no encounters weapon/armor is need in here if you've got problems with fiends. anyways, the game is very easy to defeat. just learn how to time when the cactuar will turn around and catch you trying to get near it. when you hear the cactuar make a funny sound, it will turn around. if you succesfully get near it, it'll trigger a battle. beat it and you'd get a sphere. if you failed, you still get a sphere.