Ways to Raise a Better Chocobo

Chocobo raising is kind of fun, but it requires patience, the ability to check your FFXI account at least once daily, and a character with good traveling abilities. You will need to be in your hometown at least once every 24 hours real time.

The advantages of owning your own chocobo are:

1. Prestige. Watch those Noobs eyes get big when you call your own bird in the field. The fun is even greater when your birdie is black. But blue, green, red and even a plain old yellow are pretty cool, too.
2. Convenience: It sure is handy for getting back to ..well, anywhere...without having to go to a telepoint or town to rent a bird.
3. Safety: Develop your low level jobs in the appropriate farming/partying/xp spot without having to worry about being attacked on the way home.
4. Ability to participate in new events/quest/games: There is, of course, the egg quest. Chocobo owners may also participate in Kamp Kweh, Treasure hunting, or Chocobo racing. I'll be honest enough to say I don't have all that figured out yet...but I'll make a chart when I do.
5. The Challenge: Will you be the one to have the best chocobo around? Will your bird be the color you want?Will you be able to win races and get super treasure? Can you breed a chocobo to have certain characteristics? Rumor has it that intelligence and speed breed true with these effectionate steeds!

The disadvantages of raising a chocobo are:

1. You really need to check daily. If you don't look in on your feathered friend he will get lonely, grumpy, and may even run away! He or she won't starve, because the stable takes care of basic needs, but these little virtual pets are more fickle than a real life cat!
2. Chocobos are expensive. Even if you grow your own chocobo feed (and I do), they get sick and require meds that you don't have on hand or you are searching for just the right food to boost abilities.
3. Time consumption. For some reason, there is a tremendous amount of lag around the chocobo raising area. The little cut scenes take several seconds to load, and there are several little things that you may need to do with your bird--take a walk, let him compete in a race, feed him special tidbits...I have found that a thorough chocobo check can take up to 20 minutes in real time. Compare this to checking 4 gardening mules in fifteen minutes--including putting stuff up for sale at the Auction Houses!

Since I play Final Fantasy XI primarily to relax, I enjoy the quiet moments taking care of my chocobo. I had already been gardening for some time when this option became available. Adding Cooking as a crafting skill goes well this both these activities; and is especially advantageous for making pastes and such for a growing birdie. I have gained 20 cooking levels (20 to 40) while developing my most recent feathered freind. I'm excited--and a little frustrated--by the racing event, but I'm sure I'll get this figured out eventually.

Overall, I find Chocobo Raising a nice addition to an already delightfully complex game.

Some things I've learned: