Escape From Alexandria

Wow! I am in shock over how well this segment went! I started out by moving Freya to the front row and heading up the stairs. With Freya at level 8 and set up as previously indicated she can survive most of Beatrix's attacks and dish out decent damage as well! The only things that can knock her out are Shock and two normal attacks in a row. Thunder Slash will actually heal her thanks to the Coral Ring (this is why I got 3).

In my fight I had Steiner and Freya attack non-stop. Beatrix used Shock once so I had to have Vivi use a Phoenix Down, but at least it was only one. Zidane showcased his thieving ability well by stealing successfully 3/3 times. The fight ended pretty quickly with all the damage being poured on.

Next comes another benefit of raising Freya's level as I did. When Beatrix joins you here, she starts at Freya's level, which in my case was 8. This makes her strong enough that Climhazzard is guaranteed to kill the Bandersnatch. Thus, Freya is free to knock herself out immediately. Unfortunately, there is a chance she won't do enough damage to do it in one hit, so you may have to do it twice like I did or have the Bandersnatch finish her off for you.

Now it's time to get ready for the big Stop fest. I equipped my party as follows:

Zidane                     Steiner                Vivi                     Dagger

Mythril Dagger          Ice Brand           Oak Staff             Mythril Rod
Bandana                  Mythril Helm       Mage's Hat          Mage's Hat
Glass Armlet           Silver Gloves       Bone Wrist           Bone Wrist
Mythril Vest             Chain Mail          Magician Robe     Silk Robe
Yellow Scarf            Coral Ring           Gold Choker        Cachusha
_________________________________________________________
Protect Girls            HP+10%            Auto-Potion          Ability Up
Insomniac               Insomniac
Auto-Potion
Bandit

The next battle against the Type C's went really well. Vivi stopped the first mage immediately. Zidane stole a couple Potions and a Tent. Vivi got toasted with a Fira spell, but I was able to revive him and finish the battle with two more Stops. Steiner mastered Bird Killer after the battle, and I replaced Vivi's Gold Choker with the last Coral Ring and activated Insomniac.

The next Bandersnatch battle went perfectly. I stopped the first one immediately, and the other one wasted its turn using Tongue. Vivi then stopped the second Bandersnatch to secure the win. The battle after that went pretty well except that the Bandersnatch knocked out Zidane before I was able to cast Stop. I was planning to use the AP from all these battles, but luckily I've managed to make some tweaks to my later plans so everything will still work out. I don't want to have to go through this again -- not when Vivi got a perfect 6/6 record on Stops!

The final two Bandersnatch battles went perfectly as well. Beatrix got the first turn and used Climhazzard immediately. In the last battle, Steiner used an Elixir on Beatrix before getting knocked out by the Bandersnatches. Beatrix then used Climhazzard one last time to finish out this series of battles.

With all that done I ran straight to Mosh, picked up his letter, and saved.  My time is now 04:00:30, which means I did this part in 14:17.  That adds another two minutes to my lead over the target time!

Rescuing Dagger

I started off this part by reviving Quina and making sure s/he had 1 HP. Then I prepared for the upcoming fights against Beatrix and Zorn and Thorn. Instead of removing everything from Quina, I let him keep the Needle Fork and Yellow Scarf. No point in removing those. My fight against Beatrix went very well on the first attempt. I stole the Ice Brand and used Limit Glove to end the battle. I then went through the scenes, did some business with Mognet, and saved on the Red Rose.

The next part is a bit tricky. The fastest you can break out of the cage is in 12 swings or 6 back-and-forth motions. I started out by leaning left, then leaned once on the next 3 swings as well (for a total of 4), twice on the next 4 swings, and 3 times on the last 4 swings. It takes some good timing to do this correctly. It's best to avoid leaning when the cage isn't going anywhere. Wait just a second when there's time, and your lean will add more height on your swing.

As if that weren't enough, you then have to dodge Alexandrian soldiers. I find it best to run right at them, then make a 90 degree turn at the last second to run around them. You have to do this twice to get around the guards as Steiner. Then you have to hope none of the other guards are smart enough to run around their various obstacles and catch Zidane. Once you get past them all, it's pretty easy to run the rest of the way to where Dagger is.

Along the way, make sure to remove Marcus's equipment and prepare Steiner for Zorn and Thorn. I gave Marcus my remaining Broadsword and took off the rest of his equipment. I set up Steiner as instructed in the guide except that I don't see any point in having him keep Counter. Beatrix is never going to target him, so he'll never get a chance to counterattack. I gave him HP+10% instead. Since I stole the Ice Brand from Beatrix, I was able to do this at the same time as removing Marcus's equipment, thus saving time.

With that out of the way, the only thing left in this segment is to battle Zorn and Thorn. This is one of the easiest bosses in the game if you're prepared. The battle went exactly as described in the guide. Everyone but Freya went to critical HP from Vivi's Blizzard, and Zidane stole the Mythril Armor from Thorn and the Partisan from Zorn, both of which Freya will put to good use shortly.

After the battle, I adjusted everyone's equipment to prepare for the next set of battles. I put the best headgear I own on everyone, optimized Freya, gave her a Coral Ring, and activated Man Eater, Cover, Insomniac, and High Tide (just because it was convenient and I had extra Magic Stones). I forgot to move Freya to the front row, so I'll need to do that when I reload.  Finally, I read Mosh's letter and saved with a time of 03:46:13. One of the hardest parts of the whole challenge is coming up next, so here we go!

The Battle of Cleyra

After messing up in the last battle twice, I finally made it through this part. I haven't played at all most days, but I'm still tired of being on this one segment.

I started by heading to the entrance of Cleyra and making a couple changes in my equipment. I gave Zidane the Mage Masher, Mythril Vest, and Germinas Boots, and Vivi the Gold Choker. I also made sure everyone was in the back row. Then I went down the trunk, picking up the rest of the treasures along the way. I used MT Bio against all three pairs of soldiers, giving Vivi an Elixir after the second one. When I got back to the settlement I defeated the black mage with a single casting of Stop. As I went to save, I healed up Zidane, who was down to 2 HP, gave Vivi another Elixir, and changed Freya's equipment to prepare for her last level gain before Tantarian. She got the Mythril Spear, Iron Helm, Mythril Gloves, Linen Cuirass, and Glass Buckle. I also gave Zidane back the Butterfly Sword and moved him to the front row. I then picked up the next Mognet letter and saved.

The first battle after the save was against three soldiers. Since Zidane now had the Butterfly Sword (necessary for the next battle) I had Quina as backup for Vivi in case Bio didn't do enough damage. It turned out to not be necessary on my successful run, but it's possible for Quina to save the situation in such a case. The next battle went perfectly. Quina began by petrifying one of the mages. Zidane then attacked the other one, Freya jumped, and Vivi toasted the party with MT Fira. The mages didn't even get a turn! Freya leveled up to 8 and is now at the maximum level she can afford with my current set of equipment. I had originally planned to have Freya kill the first mage since it shows up by itself, but this way turns out to be much faster.

Before the next battle, I made sure to revive and heal everyone and switch out Freya's equipment. I optimized her, then gave her the Cachusha and activated HP+10% and Ability Up. I also moved Zidane back to the back row. I opened the battle with MT Bio, causing the soldiers to retreat. Then I had Freya give Vivi an Elixir since he was out of MP. Zidane had nothing better to do, so he stole an Ore. I figured trying to petrify the mage wasn't worth the risk, so I had Vivi cast Stop. He failed on his first attempt, but succeeded on the second. After the battle, Zidane mastered Protect Girls, Vivi mastered Auto-Potion, and Freya mastered Bright Eyes.

With just one battle left to go, I gave Zidane the Mage Masher before proceeding. I made sure to knock out Quina before casting Bio, which succeeded in forcing all the soldiers to escape. After going through the scenes and collecting rewards from the survivors, I saved with a time of 03:32:42. I was a little over the target time for this part, but I'm happy with the result.

Antlion

Now it's time to return to the settlement, picking up treasure along the way. When I got there, I equipped Quina with the Needle Fork, Mage's Hat, Bone Wrist, Silk Robe, and Yellow Scarf, and activated Add Status and Ability Up. Millionaire was already active. I then went up to the inn, got the treasure inside, read the letter from Ruby, and saved.

After that, I followed Dan the slowpoke down the stairs, picking up the Phoenix Pinion along the way. Several times I accidentally initiated conversation with him when I was trying to pick up the Phoenix Pinion. That just shows you how slow he is.

Then came the fight against Antlion. Zidane went first and stole the Annoyntment. Then I waited for Antlion to take a turn and it used Sandstorm, reducing Quina to 1 HP. I then had Zidane steal again, getting the Mythril Vest, before finishing it with Limit Glove.

When the long scenes were finally over, I took Freya over to the cathedral to pick up the treasure there. With that done, I returned to the inn, bought Stiltzkin's deal, read the letter from Monev, and saved. My time is now 03:17:55.

Gargan Roo and Entering Cleyra

After being away from my PS2 for a week and a half I'm now back into it. Gargan Roo is fairly straightforward. Just a couple chests and some machinery to set in motion for the gargant.  I already did the setup for Ralvurahva while in Treno, so now I move straight to the boss fight.

Just like Gargan Roo was straightforward, so is Ralvurahva. Steiner and Dagger attacked nonstop. Marcus stole the Mythril Fork, then joined in the attacking. That gets me a couple thousand extra gil. On Ralvurahva's turns it cast Blizzara on Marcus and used Devil's Kiss on Steiner, but both of them survived. Unfortunately Steiner didn't counterattack, but I still managed to match the target time for this short piece even with the steal. When control switched back to Zidane and co. I ran to the edge of the desert and saved at 03:00:50.

Now it's time to enter Cleyra. The encounter rate here and in Gargan Roo can be pretty annoying, but it's still not too bad to get through. Before I reached the part of the trunk where encounters begin, I set up my party as follows:

Zidane                       Freya                    Vivi                 

Butterfly Sword          Mythril Spear         Oak Staff         
Bandana                   Iron Helm               Bandana                       
Glass Armlet             Mythril Gloves        Bone Wrist   
Leather Shirt             Chain Mail              Magician Robe      
Gold Choker              Cachusha              Glass Buckle        
______________________________________________
                                HP+10%
                                Ability Up

With that, these three are ready for the upcoming fight against Antlion. I don't have all the equipment I need for Quina yet, so I ignore him for now. Freya and Vivi have to be set up before reaching the settlement, though, because they will then leave the party and not come back until the fight.

I followed camdad04's strategy from his last set of videos for getting through Cleyra, including skipping the first save with Monev. Of special note is the fact that he (and thus, I) skipped the Phoenix Pinion in the middle of the first set of stairs in the Cleyra settlement. This is because it's more convenient to get it later, when you're chasing Dan down the stairs. Also, I didn't buy the Mythril Rod from Dan because I bought it in Treno. After watching the ATEs and gathering the treasure, including the Silk Robe and Magician Shoes from following Quina down the sinkhole, I went to Monev this time around, delivered Atla's letter, and saved. My time is now 03:06:54.

Treno

And here we reach Treno. This is where I make my second biggest time savings in the challenge. I entered the city and proceeded as normal to the synthesis shop. There, I bought a Cachusha (requires Magus Hat and Rubber Helm), 2 Coral Rings, a Gold Choker, and 56 Cotton Robes. After that, I went to the weapon shop, sold the Cotton Robes, and bought all the things I needed. These are the changes I made from the guide's list:

I already had the Magus Hat and Linen Cuirass, so I didn't need to buy them again.
I bought a Mythril Rod here instead of Cleyra simply because I found it more convenient.
I bought 3 Bone Wrists instead of 2.
I bought all 9 of the missable Bandanas here instead of splitting them between here and the Black Mage Village.

NOTE: If you're going to have Steiner take Abadon's experience, then you should buy 3 Barbuts here instead of 2.

When I finished shopping, I optimized Steiner and gave him Silver Gloves, then activated Counter and MP Attack. Bird Killer was already activated in the previous circuit. In the fight against Griffin, Steiner's turn came up immediately, so he threw a Tent. Griffin did nothing but attempt to cast spells while Steiner finished him off with two attacks.

I saved after the fight, then proceeded to the auction house. When the Magician Robe came up I bid 8,000 for it and won instantly. That was all I was after, so I got out quickly. While Madain's Ring and the Reflect Ring have some minor uses, I don't think they're worth the large expense in time and gil at this point. A while ago I did devise a strategy that would let me skip the auction altogether, but in the end I decided the Magician Robe was too good to pass up. You can skip it if you want, but be warned that Cleyra, the escape from Alexandria, and the Iifa Tree will be harder without the Magician Robe.

With the auction done, I went straight to the pub for the scenes with trying to steal the Supersoft. After that, I headed over to Tot's tower. Along the way I got ready for the upcoming boss fight. Dagger and Steiner were already prepared, so I just had to equip Marcus. I equipped him with a Mythril Sword, a Bandana, a Bone Wrist, a Leather Plate, and a Yellow Scarf. The Chain Plate would provide more defense, but the Leather Plate halves ice damage, which will let him survive Blizzara. Steiner has taken no damage since I began disc 2, so I didn't bother messing with his HP. With that done, I picked up the Mythril Dagger and went inside. I gain a few more minutes over the target time by skipping the extra trip to Dali. I'll get the money I need through other means. Once in Gargan Roo, I delivered the letter to Mochos and saved. My time is 02:55:29.

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!