Battle arena

[Halenite]

I would actually equip the Escort Guard in case you end up against the flying serpent in the final round to absorb his only attack.

[TheSpoonyBard]

I use the following combination with Yuffie. It takes some time but it is well worth the effort.

Weapon: Conformer
Armour: Wizard Bracelet
Accessory: Ribbon

Weapon:
Destruct = Added Effect
SlashAll = Exit
Master Command = HP Absorb
Counter Attack = Counter Attack

Armour:
Counter Attack = Counter Attack
Counter Attack = Counter Attack
Counter Attack = Counter Attack
Counter Attack = Counter Attack

I like to use SlashAll (not Flash) with a mastered Destruct=Added Effect combination in the weapon to kill things instantly. If anything is immune to Sudden Death then I use Remove, unless it is a boss, in which case I just let her counter attack until the enemy is dead. Each time Yuffie attacks anything she will gain HP from the Master Command = HP Absorb link.

[Rinen]

Also if you want a slightly better chance at getting a particular handicap, you can spam square or was it circle, that way the reels would appear to slow down. It works sometimes.

[Shoden]

it never works for me

[Rinen]

It worked for me twice I think. Then again, that was when it was around 4am, so maybe I was just too tired. You can always try to memorize the reels and when you see one of them, you can select and it will go to what you want.

[TheSpoonyBard]

Pressing 'square' repeatedly does not make the reels slow down, it merely causes the screen to disappear and reappear very quickly, causing a strobe effect. The visual effect of this strobe is slower slots, but in reality the speed does not change, merely your perception of it changes.

[LH]

I wrote this a looooong time ago and I just found it recently so I may as well post it here. I'm gonna shrink it because it's kinda long. This also probably isn't perfect. It's just what I use, so you should add some other techniques already stated in this thread that I didn't include. And stuff.

The battle arena is located in the Gold Saucer. It is a place where, after a price of 10 GP, you will face a chain of enemies. The catch is that you will do it with only one member of you party and will receive no EXP, no AP, and no Gil. Seem like it's not worth it? Well, it is one of the most rewarding sidequests in RPG history.

There are few things that must be known before you before you begin battling. You will receive BP for every set of enemies you defeat, and the amount depends on which handicap you get. Once you begin a battle, you will continue battling through 8 different battles unless you are defeated or give up. When you give up, you keep however many BP you have earned thus far, but if you are defeated, you lose it all. If you can manage to sweep through all 8 sets of enemies, you get all of the BP you have earned, but the major perk of it is that the last round's handicaps give massive amounts of BP compared to the first 7. When you have obtained any amount of BP, do not leave the arena! Once you leave you will lose all of the BP you have earned. Oh yeah, every battle, whether it is won or lost gets you a 'Tissue'. There are many rumors floating around involving the purpose of this item, but the truth is that it is 100% useless, unless you enjoy the 1 Gil you get for selling it.

This arena is rather difficult, especially for less seasoned RPG players. A few requirements make it much easier than usual. This guide assumes you choose Cloud for this (he is the most well-rounded character you will ever see in this game) so all equipment and materia suits his strengths and weaknesses. The most important prerequisite is the 'Ribbon' accessory. It prevents nearly every status you will encounter here, and as a one-man team you will need this direly. Cloud's Ultima Weapon is strongly recommended, but if you don't have it yet his Ragnarok will do. For armor the Mystile is the best choice; its evading capabilities are a true life saver. Once your equipment is okay set Cloud in the 'Beserk' status to pump up his limit break faster.

For materia the first priority is to get an assorted setup. The handicap bar can cut off a certain color materia, so the last thing you want to find yourself doing is relying on one specific color. Obviously you will want to load Cloud up with HP Plus materia. With the Ragnarok/Ultima Weapon and a Mystile he will have several materia slots and you may even have extras. Since Cloud is powerful in both magic and physical attacking Counter (as many as possible in fact), and Ultima and any one of the higher summons (Neo Bahamut, Bahamut ZERO, and of course Knights of the Round if you have it) are very great choices, along with the Big Guard enemy skill. If you have Quadra Magic, by all means use it with Contain or Ultima. I cannot stress the usefulness of Haste enough for these battles. Slash-All and 4X-Cut make the arena much easier, but only one of them can be used at a time so choose wisely. Do you want to be able to take out a group of enemies in one swipe with Slash-All or pulverise one enemy with 4 straight attacks? 4X-Cut seems to be the best option because it will attack a group if one is encountered, but keep in mind that it attacks enemies randomly. The choice is up to you.

When you begin the actual battle cast Haste and Big Guard. The first round opponents are the easiest ones you will face, so take advantage of them and cast some nice statuses on yourself. When you begin to climb through the rounds you may encounter an enemy known as a Tonberry (Round 7; regular battle). When you do, kill him as quickly as possible. If you do not he will most likely take you out with his Knife technique, and in one singular hit to boot. He has a few dozen thousand HP, so any multiple hitting spells and techniques work wonders. Also, you may encounter a Ghost Ship (Round 8; regular battle). He can swat you away with his oar, causing you to automatically be disqualified, so take him out with quickness as well.

When you have played for a good amount of time and have procured enough BP for both the Omnislash and W-Summon (96,000 BP in total), check for Cloud's Ultima Weapon. If you have it, and you have traded in your BP for the W-Summon and Omnislash, the Special Battle will become accessable. (If you don't have the Ultima Weapon and you want to go get it, make sure you cash in your BP before you leave!) The Special Battle is a more difficult version of the typical battle arena game. It will pit you against 8 grueling rounds, topping off with the Proud Clod (Yeah, that's right, ShinRa's anti-WEAPON artilery). Knights of the Round is strongly recommended to kill the Proud Clod. If not, hope for Omnislash. When the Special Battle has been cleared you will receive a glorious materia, Final Attack, the key to defeating the Emerald and Ruby WEAPONs.

If you are having difficulty winning these battles and have no alternative, there are a couple of ways to cheat the system. One of which is to use broken materia. An example of this cheat is if you use Flare and then have your magic materia broken. If you select Mime afterwards Cloud will use Flare. You can also completely restore your HP, but it is a risky process. Cast Regen and then open the disc cover of your Playstation. Cloud's HP will keep regenerating until they are at their full level. I do not take any responsibility for any damages received on any piece of electronic equipment when using this tip. Use it at your own risk.

[Swordicanus]

keep pressing square i think and the roulette wheel slows down a bit it kind of gives a choice and helps a bit because at first i lost my mind with them god damn tissues(what are they for anyway) also use cloud with a ribbon it helps big time with ultima weapon also it's just a matter of patience really