Chocobo Racing
- See also: Chocobo
Chocobo Racing is an activity released with the Gold Saucer in patch 2.51. During this activity, players act as breeders, trainers and jockeys of their chocobos. Players can enter their well-bred and carefully trained chocobos into races to increase their ranks and win 
Manderville Gold Saucer Points.
Note that the chocobo you use in Chocobo Racing is NOT your companion/mount chocobo.
Unlock
Players must complete the level 15 questline starting with 
So You Want to Be a Jockey. Players can start the quest by talking to Race Chocobo Registrar in Gold Saucer (X:6, Y:4). Players must have previously completed It Could Happen to You.
Levels
Rank
A chocobo's Rank is its level, which can be increased with experience from racing. The maximum rank is 50, but chocobos can be retired as early as rank 40.
Every time your chocobo's rank increases, 5 stats will be randomly selected and increased by 1% of their maximum value. A particular stat can be chosen multiple times in a single level-up. It also earns a feeding opportunity.
At Rank 10, your chocobo will learn a new ability, chosen at random. If the ability is removed (using 
Lethe Water), a new ability is selected the next time your chocobo's rank increases.
Rating
A chocobo's Rating is a comprehensive measure of its ability, and determines which racing class your chocobo may enter. It is the average number of your 5 stats (without any bonuses from feeding).
A higher rating grants entry to more prestigious races, but may also prevent racing in lower classes.
Maiden Class is for Rating 1-20, R-40 Class is for Rating 1-40, R-60 requires Rating 41-60, R-80 requires Rating 41-80, and so on, R-300 being the highest with a range of R241-300. Your chocobo will earn far greater EXP and slightly more MGP in higher tier races.
If you don't feed your chocobo or use lower Grade Feeds, you will have a slight disadvantage against well-fed chocobos with a similar rating.
Stats and Abilities
Stats
| stat | Effect |
|---|---|
| Maximum Speed | Affects how quickly your chocobo can run. |
| Acceleration | Affects how quickly your chocobo can attain maximum speed. |
| Endurance | Affects the threshold at which your chocobo gains "Lathered" status and consumes stamina at an increased rate. |
| Stamina | Affects the total amount of stamina your chocobo has. |
| Cunning | Affects how effectively your chocobo can navigate a course with rough terrain. |
The stats of your chocobo are displayed in the form (current stats)/(stat cap). Each rank up increases all of your stats, and they can also be increased through training with feed. All gains through all sources are proportional to your respective maximum in that stat. The game keeps track of decimals internally. You'll notice that if you train your bird with the same feed, the amount you get will sometimes differ by 1 due to internal rounding.
The formula for your Stat Cap is:
Stat Cap = 40 * (Pedigree Level + Star Rating) - 20
Your first chocobo will start with 1 Pedigree Level and 2 Star Rating in all stats so it will have stat cap of 100 in all stats. A chocobo with Pedigree of 2 and 2 Stars in all stats will have stat cap of 140. The maximum stat cap is 500, requiring a Pedigree Level 9 Chocobo with a full 4 Star Rating.
Abilities
| Ability | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Choco Dash | Active | Temporarily boosts speed without depleting stamina for 1s / 2s / 3s. |
| Choco Cure | Active | Restores 6% / 9% / 12% of total stamina. |
| Choco Esuna | Active | Removes all current enfeeblements with a 75% / 90% / 100% success rate. |
| Choco Ease | Active | Cures Heavy status while restoring stamina by 80 / 130 / 180. |
| Choco Calm | Active | Cures Frenzied status while restoring stamina by 100 / 150 / 200. (Stamina is only restored when curing Frenzied status. |
| Choco Reflect | Active | Repels any non area-of-effect enfeeblement back to its point of origin for 10s / 15s / 20s. |
| Choco Steal | Active | Take an item from the satchel of the forerunning jockey with a 50% / 70% / 90% success rate. |
| Choco Silence | Active | Creates a vacuum of silence preventing any nearby chocobo from using abilities for 35s / 40s / 45s. |
| Choco Shock | Active | Creates a disconcerting aura which distracts nearby chocobos and prevent them from using items for 25s / 30s / 35s. |
| Head Start | Passive | Begin the race at maximum speed. |
| Increased Stamina | Passive | Reduces stamina depletion during acceleration by 9% / 12% / 15%. |
| Heavy Resistance | Passive | Increases chance of resisting Heavy by 60% / 70% / 80% / 90% / 100%. |
| Level Head | Passive | Increases chance of resisting Frenzied by 60% / 70% / 80% / 90% / 100%. |
| Speedy Recovery | Passive | Increases ability-induced stamina recovery by 50% / 65% / 80%. |
| Dressage | Passive | Increases EXP earned in races by 10% / 20% / 30%. |
| Choco Drain | Active | Generates a field which drains the stamina of nearby chocobos at a rate of 15 / 25 / 35 per second. |
| Paradigm Shift | Active | Swaps current item with a different one. |
| Mimic | Active | Repeats any ability or item used by a forerunning chocobo. Duration: 7s / 11s / 15s. |
| Feather Field | Active | Nullifies the detrimental field effects of any nearby chocobos. Duration: 10s / 20s / 30s. |
| Super Sprint | Active | Sprint without weather or terrain penalties until all stamina is spent. Consumes significantly higher stamina. Cannot be toggled. |
| Choco Reraise | Active | Instantly restores 60 / 130 / 200 stamina when stamina meter reaches zero. |
| Enfeeblement Clause | Passive | Reduces enfeeblement duration by 20% / 35% / 50%. |
| Breather | Passive | Restores stamina at a rate of 0.8% / 1% / 1.2% per second while decelerating. |
Your chocobo can have a maximum of 2 abilities: one learned and one hereditary.
You chocobo will learn an ability at Rank 10. You can force your chocobo to unlearn its ability by using Lethe Water purchased from Tack & Feed Trader for 10 MGP. On the next Rank increase, your Chocobo will randomly learn a new ability. You can also purchase Training Manuals from Tack & Feed Trader to teach your chocobo a specific ability.
Your chocobo can inherit an ability from its parents. Each parent has a 50% chance of passing on its ability to a specific offspring.
Feeds
You can feed your chocobo once per rank-up. The feeding sessions are stockpiled. You can save up for better food if you need to.
Racing Items
In addition to magicked panels, you may come across treasure coffers containing race items. Race items will be added to your hotbar automatically. While some offer beneficial effects for you and your chocobo, others can be used to hinder your opponents.
| Item | Type | Rarity | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choco Potion | Self | Common | Instantly restores stamina by 10%. |
| Stamina Tablet | Self | Common | Prevents stamina reduction for 10 seconds. If stamina is at zero, restores a small amount of stamina. |
| Sprint Shoes | Self | Common | Summons a quick burst of speed for 3s. Functionally identical to the ability Choco Dash III. |
| Choco Aether | Self | Common | Allows a previously used race ability to be executed again. |
| Bacchus's Water | Offensive | Common | Sends the forerunning chocobo into a Frenzied state for 15 seconds and increases its stamina loss. |
| Graviball | Offensive | Common | Inflicts the forerunning chocobo with Heavy for 10 seconds. |
| Briar Caltrop | Offensive | Common | Surrounds your chocobo with a ring of thorns which will sap the stamina of any chocobos that enter at a rate of 5% per second (up to 4 seconds). |
| Hero Tonic | Self | Rare | Invigorates your chocobo for 15 seconds, increasing its overall performance while preventing and nullifying any current enfeeblements. Stamina is consumed at a decreased rate. |
| Choco Meteor | Offensive | Rare | Summons a meteor from the heavens to wreak havoc on all forerunning chocobos. Inflicts 20% stamina damage to all chocobos in front of you, as well as the "Lamed" status for 8 seconds which prevents all acceleration, including from items and abilities. |
| Stamina Swapper | Offensive | Rare | Interchanges your chocobo's stamina with that of a forerunning chocobo. Swap is made only if the forerunning chocobo has more stamina than yours. |
| Spiderweb | Offensive | Common | Renders the chocobo running immediately behind you unable to use items for 10 seconds. |
- After acquiring an item, you can activate it through your hotbar.
Tips and Tricks
Avoid getting hit by Briar Caltrop at all cost. Briar Caltrop appears as a circular wall of thorns, move away from it ASAP, or it will drain about 10 to 20% of your stamina. Do not trade Briar Caltrops with another player(s), because even if you sap their stamina, they will sap yours as well. Unaffected players will easily overtake the both of you.
Stamina Tablet not only prevents you from losing stamina for 10 seconds, it also prevents all other forms of stamina loss such as being hit by Briar Caltrop or Choco Meteor.
If you are ahead, try to control what items your opponent can get. Do not take an item if the next one will be far more useful to you, or if leaving it behind may allow your opponent to catch up.
It is highly recommended that between the ranks 1-20, you use the ability Dressage.
The ability Super Sprint gives the chocobo a movement speed of 500.
The most effective abilities are Chocobo Cure, Chocobo Dash and Chocobo Drain(especially if ```Chocobo Drain``` is parried with Speedy Recovery).
Chocobo Racing itself does not provide a lot of MGP, with about 1.000 for Rating 300 races, but the rewards for completing challenges very high.
Raising a Chocobo to Pedigree 9 is a very tedious task and not highly recommended.
Breeding
Breeding in Chocobo Racing is called Covering. You can retire your chocobo and use him/her for breeding when he/she reaches Rank 40. Breeding allows you to increase the Pedigree Level of your future chocobo. Every Pedigree Level increases all of your chocobo's maximum stats by 40. For example, if a Pedigree Level 1 chocobo has a max of 100 in stamina, acceleration, a Pedigree Level 2 chocobo will have a max of 140 in all of its stats.
Note that you can only increase your Pedigree Level by 1 for each breeding. You only need to breed with a Chocobo that has the same or higher Pedigree Level. For example, don't waste your money and breed your Pedigree 1 chocobo with a Pedigree 9 one. You only need to breed with another Pedigree 1 chocobo. Their offspring is going to be Pedigree 2 regardless.
While breeding a chocobo, each parent has a 50% chance of passing on its ability to its offspring. Additionally, each parent's color has a 50% chance of passing down. Offsprings inherit Star Ratings randomly from their grandparents, not their parents. Each grandparent's star rating is equally likely to be passed to an offspring.
Note that your chocobo's stats do not matter while breeding. Only its Pedigree Level, Stars and Abilities do. If you want powerful chocobos (Pedigree 9, 4 Stars across), breed your chocobo as soon as it hits rank 40. Do not waste your time and money to raise the stats of your initial chocobos.
After retiring your chocobo, you can breed it up to 10 times. If its offspring is unsuitable, you can discard it and try again.
Racing
Up to 8 players and their chocobos can enter into a race, allowing you to enter a race as a full party.
During the race, your chocobo will run along the course automatically. Players can increase the speed of their chocobos by holding forward, which increases the rate of stamina consumption. The course is divided into invisible "tracks" spanning the width of the course and pressing left or right will move you onto the adjacent "track". You want to steer your chocobo into speed boosts and out of speed decreases. When you pick up an item, you will be able to use it from your hotbar.
As you continue to enter races and your chocobo gains experience, it will grow stronger, and its rating will increase. A higher rating will earn you entry to races in higher classes. However, your chocobo will become barred from participating in lower class races.
Accessing Chocobo Square
To acquire a racing chocobo, register your chocobo, and begin racing, players must first proceed to the Chocobo Square by speaking with the lift operator Saethrith at the Entrance Square of Gold Saucer (X:4, Y:6).
Preparing for Chocobo Racing
Obtain a Registration Form
After completing the prerequisite quest, players can register their racing chocobo. Over the course of the quest, players will receive either Fledgling Chocobo Registration G1-M or Fledgling Chocobo Registration G1-F depending on the preferred gender of their chocobo.
- In the event you accidentally discard your registration form or wish to acquire a new racing chocobo, a new registration form can be purchased from the Feathertrader NPC at Bentbranch Meadows in Central Shroud (X:20, Y:22).
Register Your Racing Chocobo
After acquiring your registration form, speak with the Race Chocobo Trainer NPC at the Chocobo Square (X:6, Y:4) to complete registration for your chocobo and give it a name.
- A fixed fee in gil is required for each name change.
How to Enter a Race
To enter a race, speak with the Race Chocobo Registrar NPC at the Chocobo Square (X:6, Y:4) to select from the races available at your rating. Players who wish to practice the basics of chocobo racing can repeat the training course as many times as desired.
- Please note that you cannot register for duties when queuing to enter a race.
To view your race chocobo's rating, select Character from the main menu, followed by Gold Saucer, then select Chocobo from within the interface.
Controls
Steering
To steer your chocobo left and right, press the following buttons or keys:
Steer Left
- A (Move Left)
- Q (Strafe Left)
- Left Analog Stick
Steer Right
- D (Move Right)
- E (Strafe Right)
- Left Analog Stick
Speed and Stamina
To accelerate, press any of the following buttons or keys:
- W (Move Forward)
- LB (L1) Button
- Left Analog Stick Up
To decelerate, press any of the following buttons or keys:
- S (Move Backward)
- Left Analog Stick Down
Be warned, however, that accelerating increases the rate at which your chocobo's stamina gauge depletes. If you run out of stamina, your speed will drop, and you will be unable to accelerate for the remainder of the race.
Magicked Panels
Magicked Panels have beneficial and detrimental effects. The green and blue ones are beneficial, while the red and purple ones are detrimental.
Blue increases your speed temporarily, green gives you about 7% extra stamina, red inflicts Heavy status for 5 second and purple decreases your stamina by 15%.
Weather Effects
Chocobo races are held outdoors, and therefore subject to varying weather conditions. However, certain chocobos can turn this to their advantage. For instance, some chocobos perform well under cloudless skies, while others thrive in storms. Players can receive several beneficial effects when racing in their birds' preferred conditions.
Completing the Race
A race will conclude when all participants have crossed the finish line, or 30 seconds after a winner is declared. The results will be determined at this time, with MGP and experience points awarded based on your performance. Furthermore, among those who finished 2nd to 7th, one person will be selected via roulette to receive bonus experience points.
Racing UI
The following unique UI elements are displayed during chocobo races.
- Position in Race, top left corner by default.
- Stamina Gauge, bottom-center of the screen by default.
- Race Item Notices, bottom right corner by default.
These UI elements are displayed in place of the currently existing UI elements:
- Party List --> Position in Race
- Parameter Bar --> Stamina Bar
- Notices --> Race Item Notices
Tips and Tricks
- There is collision between chocobos, so don't use Spring Shoes when you are directly behind another.
- Budget your stamina. Look at your track completion percentage then look at your stamina gauge. Make sure you have enough stamina to finish the race. Make sure you are not too frugal with stamina usage. In a perfect world, your stamina will hit 0 right when you cross the finish line.
- In R-60 or higher races, avoid mobs. When you hit a mob, you lose speed and 3-5% stamina. You can jump over some smaller ones such as mandragora.
Chocobo Challenge
Chocobo Challenge is a new mode added in patch 3.25.
Entry
Challenge races will be available upon speaking with the Race Chocobo Registrar in the Chocobo Square (X:6.1, Y:4.8).
- Chocobo ratings must exceed a certain threshold to participate.
Speak with the Race Chocobo Registrar in the Chocobo Square (X:6.1, Y:4.8) and select your desired challenge race.
- Players cannot register for challenge races while in a party.
Challenge Races
Increasingly difficult challenges will be made available as players complete each race. Please note that your chocobo's rating must exceed a certain threshold to participate in each race.
Players will only receive a reward for their first-time completion. Completing specific challenges unlocks additional abilities for purchase from the Tack & Feed Trader.
| Race | Rating | Course | MGP Reward | Additional Reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 - Hugging the Inside | 41 | Tranquil Paths | 20,000 | |
| Race 2 - Keep Away | 61 | Costa del Sol | 21,000 | |
| Race 3 - Inability | 81 | Sagolii Road | 22,000 | |
| Race 4 - Heavy Hooves | 101 | Tranquil Paths | 23,000 | Choco Drain II, Mimic II, Feather Field II, Super Sprint |
| Race 5 - Defending the Rush | 121 | Costa del Sol | 24,000 | |
| Race 6 - Road Rivals | 141 | Sagolii Road | 25,000 | Choco Reraise II, Enfeeblement Clause II, Breather II, Paradigm Shift |
| Race 7 - Field of Dreams | 161 | Costa del Sol | 26,000 | |
| Race 8 - Playing Both Ends | 181 | Tranquil Paths | 27,000 | Choco Esuna III, Choco Ease III, Choco Calm III, Choco Reflect III, Choco Steal III, Choco Silence III, Choco Shock III |
| Race 9 - Stamina | 201 | Sagolii Road | 28,000 | |
| Race 10 - Cat and Mouse | 221 | Costa del Sol | 29,000 | Increased Stamina III, Heavy Resistance V, Level Head V, Speedy Recovery III, Choco Reraise III, Enfeeblement Clause III, Breather III |
| Race 11 - Mad Dash | 231 | Sagolii Road | 30,000 | |
| Race 12 - Bag of Tricks | 241 | Tranquil Paths | 35,000 | Choco Dash III, Choco Cure III, Choco Drain III, Mimic III, Feather Field III |
| Race 13 - Tag Team | 251 | Sagolii Road | 40,000 | |
| Race 14 - Heavier Hooves | 261 | Costa del Sol | 45,000 | |
| Race 15 - Ultimatum | 271 | Tranquil Paths | 50,000 | Race Barding (achievement reward, retrieve from Jonathas in Old Gridania) |
Rules
Special opponents will appear in each race. Challenges can only be cleared by placing higher than these special opponents.
- Players will be matched with other players and regular NPCs in addition to special opponents.
Special Racing Opponents
Special racing opponents are denoted by a unique icon next to their name, as well as a different colored nameplate. Multiple special racing opponents may be present depending on the challenge selected. In such cases, players must place higher than all special racing opponents to clear the challenge.
- The color of their display names is adjustable by selecting Engaged Enemies under the NPCs tab of Display Name Settings in the Character Configuration interface.
Covering
Retired racing chocobos can breed with other chocobos of the opposite sex. Their offspring will increase in Pedigree Level, inherit Stars for each stat, gain a new ability, and gain some of its parent's characteristics, such as color. The breeding process allows the player to raise stronger chocobos.
Only chocobos that are at least rank 40 can retire and become breeders. You want to retire chocobos of both genders, male and female, in order to breed.
You can also breed with pre-made chocobos from Gold Saucer in exchange for Manderville Gold Saucer Points.
Unlock
To unlock Covering, players must complete the quest Like Sire Like Fledgling. They can start the quest by speaking to Chocobokeep in Chocobo Square (X:6, Y:4) in Gold Saucer. Players must have completed the So You Think You Can Ride This Chocobo quest and has a rank 40 or higher Chocobo.
When retiring your race chocobo, you can offer some parting words, praising one of its two abilities. The ability praised will remain as its hereditary ability to be passed down through covering.
- Please note that a race chocobo cannot be re-registered once retired.
Preparing Chocobos for the Covering
Both male and female chocobos are required when arranging a covering. Furthermore, only one of the pair may be a breeding chocobo from the Manderville Gold Saucer.
Arranging the Covering
When you have prepared the chocobos for covering, speak with Katering in the Central Shroud at Moogle's Gift Mounts (X:20, Y:22). Please note that arranging a covering will incur a fee.
Receiving a Proof of Covering
Upon payment, Katering will take the two chocobos into her care, and you will receive a Proof of Covering, which indicates when you can retrieve your fledgling chocobo. Speak with her again after 30 minutes to receive your new racing chocobo.
- The fledging chocobo will inherit its color from one of its parents.
Collecting Your Fledgling
After the appointed time, speak with Katering to exchange the Proof of Covering for your fledgling.