The Iifa Tree

And so I have now reached the Iifa Tree -- possibly the most difficult part of the challenge to survive through. Once Eiko broke the seal, I equipped my characters as follows:

Zidane                     Dagger                      Vivi                       Eiko

Mage Masher           Mythril Rod              (no changes)          Golem's Flute
Headgear                 Lamia's Tiara                                         Feather Hat
Mythril Armlet          Magic Armlet              
Survival Vest            Magician Robe                                       Silk Shirt
Black Belt                Madain's Ring                                        Ruby
_________________________________________________________
HP+20%
Protect Girls
Auto-Potion

I had one encounter on my way to Mocchi, which I escaped from immediately. After reading the letter and saving, I started to head down the tree. I had a total of six random encounters on my way to the bottom. When Dracozombie came up, I followed the strategy in the guide to get Dagger zombified, then cast Life to finish the battle. From that point on I made sure Zidane was fully healed after every battle, but I left Vivi and Eiko knocked out. I also changed equipment a bit, giving Dagger a Mythril Vest and Coral Ring and Vivi an Oak Staff, Magician Robe, and Peridot.

I ran away from all battles as soon as possible, casting Life on Dracozombie or using a Soft on Stroper in those times when Zidane got knocked out. I've found that giving Zidane HP+20% helps more than anything else with his survival. I didn't worry about Zidane's trance gauge because I'm not going to use it, but it still got pretty close to full. On one of my attempts Zidane actually tranced during the forced Zombie battle.                                                                        
When I reached the area just before the lift I switched Zidane's Headgear for a Ritual Hat so I could give the Headgear to Vivi.  I also revived Vivi and Eiko and healed Vivi. The first forced battle then came with three Zombies. I had Zidane use an Elixir on one and Eiko cast Life on another. I then waited for the last Zombie to act before having Vivi use Thundara on my party and Dagger cast Life on the last Zombie. I wanted to make sure the Zombie didn't get a turn when Dagger was the only party member left standing!

For the next battle, I decided to take a risk because my run down the tree was done in only average time. I went straight into the battle without reviving anyone. The Dracozombie got a turn immediately and used Lv5 Death, which was harmless, and Dagger took it out with another Life spell.

At the bottom, I got the treasures and equipped my party for Soulcage. I revived Vivi and Eiko, then removed everything from Zidane except the Black Belt and revived him with a Life spell, giving him 37 HP (important for Lucky Seven later). With that done, I optimized Zidane and gave him the Diamond. I gave Dagger the Fairy Earrings and Stardust Rod. Vivi got the Silk Robe. For abilities, I activated Distract, Man Eater, Counter, and Ability Up on Zidane, and Ability Up on Dagger and Vivi. Finally, I put Zidane in the front row. In the battle, Soulcage went first and used Lv5 Death, which again did nothing. Zidane then stole the Magician Cloak and Eiko cast Life to end the battle. Vivi learned Stop, and Dagger learned a slew of abilities: Ability Up, Reflect, Confuse, Auto-Potion, and Body Temp.

After skipping the FMV, I ran out a short distance on the world map and saved. My Zidane is already set up exactly how I want him for the next fight, so all I had to do next was get to just outside Madain Sari with no encounters, which didn't take too long. I then saved again with a time of 05:24:43.