Well, today at Chocobo Stables in Bastok, I ran into Pitlordd again. So we did Kamp Kweh (with my bro Brunestud too) and talked a little. His chocobo seems to have a very difficult trying to win the Novice Official Race II. So, he’s considering getting a new Chocobo. I feel like writing some basic information of Chocobo Raising for my future reference, and just in case someone would need it.

Apart from picking a suitable Honeymoon Plan in order to derive the correct stat we want, as well as the correct type of ability (racer type/digger type) from correct side of parent, we will need to take a good care of the Egg, then the Chick, the Teenage Chocobo, and eventually the matured Chocobo, through out its life in the stables.

What we need :

- Time. Absolutely. One hour a day or even just half an hour will do.

- Chocobo’s Food. You need to pick suitable food to raise the correct stats for your chocobo.

- Some money. Sometimes food and medication for chocobo requires quite an amount of money (gil).

- Patience. It will take a long time before your effort yield fruits.

- Research. Read a lot. But don’t believe everything. Just use other people’s strategy as a rough guideline.

- Creativity. Compile information you’ve gathered, and think of the best combination to make your chocobo as good as you can. Make it suit your lifestyle as well, you can’t do exactly the same as other owner, especially if your time doesn’t allow.

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Where to research?

Well, I read various webpages before I started raising my chocobo. As well as asking various people who had experienced in that before.

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Chocobo_Raising << This is good for general ideas. It covers everything.

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Chocobo_Raising_Guide << This explains everything about taking care of a chocobo, as well as giving the ideas of how you should raise each type of chocobo (racer/digger.)

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Breeders_Guide_by_Urat << This gives the general idea of what you should do to your chocobo during specific stage of age.

Gah!! The other page that I’ve been using to check how food influences affection is currently blocked by security systen because it seemed to be infected with malicious code or something.

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First step: Egg Stage (Day 0 – Day 3)

As an Egg, your chocobo won’t lose any energy when you take care of it. And the only option under “Direct Care” menu is “Watch Over.” So, during the first 4 days from Day 0 to Day 4, spam “Watch Over” as much as you can. You don’t have to exit from the main menu and re-talk to the Stables Person for every “Watch.” Just select “Care for your Chocobo” from main menu, then spam “Watch Over” and “Yes,” “Watch Over” and “Yes” until you reach the number you want. I had done that to my chocobo’s egg about 40-50 times a day.

Why spam “Watch Over”?

Watch Over helps increase affection. If you manage to watch over it for 150 times or so, your egg, or chick, will have about Maximum Affection level towards you. Having max love from start will allow you to concentrate your daily chocobo care to raise its stats instead of affection. And since affection decays over time, having max affection at start will give you plenty of love to hang on.

Spamming “Watch Over” is a method that is great for every type of chocobos.

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Second Step: Chick Stage (Day 4 – Day 18)

On the 4th day, after listening to the report from Stables Person, your chick will hatch from the egg. Now you can feed your chick (be trading food to the Stables Person) and can order Care Plan for the caretaker to do for you. You can also do “Direct Care” for each day.

Feed
Watch for the report to see how hungry your chick is. Usually you can feed it with 1 or 2 pieces of food, like 2 carrots, per day. The energy bar (similar to your own HP bar) will determine how hungry the chocobo will become tomorrow. For example, if to day you only use “Direct Care” activities to spend half of the bar, it is very likely that your chick will become just “a little hungry” instead of “starving” like when you deplete its energy to zero. It is good to use up all the energy, because then the next day you can feed it  carrots instead of 1.

Mind you though, do not over-feed your chocobo. Once the Stables Person says that it’s “Completely Full,” stop feeding. In order to avoid over-feeding without realizing it, you should feed (trade) your food one by one.

Care Plan
Not many care plans to choose from when it’s a chick.

Care Plan plays the most significant role of how your chocobo stats will develop. Check wiki guide for how each Care Plan influences stats.

To order a care plan, you must select “Set Up A Care Schedule.” Then it will show “Next Program” which indicates what was registered yesterday. From birth, your chick will be automatically under “Basic Care” Care Plan. If you change the plan today, tomorrow it will still be under “Basic Care.” Must wait until the day after tomorrow to see the “Current Care Plan” (when Stables Person report to you each day) changing into what you had newly registered.

Direct Care
Direct Care is a tool to maintain affection level. Some, however, will help in increasing specific stats. I usually take my chick to a Short Walk 2-3 times a day. Then if the bar still has enough energy left, I would “Watch Over.

Taking your chick or chocobo to a walk will eventually earn you the Key Item for “Tell A Story” direct care, which will be available once the chick grows up to teenager (adolescence).

While on the walk, your baby might find small treasure on the ground. When that happens, if you “Watch Over” your chocobo, the Stables Person will tell you to keep that treasure. Usually from Short Walk, my chick would find various kinds of grass, like Tokopekko which I kept for later use, feeding this medical grass to it on the day it got sick.

Crying At Night
On around day 8, the Stables Person will tell you your chick has been crying loud enough to wake the deads at night. It’s having a nightmare. The Stables Person will then suggest you keep a hankerchief with you for a while (like 1 real life hour) and then return it to him/her. Doing that will cure your chocobo from “Having Nightmares” status. The hankerchief will play an important role later on, too!

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Third Step: Teenager Stage (Day 19 – Day 28)

Your chick will grows up and now you can notice if it is going to be of any special colour.

Daily care for your chococo will be similar to when it’s still a tiny chick, but you get more options.

Feed
Now if you keep making your chocobo starving by using up all the energy, and feed in a correct sequence, you should be able to feed your chocobo with 3 pieces of food each day. I would suggest 2 Carrots (or the correct type) and then 1 clump of Azouph Greens. I would also suggest feeding it one by one to avoid over-feeding. Use this sequence, Carrot => Carrot => Greens. Because if you go Carrot => Green, the chocobo will become “Completely Full” and you can’t feed the 2nd carrot of the day.

Azough Green is the green that gives the highest affection points. It is about equal to affection gained from taking chocobo to a long walk in Direct Care option.

Carrots will raise stats a tiny bit, but you must pick the correct kind of carrots.

When your Chocobo has abnormal condition like a cold, or an unjury, you will need special kind of feed to cure it. The Stables Person will tell you what kind of feed (grass, greens) you need. If you miss the message or the message glitches, just go to main chocobo menu and “Ask for your chocobo condition.”

When that happens, you must choose whether you would sacrifice tiny amount of stat boost from 1 Carrot or to sacrifice the affection from Azouph Greens. Because after feeding the chocobo a medical green or grass, although your chocobo will still appear to be starving, it will only take 2 more feeds. So, you can choose Medicine + 2 Carrots, or Medicine + 1 Carrot + 1 Azouph.

Care Plan
You now have more options to pick from. Plan it and register it wisely in order to make the most of it to boost your chocobo’s wanted stats.

Direct Care
Now you can take your chocobo to Regular Walk. On your first Regular Walk, you will meet with 3 guys who’re raising a black Chocobo named Best. After that encounter, you will find a new “Direct Care.” The “Compete Against Other” will eventually earn you one of the Key Item needed for telling a story.

Telling A Story – is a direct care which allows you to teach abilities (traits, or passive skills) to your chocobo. The stories can be obtained through various method. Your chocobo, however, is very less likely to learn any ability from any story at this age. Most stories require higher level of Discernment (intelligence) to be learnt.

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Fourth Step: Adult Stage (Day 29 – Day 64)

Yet even more options in taking care of your chocobo. And more problems!

Oh, and from now on your chocobo will be big like other grown-up chocobos. Also, the coloured tail tips during adolescence will now become full-colour all over the body.

Feed
You still feed it the same way as previous stage.

However, occasionally your chocobo might have a new sickness called “Lovesick.” Generally the Stables Person will say it has his head in the cloud, refusing to do anything etc. This can be cured with Celerity Salad. Celerity Salad can be obtained through high level Cooking or Chocobo Hot And Cold Game.

Care Plan
You have yet more options in Care Plan or Schedule. Beware, though. Since the new plans will decrease affection significantly. So you must be careful not to skip a day in Direct Care. Failing to take care of your chocobo 1 or 2 days may result in a dramatic drop in affection level.

Direct Care
Now you can take your grown-up chocobo to a Long Walk. 1 Long Walk a day combined with 1 Azouph Greens should be able to maintain high level of affection with no trouble.

Obtaining Chocobo Whistle
Once your chocobo becomes adult, you’ll be able to activate a quest to obtain whistle. Go to San d’Oria stables and talk to Hentalion. He will tell you to try to find something that your Chocobo has been hiding. Then, each day you must take it to a walk in various length (short, regular, and long) in order to sneak a peek and steal what your Chocobo had hidden!

A few tips on this….

When on a walk, it will have new kind of message. Sometimes it will say “Your chocobo looks very happy.” When I got that message and tried to check for item, the chocobo always found out and my search would always fail. Later, when it says “Your chocobo seems totally absorbed in its activities” or something like that, my search would succeed. But then again, if the place isn’t the correct place, you would find nothing. Just move to other type of walk and keep doing this until you find THE THING!

Chocobo Racing
At this age, your chocobo can participate in a Race. You need to register with the nation’s team in order to be able to race at that nation’s Race Circuit.You just have to ask for a documentation from the Stables Person, and get a Racing Form. Then trade the racing form to Racing Authority. Then you’re all set!

When you want to race, however, do not enter the door. You only need to talk to the Race Authoroty in front of the Circuit door. (The same one you trade the Racing Form.)

If you specialized your chocobo as a racer, you can win high ranked Official Races and earn yourself some dandy trophies to put as furnitures on your Mog House. If you specialized your chocobo as a digger, you can, at least, win 3 Novice ranked Official Races and then move to Free Run (will only appear in the race menu after winning 3 Novice Races) to earn Chocobucks.

Chocobucks plays a very important role in upgrading your Chocobo’s stats past day 64.

Chocobo Hot And Cold Game
Upon obtaining your Chocobo Whistle, and then register a chocobo of your choice to respond to it, you can participate in Chocobo Hot And Cold Game, which involve digging. Each day, resetting at Japanese midnight, you can obtain 1 item for free. That grass will be what you use to call your chocobo to the digging field. After activate the participation, you’ll be able to dig in 2 places. Konschtat Highlands, and Tahrongi Canyon. Each will lead to a different path of digging license. Pick one. No, actually you can pick both. Just do one at a time.

More details can be found here >> http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/The_Chocobo_Hot_and_Cold_Game

What’s so good about it?

If you dig successfully, you’ll get a ticket to trade for free Chocobucks. So everyday you can earn 1, 3, or 5 Chocobucks from digging in Hot And Cold Game. It depends on how advanced the place you dig is. Places like Altep areas and Jungles (Yhoat, Yuhtunga) will earn you 5! But of course, it’s much harder to dig than beginner areas which yield only 1 Chocobuck.

You can also obtain free junks, some of which are of high value on Auction House, or even at NPC shops.

Your Chocobo Digging skill will also rise after enough successfully digs in this game.

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Fifth Step: Halt in Growth (Day 64 and so on)

After Day 64, your chocobo will reportedly reach its limit of growth. Food and Care Plan will no longer increase any stats (except affection.)

So, if your Chocobo still hasn’t reached the level of stats (Strength, Endurance, Discernment, and Receptivity) that you desire, you will have to work hard, very hard, to obtain Chocobucks in order to buy Attribute Upgrades from the other Racing Authority.

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Sixth Step: Retirement

A retirement can be requested by you at any time after your chocobo reaches adulthood. But DO NOT do that before you obtain Chocobo Whistle, otherwise you will never be able to get it except by raising a new chocobo! Also, if you want to increase any of the attributes, you should not retire it. Keep your chocobo in the stables. Because even though you can buy “R. Chocotrain Token” to upgrade your selected attribute on your retired chocobo, it costs 90 Chocobucks instead of 80 like when you order a direct upgrade on your current chocobo.

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Gahhhh I hope that covers all of the general things to know about Chocobo Raising!

Next entry, a rough guideline on how to take care of specific type of chocobo!

>> Click Here << (Will open in this window, not popping a new one)