to get the key and unlock the cell doors. Briggs, his family, and the Sea Fighters all then escape together, by secretly tunnelling into the wall behind them that leads into the Alhafran Cave underneath the Mayor's mansion and escape into the surrounding forest. They then stealthily make their way to the ship behind the buildings along the beach. After assaulting the Mayor of Alhafra who was on the pier inspecting the ship, they hijack it for themselves and flee Alhafra. Felix arrives too late to stop the pirate, and Briggs taunts Felix for the time he was bested in battle with a "neener-neener-bleah" routine he perfected in prison. Briggs and Chaucha also declare that it's the Mayor of Alhafra who is guilty of trying to steal the ship that they paid for. While this is technically true, Briggs' taking the ship for himself can easily be considered wrong in this case because Briggs was saying previously how the ship they bought with gold stolen from Madra belongs to the Madrans. But to Briggs, returning to Champa with the food and jewels his group has collected over their expedition to save the town from starvation is what is most important. Either way, after saving Champa Briggs claimed that he was planning to return to and repay all the towns he stole from and make amends for his piracy.

Champa
Briggs triumphantly returns to Champa with the food and jewels, on a bigger ship than what he left Champa with, no less, and the town is completely revitalized, so much so that the once-starving citizens become self-indulgent and lazy, gorging themselves on food and riches. Briggs is viewed as a hero for his deed of saving the town, and the townspeople heavily appreciate that they do not have to resort to piracy across the seas anymore to survive, so the elders consider appointing Briggs the first-ever chief of Champa. Of course, none of the Champa, particularly Obaba, are aware that Briggs had heavily employed piracy himself to acquire the ship, as Briggs, Chaucha and their crew keep it a secret from Obaba and the townspeople. Briggs does tell the townspeople, however, that it was "some amazingly tough thug named Felix" that captured him at Alhafra, and makes Felix sound like a really bad guy interested in stealing the jewels he acquired.

But Felix and his band of Adepts most certainly are aware that Briggs has committed large-scale piracy, and they arrive at the town to (among other things) confront Briggs and set him straight. When Briggs sees him in town, he flees inside the cliffs of Champa in terror while Felix pursues. Within the mountain at the Forge of Ankohl, Felix stands opposite of Briggs and Obaba. Obaba is not impressed at Felix's looks, saying that he does not appear to fit Brigg's obviously one-sided description. Briggs pipes up and exclaims that Felix will take him far away if Obaba doesn't destroy Felix now, something Obaba doesn't believe at all, but regardless, Briggs wins her over by saying how "poor Eoleo will be so sad" when he does. Obaba, unable to deny her great-grandson, takes out a pet lizard and throws it into the forge, imbuing it with great power and transforming it into the Avimander. Felix's party engages in a battle where the overgrown salamander is slain.

At a loss of words over the power of Felix's group, Obaba tells Briggs he must now fight them himself, as she has done everything she can. Quickly, Briggs protests that he can't, saying that they are bad guys too strong for him, even resorting to the Eoleo gambit again. It is only then that Felix's side of the story is told, when Sheba pipes up and says she doesn't like hearing a pirate call them the bad guys in this scenario, to which Jenna elaborates, explaining that the ship from Alhafra - the ship they fixed for the town - was stolen by Briggs. Thunderstruck by the extent of Briggs' crimes and how it plays into the status of Briggs' return to Champa, Obaba lashes out at her grandson in a rage, calling him a scoundrel. Chaucha butts in and says he only did it for Champa, and clarifies that they had stopped the piracy once they found the jewels from Treasure Isle, and that Briggs always had the full intention of repaying every town they "borrowed from". Obaba forgives Briggs for that, citing that she's "too old for grudges". Briggs agrees with Chaucha that they ought to make amends with all the towns they caused trouble for. Briggs then pretends to catch a cold, and goes into bed to rest, claiming that he'll set out on the voyage to make amends with Daila and Madra (as well as look for more jewels in Treasure Isle) once he's over his cold, though it's clear to almost everyone in Champa that he doesn't have any illness at all and is merely trying to buy time before having to go out and complete his promise.

Felix, in the meantime, consults with Obaba about forging the Trident of Ankohl, which is necessary for his party to battle Poseidon and gain entrance to Lemuria. After the finale of The Lost Age sees the return of Alchemy to Weyard, it is assumed that Briggs travels to each of the towns he stole from to repair and repay them and patch things up. Champa's elders consider appointing him Champa's first-ever chief.

Thirty years later
Over the next thirty years, Briggs maintains his reputation across the Eastern Sea as a renowned pirate, and continues to plunder the seas as captain of Champa's pirates, despite his growing age. However, while being captain of the pirates essentially makes him the leader of all of Champa, he never wanted to be formally recognized as its king, even as Champa established itself as a country. Nonetheless, his son Eoleo, who grows up to succeed his father as the scourge of the Eastern Sea, is essentially viewed as the prince of Champa. It is open to possibility that the sailing ship he stole from Alhafra is the ship he uses over the following three decades. He has a strong emotional attachment to his vessel and views it as "full of history", and the ship is antique and not in the best of shape even before the start of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Morgal, the country that established itself at the north end of Angara within the thirty years following the Golden Sun event, is a nation of beastmen now lorded over by Volechek. Early in Dark Dawn, Eoleo is suddenly kidnapped and held captive at the castle of Morgal's seaside capital city of Belinsk, and Eoleo is publicly slated for execution by the next full moon. Naturally, Briggs is up in arms over this, but the well-defended fortress city is nigh-impregnable from the sea. At or around this point, Briggs somehow comes into contact with the Warrior of Vale he knew from thirty years before, the now-legendary sailor Piers. Briggs' old mate gives him the news that Kraden is currently in the Bilibin region west of Morgal, and that the offspring of the other Warriors of Vale, comprised of Matthew and Tyrell among others, are currently in the Ei-Jei region of Angara west of Champa, and are on a quest to Morgal to obtain a Mountain Roc feather. Briggs immediately pens a letter to Kraden asking him to get Matthew's group to help him, and he has two of his pirates travel to Bilibin to deliver the letter to Kraden.

Piers also tells Briggs that living in Kolima Forest at the northeastern corner of the continent is the one named Tret, who has great knowledge about the world, such as how Belinsk can be infiltrated by land. It is somehow known that Tret would not meet with Briggs, perhaps due to Briggs' reputation as a pirate. Briggs does not pay too much to what Piers has to say beyond this, perhaps due to his preoccupation with Eoleo's plight, so he does not catch the important detail of Tret being a talking tree. Briggs receives some Hermes' Water from Piers, a medicinal water that can cure any illness, but all that Briggs would remember from this conversation is that Isaac had used it on "a tree or a forest or something". Piers somehow knew that Hermes Water would be needed to cure Kolima Forest once again in order for Tret to be reached. Piers eventually sails back out into the seas, leaving Briggs to oversee his ship's repairs.

Even though not much time passes after sending his letter, Briggs decides to take his ship out and try to attack Belinsk from the sea in an effort to get to his son. Considering the circumstances, anyone would have thought him suicidally insane, and Belinsk's cannons severely damage his ship. However, he manages to sail back to the northeast end of Angara, wherein lies the ancient shipyards of Port Rago. The shipwrights here are renowned as the best in the world, and they respect Briggs' wish to get it repaired, though the ship's state is such that they opine that it is far more practical for them to construct a new ship from scratch. However, Briggs insists on having his ship be repaired.

The Grave Eclipse
Even though it was Kraden that Briggs specifically intended for his letter to be delivered to, he is eventually happened upon in Port Rago's docks by Matthew and his group of Adepts, and he recognizes them for who they are by noting how Matthew has the eyes of his mother, Jenna. Kraden was not found because Bilibin had closed off its borders, but by luck Matthew had come across the two pirates outside the borders. Deeming that Adept help is the best kind for him, Briggs explains his situation, expresses that he is stuck at Port Rago for the time being while his ship is in disrepair, and manages to rope the Adepts into going on a quest for him. Briggs persuades them to go to Kolima Forest and get the information from Tret about how Belinsk can be infiltrated by land, and hands them the Hermes Water that he remembers Piers saying was important.

Some time later, progress on the breaking ship's repairs have not been going well, and Briggs spends more time sleeping in the captain's quarters because of his age. Matthew and his group return to him after having met Tret and used the Hermes Water to do so, and upon waking up he is slightly disappointed that Eoleo wasn't rescued already. He is glum to learn that Tret did not offer advice on how to attack Belinsk by land, but the Adepts say that they still need to go to Belinsk, where they might meet up with Ryu Kou, whom they had encountered on their trip. Briggs has heard of Ryu Kou before, the prince of the eastern Angaran country of Sana whose sister had been captured by Volechek as well, and he states in clear terms that he refuses their request to help Ryu Kou while he is busy rescuing his only son Eoleo.

Their conversation turns to how it is almost the time of Eoleo's scheduled execution, but Briggs tells them that without a ship, there is nothing he can do, and the ship will not be fixed in time. He absolutely would use a fixed ship to make another valiant attempt to rescue Eoleo, but he considers himself helpless as of now, as much as he hates having to leave Eoleo to Belinsk. He tells the Adepts to go to Belinsk without him, and promises he will set sail for Belinsk as soon as he has his boat fixed, but the Adepts are outraged that he is essentially being indifferent enough to his own son's execution that he is waiting around at a dock while having others rescue his son for him. Briggs simply falls back asleep. While Amiti of the group expresses that he is completely opposed to helping Briggs in any way, they decide that going back to Belinsk is their only way forward, even though their original quest has already been completed.

Within the short time period to follow, Rago's shipwrights and Briggs' men apparently give up on the ship and take their eyes off it for a while. When they check again, they find, to their great surprise, that the ship has somehow been completely repaired by an unknown third party; its bow has been replaced by a draconic figurehead, wing-like attachments have been grafted onto its sides, and the ship now moves without oars or wind. These all mimic the design aspects of a Lemurian Ship. Briggs and his men immediately take to the sea and sail to Belinsk. By now, a towering structure has raised itself up behind Belinsk's castle and is causing a dark phenomenon that spreads an evil-tainted miasma far beyond Belinsk, the Grave Eclipse. This brings about hordes of shadowy monsters bolstered by the dark influence. Briggs selflessly docks the ship at Belinsk so that Matthew and his group can be saved, and he briefly fights several Gloom Skorpnas while waiting, but is mortally wounded.

Matthew and his party, now accompanied by Eoleo and Kraden, come across the repaired ship at the pier, and Eoleo rushes onto the ship to rout the shadow monsters. Following this, the Adepts honor Briggs' deed while Briggs and Eoleo share their last moment with each other: Briggs expresses that he had a good life where he was free and answered to no man. His last words are to tell Eoleo to tell his mother that he is sorry to leave her alone, and to take care of Champa for him. Briggs passes away on the ship which he adored so much. Eoleo would proceed to place Briggs' body in a coffin and shove it out to sea with an accompaniment of cannon fire as his personal funeral, reasoning that this is how Briggs would want it. Eoleo swears to Matthew's group that he will make the ones who set off the Grave Eclipse pay, and joins Matthew's party as a new-found companion.

Thanks to Briggs putting his life on the line at Belinsk, Eoleo, Kraden, and Matthew's group are provided the means to escape the deadly phenomenon and begin a seafaring quest on Briggs' own ship to try to find a way to bring an end to the Eclipse. Over the course of the journey, Eoleo comes to the camp his Champan countrymen founded away from Champa when it was destroyed by the Eclipse, and brings them and Briggs' surviving grandmother Obaba the news of Briggs' passing. When the Eclipse began, it had come out that the Grave Eclipse was set off by Volechek, but he was tragically deceived into doing so by those he was conspiring with. At the end of the journey in Dark Dawn, the Grave Eclipse comes to an end and Volechek ends up dying, and Eoleo is heard remarking that this means Briggs has been avenged.

As a boss in The Lost Age
Briggs is fought as a boss early in the game when the party is on the continent of Osenia. Since it would take place after the boss fight against the King Scorpion in the nearby Yampi Desert, Briggs can be considered the "big boss/final boss" of the continent. The boss fight with him and his Sea Fighter minions is much tougher than anything else thus far in the game. Because of the non-linear layout of the game at this point, Briggs can be fought much earlier in your exploration of Osenia or at the end of it, or any time in between. It is hugely recommended that you complete all other activities in Osenia first before fighting the battle - completing the immense Air's Rock dungeon, buying the powerful equipment available at Mikasalla, completing the Garoh segment of the game, getting all of the Djinn available on the western portion of the continent (One Mars, two Jupiter, one Mercury) as well as the Megaera and Flora Summon Tablets - because all that can be done anytime before or after the boss battle, and doing all that before it will make the battle much easier. To initiate the battle, enter Eastern Alhafra, enter the ship, and trigger a cutscene with Briggs.

The battle starts with Briggs and one Sea Fighter underling as the opponents. Briggs carries 984 Hit Points, 129 Attack, 29 Defense, 76 Agility, and 42 Luck. In terms of resistance, he has a Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury resistance rating of 100 each and in regards to his battle commands he uses his available Mars-based attack with a Mars power rating of 100.

Briggs can use the following battle commands:


 * Echo Cut: Used 5 out of 8 times, this is a monster skill that attacks a single Adept with a tackle-sword-slash, dealing an attack equal to Brigg's normal physical attack with an additional 30 damage points.
 * Attack: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is his standard physical attack.
 * Defend: Used 1 out of 8 times, Briggs has the ability to use the Defend command to cut all damage he would take a particular turn by 50%.

Briggs also carries the following consumable items, which he may use in place of a move from his normal move list each time he acts:


 * 1 Herb: An item that restores 50HP to either himself or another enemy on his side of the field.
 * 1 Nut: An item that restores 200HP to either himself or another enemy on his side of the field.
 * 1 Oil Drop: An item that emulates the Psynergy spell Flare Storm, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 80 and a range of 3.
 * 3 Signal Whistle: A unique item that when used summons an additional Sea Fighter unit to join the battle.

When Briggs is felled, the party gains 333 EXP, 891 Coins, and a guaranteed Vial.

Each Sea Fighter features 197 Hit Points, 119 Attack, 28 Defense, 61 Agility, and 26 Luck. In terms of resistance, they also have a Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury resistance rating of 100 each and in regards to their battle commands they uses their available Mars-based attack with a Mars power rating of 100.

A Sea Fighter can use the following battle commands:


 * Attack: Used 5 out of 8 times, this is the enemy's standard physical attack.
 * Echo Cut: Used 3 out of 8 times, this is a monster skill that attacks a single Adept with a tackle-sword-slash, dealing an attack equal to their normal physical attack with an additional 30 damage points.

A Sea Fighter also carries the following consumable items, which he may use in place of a move from their normal move list each time it acts:


 * 1 Herb: An item that restores 50HP to either the user or another enemy on their side of the field.
 * 1 Smoke Bomb: An item that envelops a single targeted Adept in a smoke cloud, having a chance to inflict that Adept with the Delusion status condition.
 * 1 Oil Drop: An item that emulates the Psynergy spell Flare Storm, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 80 and a range of 3.

When a Sea Fighter is downed, the party gains 89 EXP and 130 coins.

Strategies
The fight with Briggs is unique in that Briggs can call upon more allies as the battle progresses. With his Signal Whistles, Briggs can call upon three additional Sea Fighters, besides the one that initially joins him in battle. However, only two Sea Fighters can join Briggs at any one time. Focusing all damage on Briggs is an easy way to end the battle quickly, as no more Sea Fighters will join after Briggs is downed, even if there are still Sea Fighters that can be called upon.

The fight against Briggs and his Sea Fighters is made much easier is the player has first completed Air's Rock, and explored lower Osenia. Not only will the player gain more experience and more Djinn, but they will also be able to gain stronger equipment such as the Storm Brand and Hypnos' Sword. Assuming the player acquired it, the Flora summon is an excellent choice for this battle, due to the high damage potential as well as the chance to inflict sleep. Should the player decide to complete Alhafra first, the player should at least be at Level 13, as Felix will learn Ragnarok, which is an excellent offensive choice.

Briggs' party's main offense is their unique Echo Cut, which is essentially equivalent in power to Ragnarok. Both Briggs and his Sea Fighters can inflict the equivalent of Flare Storm via their Oil Drops. This is perhaps the most dangerous move, as it can easily down unprepared Adepts. Completing the fight will cause the town of Madra to update, with Piers leaving the town, and you will be able to continue the quest into lower Gondowan.

Quotes

 * At Alhafra:
 * Sea Fighter Zack: "You don't stand a chance! We're hardened criminal types! We eat punks like you for breakfast!"
 * Briggs: "Watch yourselves, you self-righteous little brats! You're the ones with a lesson to learn!"


 * Briggs: "We lost... Even pirates have honor... I'll go quietly. I won't make a scene just because I lost... Go on... Hand us over to Madra or Alhafra or whoever..."


 * Kraden: "No crops? So you have no grains? And no meat? It sounds like life in Champa is hard..."
 * Briggs: "It's not hard! It's unbearable! Our children can't eat! Our village is dying!"


 * Jenna: "Champa's so far away..."
 * Briggs: "Well, yeah! You think we could be successful pirates so close to home?"


 * Briggs: "I won't run, and I won't hide. ...Actually, I don't feel up for much of anything right now."


 * Briggs: "I don't know any Piers! Sounds to me like you've made a pretty big mistake!"


 * Briggs: "Oh, stopped by for a visit, did you? (If Felix says yes) I wish that I'd met you under different circumstances... If we had met out on the open seas, you would have seen a different man."


 * Briggs: "Did you call me a thief? I paid for this boat, fair and square. I'm no thief."
 * Chaucha: "You're the thieves! You tried to take our boat away, after we paid you so much for it!"


 * Briggs: "Hey, Felix! You guys take care! And keep Alhafra safe from thieves and pirates! And politicians, too!"
 * Kraden: "What!?!"
 * Briggs: "I doubt we'll ever meet again, but if we do, remember this! Neener neener neener! Neener neener neener! Neener neener bleah!"
 * Chaucha: "That may have been a bit much. If you make him mad, he might chase us right back to Champa."


 * At Champa:
 * Briggs: "Grandma, what's going on? I thought you were going to protect me!"
 * Obaba: "What do you mean? I've done everything I can!"
 * Briggs: "Grandma!!! Felix's going to take me away! He's a bad guy! You have to do something!"


 * Briggs: "Grandma, we found those jewels ourselves, and we paid Alhafra well for that ship, didn't we?"
 * Obaba: (If Felix says no) "So he's lying again?"
 * Briggs: "Dang it, Felix, I'm not lying!"


 * In Border Town:
 * Briggs' letter: "Dear Mr. Kraden, I bet you're surprised to get this letter. I'm surprised I'm writing it. I don't have a lot of time, so I'll make this short and to the point. I need your help. My son was captured in Morgal. They're planning to execute him by boiling at the next full moon. I heard the kids of those Vale warriors are running around Ei-Jei. Please get them to help. I wouldn't be asking, but he's my son and I'm desperate. -Briggs"


 * Amiti: (Upon hearing of Briggs' attempt to attack the fortified Belinsk Castle from sea) "A head-on assault? This Briggs is obviously suicidally insane."
 * Pirate 1: "That's why he's the cap'n."
 * Pirate 2: "Aye. He's the best of us. Never give up, even if you know you're gonna lose."


 * In Port Rago (First visit):
 * Briggs: "Let me get a look at you, Matthew."
 * Tyrell: "How do you know who he is?"
 * Briggs: "I was only sure once I saw you use Psynergy over there. But I already suspected on account o' you havin' your mother's eyes, Matthew. Jenna'd be proud, boy."


 * Rief: (After Briggs explains what he wants the Adepts to do) "Just to be clear, you are now asking US to get information AND to rescue your son?"
 * Karis: "Yeah, I'm starting to feel like an indentured servant. It seems very selfish on Briggs's part."


 * Amiti: "But if Tret does not have any valuable strategic information, an attack may not be possible."
 * Briggs: "That'll be enough o' that kind o' talk! Eoleo is depending on us!"


 * Briggs: (Referring to the Hermes' Water that he gave to Matthew) "[Isaac] used it on a tree or a forest or something."
 * Karis: "A tree OR a forest? There's a bit of a difference, you know."
 * Briggs: "Yeah, Piers told me the story when he gave it to me... I should've listened better."


 * Briggs: "This ship is my greatest treasure and my oldest friend. I expect I'll die aboard her someday."


 * In Port Rago (Second visit):
 * Briggs: (Concerning Ryu Kou) "You're gonna ask me to help him while I'm busy rescuing my only son?" (Everyone nervously nods) "What a pack you are!"
 * Tyrell: "Yeah, this guy has to be Briggs!"


 * Briggs: "Try to get it through yer head: without a ship, there's nothin' to be done, and that ship won't be fixed in time."
 * Karis: "But Eoleo is your son! And you're just going to give up on him?!"
 * Briggs: "Yeah, I know he's my son. And I'm just thrilled to have to leave him to those Belinsk jackals, believe me. If the ship were fixed, it would be a different story. As it is, I'm helpless."


 * Karis: "Some father! Waiting around on a dock while others rescue your son!"
 * Briggs: "I'll set sail for Belinsk as soon as I've got my boat fixed. Trust me."
 * Tyrell: "Trust you?! Trust the pirate who doesn't care about his own son's execution?!"
 * Briggs: "I'm tellin' you, I'll meet you in Belinsk. You'll see. I just need to finish these repairs before I go." (Briggs falls back asleep)
 * Rief: "What should we do?"
 * Amiti: "I am completely opposed to helping this man in any way."


 * At Belinsk:
 * Eoleo: "How bad is it, Dad?"
 * Briggs: "I had a good run... Lived my life free... Answered to no man..."
 * Eoleo: "What are you talking about? You're too tough to let this be the end."
 * Briggs: "Tell your mom I'm sorry to leave her alone...and take care of Champa for me..." (Briggs passes away.)
 * Eoleo: "Dad!"


 * At Champa Camp:
 * Woman: "An honorable pirate to the end..."
 * Man: "Seems like all these Warriors of Vale and their kids were a good influence on Briggs. He wasn't always so heroic."

Trivia

 * Even though Briggs himself does not appear to use Psynergy, he somehow can sense Psynergy being used, such as during Felix's battle with Briggs or Eoleo's use of Psynergy. How this is possible is still not known, though it's probable that he was simply reading his son's body language.
 * A brig is a holding cell on military institution, in modern times it generally refers to those on warships.
 * The pictured portrait of Briggs is hidden in the code of Dark Dawn. Based on what it depicts, it was likely intended for use in Briggs' death scene.
 * This family tree posted on Nintendo of America's official Twitter page claims that Briggs is a playable character in the first two games, and that he does not return in any form in the third, both of which are erroneous.