South Gate & Dali

Time to begin disc 2! We open with some scenes in which we reunite with Marcus and Cinna. I like to break away from them after saying "hi" to do my shopping and Mognet because I think it's more streamlined that way, and I think it's funny to do all that right in the middle of the conversation.

I bought and sold as instructed with the following exceptions:

- I kept the Mythril Spear, the Leather Wrists, 1 Cotton Robe, and 1 Germinas Boots.

- I sold the Ice Staff I got from Gizamaluke as well as 2 Antidotes that I got from Chocobo Hot & Cold.

- I also bought 2 Magus Hats. I'll need to use one of them before I hit the weapon shop in Treno, so I might as well get them both now.

After taking care of Mognet with Nazna, I set up my party for the upcoming battle and boarded the car to Alexandria. I skipped saving here because there's nothing luck based at that point since the last save. I optimized both Steiner and Dagger, then gave Dagger the Feather Hat and Wrist and Steiner the Bronze Armor. This will put him only 1 AP away from mastering Bird Killer. I also made sure to activate Man Eater from the newly bought Mythril Gloves as well as Bird Killer because it was convenient to do so now.

My battle with Black Waltz #3 wasn't the best, but I still beat the target time for this circuit, so I kept it. BW3 opened with Thunder on Steiner, which he survived. Steiner and Dagger did nothing but attack whenever their turns came up. On his first turn Marcus stole the Steepled Hat (oh well). BW3 then attempted to Freeze Marcus, but he missed. This gave Marcus another chance to steal, but he blew it. I thought I was going to have to reset, but then BW3 missed with his next attack as well! Marcus was then finally able to steal the Lightning Staff, and then Dagger finished him off.

You may be wondering why I insisted on getting the Lightning Staff when I already have a Coral Ring. My strategy for the Alexandria rescue involves three Coral Rings, so I'll be synthesizing two in Treno. The third one isn't absolutely necessary, but it will make things a bit easier. I actually had two attempts where Marcus stole the Flame Staff, but couldn't get the Lightning Staff, so I had to reset.

I then went to Dali, saving along the way. In Dali, I bought 99 Wrists and a Rod, then grabbed the Elixir and left. I crossed the plain to South Gate without saving, went through, then saved again halfway to Treno. My time is 02:45:20.

EDIT: I decided to redo this part because of a change in my plan for a future circuit. I plan to use a Headgear before the guide tells you to buy one, and this is my last chance to do it before then. My battle with BW3 went better this time, and I am now saved outside Treno with 02:45:11 on the clock.

EDIT (again): When I got to the part where I was planning on using the Headgear, I changed my mind again and ended up not using it.  At least I got a better time by redoing it!