re: Ifrit
Life hasn't been great, but I managed to deal with Ifrit over the weekend. 4 very RNG fights. Fastest clear was just over 40 seconds, longest was 58 seconds.
Tidus (LM2+LMR): R4 Sapphire Bullet, R4 Trinity Bombshell, Acestriker (Glint/USB1/AASB/AOSB), 50/50 water+ throw artifact, 500 magia (HP/ATK/DEF/RES/Water), Odin accessory
Yuffie (LM2+LMR): R5 Azure Unending, R3 Stitch in Time, Scholar's Boon (USB2/AASB/AOSB), 50/50 water+ katana, 500 magia (HP/ATK/DEF/RES/Water), Odin accessory
Rikku (LM1+LM2): R4 Aqua Weakness, GAthering Storm (Glint+/BSSB2/AASB/CSB), 50/50 water+ ATK dagger, 400 magia (HP/ATK/DEF/RES), Odin accessory
Elarra (LM1+LMR): R5 Ode to Victory, R4 Passion Salsa, MM (USB1/AASB), 400 magia (HP/MND/DEF/RES), Major fire resist
Aerith (LM1+LM2): R5 Curada, R5 Ultra Cure, Lionheart (Glint+/USB2), 400 magia (HP/MND/DEF/RES), Odin accessory
RW: Fabula Guardian
Magicites: Leviathan (HP/Empower Water), Titan (HP/Healing Boon), Famfrit (HP/Dampen Fire), Madeen (ATk x2), Madeen (Blade/Spell Ward)
I tried with Tyro in place of Aerith but I can't keep up with the incoming damage. Last Stand triggers way too many times in this fight for me for a single source.
Rough gameplan:
Phase 1: Tidus/Yuffie/Rikku attack Ifrit until Rikku gets 4 gauges, Tidus gets 3, Yuffie gets 2. Then Rikku does CSB -> AASB at one of the pillars, Yuffie USB2 a pillar (note: while she gets gauge before Rikku is ready, it's better to drop her USB2 after CSB is up since she randomly won't kill a pillar without the buffs), Tidus does Glint then USB1 at a pillar, and thy all start attacking Ifrit again. Aerith summons Leviathan on Ifrit.
Phase 2: After Diffusion, Tidus and Yuffie hit two pillars with their AASBs, Rikku does en-water BSSb to a third pillar. All start attacking Ifrit again. Rikku doesn't always have gauge to refresh chain right away,. Usually needing to attack once or twice. As soon as she's able, refresh chain. Aerith usually calls Leviathan again ASAP.
I had runs where I just had Tidus and Yuffie kill two pillars while Rikku continued to attack Ifrit to build gauge so she could BSSB a pillar then refresh chain, but that was too dangerous since Yuffie and Tidus with triplecasts could blow up Phase 2 too quickly and I would eat the Level 2 Inferno Hellfire, which just a bit too debilitating (Last Stand would definitely need to be refreshed, and having your healing reduced by 50% for the last phase sucks).
In retrospect, I probably should have had Rikku just attack the pillars instead.
Phase 3: After Diffusion, Tidus uses USB1, Yuffie uses USB2, and Rikku uses en-water BSSB to kill three pillars, then blitz to the finish. Yuffie with AASB+USB2 in effect can tear up this phase by herself with good RNG - 3x7x19,999 + 10 hit chase + 8 hit chase is a thing of beauty. Bad RNG means AASBs run out and I have to use AOSBs to finish. As long as Aerith/Elarra have gauge, I can win, but that hasn't always been the case.
Also, who gets hit with Berserk can vary. I thought it was highest Hate but apparently it's highest Pain. Didn't know this until after I had gotten my 4 copies - something to make note of if/when I ever bother with magic-okay version.
Speaking of which, I'm probably a couple Lens picks away from beating the magic-okay version, based on a clear team I saw on Reddit, with Meia/Rydia/Rikku/Tyro/Elarra. I would need en-water USBs for Rydia and Meia first, though, and such a win is very low priority for me, so not bothering right now.