In the Battle Arena, you can choose one of your party members to compete in a series of 8 fights to collect points. These points can then be exchanged for some rather awesome prizes. The cost of each battle is 10 GP. (Note this is GP, Not Gil) Also, you do not really die in the Arena. Even if you are KO'ed in battle, you will leave the fight exactly as you entered it. Though you can participate in the arena the first time you visit the Gold Saucer, you should wait until you get certain items and Materia to help you out. This is what I strongly recommend for your battling... Ribbon- This is a must have item. It will negate an of the status affects given by your enemies, as well as the arena wheel between each fight. Added Effect + Contain Materia- With this combo in your weapon, you can turn most enemies to stone, before the fight can even get going. Slash-All, or Mega-All Materia- This allows you to strike all opponents in a single turn, thus shortening the battles. Enemy Skill Materia- The Enemy Skill Materia gives you the spells Big Guard, and White Wind. These are important in battle. Knights of the Round- With KOTR, you can end any fight in the arena with one blow. Counter Attack Materia- This will add more strikes for you. The more Counter Attack Materia's you have, the more times you get to counter the enemy attack. Ultimate weapon- You should have then Ultimate weapon of whomever is doing the battles. Long Range Materia- This allows you to place your character in the back, decrease damage to you, and still deal massive damage to the enemy. *You should fill any slots with either HP or MP Plus Materia's, until you get to 9999/999. This will give you more points to work with. *Note you should get rid of any All Materia, unless it is combined with offensive magic/commands. There is no point in casting Cure 3+All, if you are the only one fighting. Once you have met these criteria, you are ready to begin. Go up to the clerk in the right side of the screen. She will ask who is fighting, you choose your champion, and they run into the arena to fight. After each fight, you are given the option of continuing, or stopping the fight. If you stop, you get the points you earned up until then. The amount of points are varying throughout the fighting. One thing is for certain though...the greater the handicap on the wheel, the more points you get if you survive the battle. If you continue, a reel appears, and you get to stop it from spinning. When it stops, you are hit with one of 23 status effects. The table below gives the effects of each status on your character:

	All Materia broken	All your Materia is disabled
	Magic Materia broken	All Magic Materia (Green) is disabled
	Summon Materia broken	All Summon Materia (Red) is disabled
	Command Materia broken	All Command Materia (Yellow) is disabled
	Support Materia broken	All Support Materia (Blue) is disabled.
	Independant Materia broken	All Independant Materia (Purple) is disabled.
	Mini	Fighter is affected with Mini in the next fight.
	Toad	Fighter is affected with Toad in the next fight.
	Poison	Fighter is affected with Poison in the next fight.
	Weapon broken	Weapons are disabled. Base strength of the fighter is used to determine damage.
	Armor broken	Armors are disabled. Base strength of the fighter is used to determine damage.
	Accessory broken	Accessories and their affects are disabled
	Item sealed	Item command is disabled
	Speed	Fighters speed is reduced by 1/2 the current speed
	Time x30 Damage	Fighter loses HP equal to the time in the time bar at the end of the previous fight
	HP	Fighters maximum HP is cut in half 1/2
	MP	Fighters MP is cut in 1/2
	HP/MP	Fighters maximum HP/MP is reduced by 1/2
	Zero MP	Fighter loses all MP. (Can be replenished with items)
	5 Levels down	Fighters level is reduced by 5, affecting stats.
	10 Levels down	Fighters level is reduced by 10, affecting stats.
	Cure	Fighter is fully cured in next fight
	Lucky 7	No handicaps. (But little points are earned)

At the end of each of the battles, you face a boss of sorts. Most of them are found throughout the world regularly, with the exception of one. This would be the Ho-Chu enemy. Though scripted for the game outside of the Battle Arena, he does not appear. The same holds true for the Tonberry in the arena. Otherwise, the final enemies in the arena have slightly higher stats of their normal counterparts, but still should not pose too much of a threat. Here is the 4 you will face randomly in the arena.

The Serpent and Sea Worm are very straight forward fights, that require very little. If you lose your accessory, or you Materia, they can still be easily defeated.
Ho-Chu can poison you if you are not protected by the Ribbon, and does have some powerful hits. But also is not too much to worry about.
The issue boss here is the Ghost Ship. Not because he is powerful or anything like that. But no matter what you have, defense, or anything else, he can throw you out of the fight. He needs to be taken out fast and hard. If you have Knights of the Round at this point, wastte it on him. You get thrown out of the fight, and you will lose your points.

When you finish the battles, and are given your points, you can exchange them in the Arena Exchange on the bottom right side of the lobby. There are two must-have items, as well as some other outstanding prizes.


Once you get the Omni-Slash Limit Break, and the W-Summon Materia, you are given the option of fighting in a special battle. This battle is harder than the normal ones, and the enemy list is harder as well. Things like Unknown make their appearance, as well as several of the above bosses. And the boss at the end...None other than Proud Clod. Straight up you will not survive this fight without Knights of the Round, or Cloud's omni-Slash (Providing your weapon is not broken) Unless your Item command is available, and you have some magic Materia of some kind that will do significant damage. Otherwise you will lose.
For winning these battles, you will receive other prizes:


Final Attack
Masamune Blade
Combat Diary
Autograph

The Final Attack Materia is what makes the special battles worth trying. The other items are basically worthless.
Well that is about everything for the Battle Arena. If you find you are being overcome by the enemies, you may need to level up a bit. Then return and try again. Remember to use your points before leaving the arena. The points you collect will disappear when you leave.
So what are you waiting for? Get in there and kick some monster butts!!!