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I was recently asked about the growth and development of chocobos, and therefore decided to write this little guide.
Emergency Chocobo
If you are completely unconcerned with statistics and just want a ride when you get in a jam, just take an egg to the stables, visit it occasionally using the Watch over active care plan, and switch to Rest if it gets low on stamina. Don't feed it anything. On day 29, when it grows up—retire it unless you need to do the Whistle Quest. If you need to do the Whistle Quest, buy a stack of Gysahl Greens a number of days before it's 29th and feed two per day until your chocobo “regards you as its parent.†Then, on day 29, use the procedure outlined below for the whistle quest and keep repeating until you find the whistle. If affection dips, give a Gysahl green. The faster you get the whistle, the less it will cost—scrimp now, pay later. If you skip feeding, it will take you a very long time to find the whistle—go farm a crystal or something... Once you find the whistle, retire the chocobo. {Congratulations!}, you now have an Emergency Chocobo.
Chocobo on a Budget
Many of my friends in game have very little money—certainly not enough to spend on such a frivolous thing as a chocobo that costs 1000gil to call and eats 1000's of gil worth of food a month. This method is not a process it is a method; therefore specific steps will not be mentioned.
Breeder's Cup Riding Chocobo
Some people can afford nice chocobos. Remember, that raising a high-performance chocobo costs money. It will be cheaper to perform this process one time on a chocobo you want rather than to keep raising "Grab-bag" ISNM, quest, and vendor eggs. You are looking for two chocobo cards of the color you like (doesn't matter if you don't care), with the abilities Canter and/or Gallop. Get both birds with the same ability or abilities and color. It may take a while to collect these cards. I am not sure what level of Discernment Canter is teachable at. You can learn Gallop at average Discernment relatively easily and possibly earlier with lower success rates--It is extremely difficult if not impossible to teach any story to a chocobo with Poor Discernment. If over the lifespan of your chocobo, you can achieve Average Discernment (I don't know if this is possible without multiple generations) and Canter is not teachable at Average or lower Discernment, you'll want chocobos with Canter and may even orphan Gallop/no Canter babies.
Breed the chocobos according to the dating plan that selects for Endurance. We are selecting for Endurance via the date to balance out the fact that it is generally easier to maximize Strength using the Deliver Messages care plan and there is no careplan to raise Endurance comparably. This dating plan is called the Sports plan and yields more males than females.
You probably don't need to visit the egg more than once. Just space about 50 Watch Overs over the 3 day cycle or do them all at once on the 3rd day.
On day 4, you will go to the stables and change the chocobos automatic care plan to Take a Walk in Town.Set 15 days at least of this careplan. Each day when you visit the chocobo you will perform any series of actions to raise it's affection to Parent. This should be a mixture of short walk and feeding Carrot Paste. Always feed the chocobo to full with Carrot Paste or Vomp Carrots. At this stage, the chocobo's affection level should be easily maintainable, and thus affection greens do not come into play here. Both Vomp Carrots and Carrot Paste raise the physical attributes (STR and END), but I choose Carrot Paste since the chocobo information guru recommends it. Perform all tasks set forth for you except, possibly, the lost little chocobo which is for a story you probably won't be able to teach the chocobo anyway.
On day 19, change the careplan to Carrying Packages. This careplan will be repeated for the majority of the bird's lifecycle from now until it reaches top level*. You may now need to intersperse feedings of Azouph Greens to maintain Parent level affection. Discontinue feeding Carrot Paste and use only Vomp Carrots to raise statistics when possible. Use Medium Walks now. The longer the walk, the more effective it is at raising affection (greater per unit energy). Only feed Azouph Greens after you have fed two carrots and still have a lowered affection level. You can try feeding a third carrot to get it maxed, but if it doesn't work, you won't get maximal effect of tomorrow's careplan. Get a “feel†for the bird. If it has a psychological need, take care of it (for adolescents this is usually a desire to race). If it gets sick, use a medicinal green—these greens ensure correction of the malady in one day—I've never had one fail, but others may have. Failure to heal after feeding medication is either not part of the mechanics or is quite rare. Failure to respond to psychological programs (scolding later on) has been known to fail much more frequently—I've had chocobos still want to race the next day and still acting spoiled. The magic number appears to be 3 initiations of the care plan—if you take the chocobo to race 3 times, the likelihood that it will be bored the next day is exceedingly rare (if not impossible).
On day 29, you have the option to maximize Strength early by switching to the Deliver Messages care plan. This careplan is incredibly effective as far as anecdotal evidence I have goes. However, I am not sure that it provides the same total amount of positive benefit as Carry Packages does to both Strength and Endurance. The choice is yours. If you use the Deliver Messages careplan you will likely need to switch exclusively to Azouph Greens for feeding. You may opt for a Cupid Worm, but I'm not sure the Endurance loss from the worm equates to the same loss as having a slightly lowered affection level does. If the worm's negative effect is less than or equal to the negative effect of the lowered affection and the loss of carrots, the Cupid Worm is the best option, otherwise, Azouph Greens for a couple of days is better. Once the chocobo reaches “First Class†Strength*, cut Deliver Messages out of the care plan. I recommend interspersing Messages with Packages so that you don't have to do as much guesswork when you try to maximize the growth rate—remember, any points above maximum strength you get through Packages is wasted effort and will result in a less-than-optimal bird. Continue the “Deliver Packages†careplan until you achieve “First Class†Endurance*. Once this occurs, switch back to basic care, but maintain Parent affection. Also, discontinue feeding Vomp Carrots. This last step will provide you with a small boost to your chocobo's mental attributes. If your chocobo has any open ability slots, train an ability (usually a physical one—Gallop or Canter) by drilling the appropriate story. On day 129 your chocobo will be as good as it is ever going to get. {Congratulations!}, you now have a Breeder's Cup Riding Chocobo. Go find it a mate of similar quality and raise the child.
Breeder's Cup Digging Chocobo
A Digging chocobo is raised in a similar manner as above, so I will mention the differences only.
{Congratulations!}, you now have a Breeder's Cup Digging Chocobo. Go find it a mate of similar quality and raise the child.
Please see the FFXIClopedia Guides for more information:
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Chocobo_Raising
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Chocobo_Raising_Guide
* - This guide and the asterisk-marked sentences in particular, are based on my anecdotal experience and may be incorrect. With specific attention to the asterisk-marked sentences, there is also a “magic number†for your chocobo's chosen major attributes that will allow you to maximize the efficacy of Basic care. This magic number likely exists somwhere in the Outstanding range.
- Color of chocobo is a matter of personal choice just like race is. Breed the chocobo you want to be seen on or that matches your Noble's Tunic or whatever. All statistical variances can be altered though setting your chocobo's care plan.
- You do not to spend thousands of gil on a chocobo. Anyone can have a chocobo. It is conceivable to create a chocobo for no money. The chocobo will be ridable and useful though not as fast or as long-lasting as a stables chocobo. The primary use for such a chocobo is saving experience points on death or money on stealth products when travelling in dangerous chocobo-accessible areas such as Yutunga Jungle or Wajaom Woodlands—this is, in fact, the primary purpose of any callable riding chocobo fast or slow, long duration or short. It costs 1000gil to summon the chocobo, therefore it is more economical to just go with the stables bird except in some cases where the price of a “Crag Chocobo†will rise above the cost of a whistle charge (keep this in mind when teleporting).
- All chocobos require an investment of game time even if you intend to go the free route. If you do not invest your time, the effects of your chocobo's care plan will be severely diminished (it may not follow the care plan at all) and it may run away (don't worry, it comes back).
Emergency Chocobo
If you are completely unconcerned with statistics and just want a ride when you get in a jam, just take an egg to the stables, visit it occasionally using the Watch over active care plan, and switch to Rest if it gets low on stamina. Don't feed it anything. On day 29, when it grows up—retire it unless you need to do the Whistle Quest. If you need to do the Whistle Quest, buy a stack of Gysahl Greens a number of days before it's 29th and feed two per day until your chocobo “regards you as its parent.†Then, on day 29, use the procedure outlined below for the whistle quest and keep repeating until you find the whistle. If affection dips, give a Gysahl green. The faster you get the whistle, the less it will cost—scrimp now, pay later. If you skip feeding, it will take you a very long time to find the whistle—go farm a crystal or something... Once you find the whistle, retire the chocobo. {Congratulations!}, you now have an Emergency Chocobo.
Chocobo on a Budget
Many of my friends in game have very little money—certainly not enough to spend on such a frivolous thing as a chocobo that costs 1000gil to call and eats 1000's of gil worth of food a month. This method is not a process it is a method; therefore specific steps will not be mentioned.
- If you're on a tight budget you can opt to buy Gysahl Greens occasionally from the vendor near the stables (one at a time) and feed them to your chocobo. Doing this will reduce the amount of rest your chocobo needs.
- Most injury and illnesses will clear on their own—sometimes the next day—which is as good as you can get with a Wildgrass. You do not need medicinal greens.
- It is not necessary to fill your bird up to “Completely Fullâ€. Since you're on a budget, set a goal level of affection for the chocobo and try keep it there using the greens and/or active care. Usually, this level will be “Parentâ€--the best affection level you can get. This maximizes the effects of your care plan, but if you can't afford it you can try maintaining a lower level of affection—I do not, at this time, know if it is more or less costly to maintain non-Parent affection levels.
- The idea here is to use the Gysahl Greens or the resting plan to maintain a consistent energy level for the chocobo. You don't have to fill it all the way up, you just need enough energy for it to get through its careplan cycle, so if you have chosen Basic Careplan you can let it go for a very long time (never done it, but I'd estimate you could take a one month vacation and it would still have energy). Be aware that if you do not visit or interact with your chocobo, it will not like you and it may run away (it'll come back)--during this period it will not gain any statistical boosts. You should also be aware that if this is your first chocobo, you will have difficulty locating the Dirty Hankerchief needed to obtain your whistle to call it.
- Walks are expensive. Walks raise affection more than other careplans but they consume at least as much energy as even the most rigorous automated care plans. If you're on a budget, you might want to stick to the very, very cheap: Watch over the chocobo active care plan. It uses very little energy, but provides very little affection. This would be a good mate with the Basic Care chocobo. A Walk must be payed for either in Greens or with Resting, so remember that it will either cost you money or lowered statistics.
Breeder's Cup Riding Chocobo
Some people can afford nice chocobos. Remember, that raising a high-performance chocobo costs money. It will be cheaper to perform this process one time on a chocobo you want rather than to keep raising "Grab-bag" ISNM, quest, and vendor eggs. You are looking for two chocobo cards of the color you like (doesn't matter if you don't care), with the abilities Canter and/or Gallop. Get both birds with the same ability or abilities and color. It may take a while to collect these cards. I am not sure what level of Discernment Canter is teachable at. You can learn Gallop at average Discernment relatively easily and possibly earlier with lower success rates--It is extremely difficult if not impossible to teach any story to a chocobo with Poor Discernment. If over the lifespan of your chocobo, you can achieve Average Discernment (I don't know if this is possible without multiple generations) and Canter is not teachable at Average or lower Discernment, you'll want chocobos with Canter and may even orphan Gallop/no Canter babies.
Breed the chocobos according to the dating plan that selects for Endurance. We are selecting for Endurance via the date to balance out the fact that it is generally easier to maximize Strength using the Deliver Messages care plan and there is no careplan to raise Endurance comparably. This dating plan is called the Sports plan and yields more males than females.
You probably don't need to visit the egg more than once. Just space about 50 Watch Overs over the 3 day cycle or do them all at once on the 3rd day.
On day 4, you will go to the stables and change the chocobos automatic care plan to Take a Walk in Town.Set 15 days at least of this careplan. Each day when you visit the chocobo you will perform any series of actions to raise it's affection to Parent. This should be a mixture of short walk and feeding Carrot Paste. Always feed the chocobo to full with Carrot Paste or Vomp Carrots. At this stage, the chocobo's affection level should be easily maintainable, and thus affection greens do not come into play here. Both Vomp Carrots and Carrot Paste raise the physical attributes (STR and END), but I choose Carrot Paste since the chocobo information guru recommends it. Perform all tasks set forth for you except, possibly, the lost little chocobo which is for a story you probably won't be able to teach the chocobo anyway.
On day 19, change the careplan to Carrying Packages. This careplan will be repeated for the majority of the bird's lifecycle from now until it reaches top level*. You may now need to intersperse feedings of Azouph Greens to maintain Parent level affection. Discontinue feeding Carrot Paste and use only Vomp Carrots to raise statistics when possible. Use Medium Walks now. The longer the walk, the more effective it is at raising affection (greater per unit energy). Only feed Azouph Greens after you have fed two carrots and still have a lowered affection level. You can try feeding a third carrot to get it maxed, but if it doesn't work, you won't get maximal effect of tomorrow's careplan. Get a “feel†for the bird. If it has a psychological need, take care of it (for adolescents this is usually a desire to race). If it gets sick, use a medicinal green—these greens ensure correction of the malady in one day—I've never had one fail, but others may have. Failure to heal after feeding medication is either not part of the mechanics or is quite rare. Failure to respond to psychological programs (scolding later on) has been known to fail much more frequently—I've had chocobos still want to race the next day and still acting spoiled. The magic number appears to be 3 initiations of the care plan—if you take the chocobo to race 3 times, the likelihood that it will be bored the next day is exceedingly rare (if not impossible).
On day 29, you have the option to maximize Strength early by switching to the Deliver Messages care plan. This careplan is incredibly effective as far as anecdotal evidence I have goes. However, I am not sure that it provides the same total amount of positive benefit as Carry Packages does to both Strength and Endurance. The choice is yours. If you use the Deliver Messages careplan you will likely need to switch exclusively to Azouph Greens for feeding. You may opt for a Cupid Worm, but I'm not sure the Endurance loss from the worm equates to the same loss as having a slightly lowered affection level does. If the worm's negative effect is less than or equal to the negative effect of the lowered affection and the loss of carrots, the Cupid Worm is the best option, otherwise, Azouph Greens for a couple of days is better. Once the chocobo reaches “First Class†Strength*, cut Deliver Messages out of the care plan. I recommend interspersing Messages with Packages so that you don't have to do as much guesswork when you try to maximize the growth rate—remember, any points above maximum strength you get through Packages is wasted effort and will result in a less-than-optimal bird. Continue the “Deliver Packages†careplan until you achieve “First Class†Endurance*. Once this occurs, switch back to basic care, but maintain Parent affection. Also, discontinue feeding Vomp Carrots. This last step will provide you with a small boost to your chocobo's mental attributes. If your chocobo has any open ability slots, train an ability (usually a physical one—Gallop or Canter) by drilling the appropriate story. On day 129 your chocobo will be as good as it is ever going to get. {Congratulations!}, you now have a Breeder's Cup Riding Chocobo. Go find it a mate of similar quality and raise the child.
Breeder's Cup Digging Chocobo
A Digging chocobo is raised in a similar manner as above, so I will mention the differences only.
- You will feed Zegham Carrots exclusively as a statistical boosting food in place of Carrot Paste and Vomp Carrots according to the guide above.
- Instead of finding "Ability" eggs, look for chocobos with high mentals. most of them will have abilities, but make sure that any abilities it does have are ones that you want. Mental chocobos learn abilities easily, so you may not want a chocobo with -any- abilities--Go for "Virgin" parents or those who have appropriate abilities. Make sure that they don't have physical abilities like Gallop or Canter as these are basically a waste a slot on your digger.
- Instead of “Take a walk in town†during infancy, you will use “Listen to musicâ€.
- Instead of “Deliver packages†during adolescence, you will use “Exhibiting to the publicâ€.
- Instead of any careplans mentioned for adulthood (excepting Basic Care during the end phase), you will alternate“Digging for treasure†and “Acting in a play†to quickly maximize both mental statistics—keep in mind that, as before, I'm not sure that a “Big Arrow†care plan provides as much total statistical gain as do the “Medium Arrow†ones, so you may opt to maintain “Exhibit to the public†instead.
- Once your chocobo acquires a story for a digging ability you want it to have (usually Bore and Burrow for traditional crafting-style chocobo digging), begin drilling that story until it is learned. You should place emphasis on learing the Long Walk Story (one of the digging stories is always found on a long walk) to learning the short walk ability (or medium walk if you're using the San d'Orian stables). Remember, high Discernment produces very quick results--concentrate on acquisition. It may take 20 or more days to successfully locate the remote chocobo breeder (Pulonono or Zopago) the requisite 3 times.
{Congratulations!}, you now have a Breeder's Cup Digging Chocobo. Go find it a mate of similar quality and raise the child.
Please see the FFXIClopedia Guides for more information:
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Chocobo_Raising
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Chocobo_Raising_Guide
* - This guide and the asterisk-marked sentences in particular, are based on my anecdotal experience and may be incorrect. With specific attention to the asterisk-marked sentences, there is also a “magic number†for your chocobo's chosen major attributes that will allow you to maximize the efficacy of Basic care. This magic number likely exists somwhere in the Outstanding range.
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