Chocobo Racing and Breeding Guide (2024)

1.

Chocobo Racing

Chocobo Racing is a mini-game in FFXIV where players can raise, race, andbreed their very own chocobos.

2.

Overview

Chocobo Racing is one of the main attractions in the Gold Saucer. Playerscan race their chocobos against NPCs and other players, in addition to completing NPCchallenges to earn MGP, titles, glamours, and more!

2.1.

How to Unlock Chocobo Racing

Chocobo Racing and Breeding Guide (1)

Players must have first unlocked the Gold Saucer in order to unlock ChocoboRacing. They must then complete the quest "So You Want to Be a Jockey" from theRace Chocobo Registrar in the Gold Saucer at Chocobo Square. This quest willtake you to Bentbranch Meadows in Central Shroud to learn aboutbreeding chocobos. To learn more about the GoldSaucer, visit our Gold Saucer hub.

Gold Saucer Hub

3.

Raising a Chocobo

In order to participate in Chocobo Racing, players must first register achocobo. Any chocobo that you have bred will be taken care of until you registerit to race. This is done by exchanging a Fledgling Chocobo Registration with theRace Chocobo Registrar NPC. You will then be given the option to name yourchocobo. You have many options from a pre-selected list of names, and you canpay a fee of 2000 gil to change its name at any time.

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After naming your chocobo, you must first complete the Training Course beforeyou can officially begin raising and racing your chocobo. This training coursewill teach you all the fundamentals of racing a chocobo.

3.1.

Chocobo

You can view your current racing chocobo by opening up the Gold Saucer menu andheading to the Chocobo tab. You will be shown three tabs, corresponding to yourchocobo's parameters, pedigree, and appearance.

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3.1.1.

Chocobo Rank

A chocobo's rank is its level. The maximum rank a chocobo can reach is 50,but chocobos can be retired starting from rank 40. Chocobos gain experiencepoints by participating in races. Each time a chocobo levels up, five randomstats will be chosen to be increased by 1% of their maximum value. These stats canbe duplicates. Additionally, you gain the ability to feedyour chocobo every level, up to a maximum of 50 times.

At Rank 10, your chocobo will learn a random ability.

A chocobo's rating is the measure of its ability. This is separate from its rank,though leveling your chocobo up will also increase its rating. This is because therating is the average of the chocobo's five stats. The rating determines whatclass of races the chocobo can participate in - the higher the rating, the moreadvanced of a race you can challenge!

3.1.3.

Chocobo Stats

Each chocobo has five parameters that affect it in a race. A chocobo will havea current stat, as well as a maximum stat based on its pedigree. Stats, for themost part, are self-explanatory.

  • Maximum Speed is a measure of how fast the chocobo can run when fully accelerated.
  • Acceleration affects how quickly the chocobo can attain said maximum speed.
  • Endurance increases the speed at which your chocobo can run before being afflicted with the Lathered status, which decreases stamina usage when running at high speeds.
  • Stamina increases the total stamina your chocobo has.
  • Cunning improves speed and decreases stamina usage in certain areas of a racetrack with rough terrain (generally uphill or in water).

3.1.4.

Chocobo Ability

Each chocobo has access to two racing abilities. One ability can be taughtby using a Chocobo Racing Manual purchased from the Tack & Feed Trader or gainedrandomly when the chocobo reaches Rank 10. The other ability is inherited from aparent through breeding. These abilities are either passive or active, and activeabilities can only be used once per race. Abilities grant chocobos the edgeneeded to prevail in races.

Abilities can be unlearned by using Chocobo Racing and Breeding Guide (4) Lethe Water. This can be purchasedfrom the Tack & Feed Trader for 10 MGP. If an ability is unlearned, it will learna new random ability next level up.

3.1.5.

Chocobo Pedigree

A chocobo's pedigree is inherited from its parents, and players breed chocobosto get one with a high pedigree. Think of pedigree as the maximum potential of a chocobo:the higher the pedigree, the higher the maximum stats it can attain. This isbecause each pedigree level increases the maximum stats of a chocobo by 40.Remember that when a chocobo levels up, its stats are increased by a percentageof its maximum stats. Therefore, a higher pedigree chocobo will have higher stats.

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In addition to pedigree, each chocobo has a Star Rating linked to each stat inthe pedigree window. This rating further increases the chocobo's maximum statby 40 per star. This will be covered more in-depth in thebreeding section.

3.1.6.

Chocobo Appearance

The final tab is the Appearance tab, which displays your chocobo's currentappearance. Similar to with your companion chocobo, you can equip bardingsonto your race chocobo. As for the colour, it is inherited from its parents,which we also cover in the breeding section.

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3.2.

Chocobo Feeds

Feeding your chocobo increases its stats without increasing its rating. Thereare five different kinds of feed - one corresponding to each stat, and threedifferent grades for each.

  1. Grade 1 Feed increases its respective stat by 1% of its maximum. It requires level 30 Culinarian to craft, or can be purchased from a Tack & Feed Trainer for 1500 gil.
  2. Grade 2 Feed increases its respective stat by 2% of its maximum. It requires level 50 Culinarian to craft, or can be purchased from a Tack & Feed Trainer for 610 MGP.
  3. Grade 3 feed increases its respective stat by 3% of its maximum. It can be purchased from a Tack & Feed Trainer for 1345 MGP, and is untradeable.

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Players can feed their chocobo by talking to the Race Chocobo Trainer NPC andselecting Race Chocobo Training. Players must have at least one feed in theirinventory. Each stat change will be highlighted before the player confirmsfeeding their chocobo.

4.

Racing a Chocobo

What would chocobo racing be without actually racing your chocobo? Races aresimilar to Mario Kart, featuring intense matches between 8 different playersor NPCs. Players can receive MGP and experience points for their chocobo byracing, with increased rewards given to those with higher placements.

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When racing, players can view the item hotbar, upcoming items, their stamina,the position and stamina of all racers, and the current track. We willdiscuss racing in this section.

4.1.

Controls

There are a few details about chocobo racing that jockeys will need to know in orderto succeed. Controlling your chocobo is the most important one, but players whohave already participated in some races may find that their movement isunresponsive at times. This is because all movement is done server-side, makingfor a less responsive experience as the server handles all inputs. What thisalso means is that your chocobo's exact position relative to other chocobos isextremely accurate.

  • To accelerate, hold the key you have assigned to move forward. By default, this is W. Accelerating will increase stamina consumption.
  • To decelerate, hold the key you have assigned to move backwards. By default, this is S. Decelerating will decrease stamina consumption.
  • To steer your chocobo left and right, use the keys you have assigned to move left and right. By default, these are A and D respectively, but Q and E can also be used.
  • Gamepad or controller players can simply use the left joystick.
  • To jump, press Spacebar on a keyboard or Y(△) on a controller.

Chocobos will automatically move forward without any input commands.

4.2.

Racetracks

There are three different racetracks based on the three main regions. Eachracetrack has its own advantages and disadvantages, so players must be knowledgeableof each racetrack in order to be a master jockey.

  • Sagolii Road is the racetrack in Thanalan.
  • Costa del Sol is the racetrack in La Noscea.
  • Tranquil Paths is the racetrack in the Black Shroud.

4.3.

How to Chocobo Race

To enter a race, players can queue up through the Gold Saucer tab in theDuty Finder. Players can select a random track or a specific track. Players canalso queue with party members, but all party members must have a racingchocobo registered. In a party, stats will be synced to the lowest rated chocobo.

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4.3.1.

Panels

Panels bestow various effects onto the player's chocobo. These are placed infixed locations across the race course and can bestow either beneficial ordetrimental effects based on panel colour.

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  • Blue panels grant a short burst of speed.
  • Green panels instantly restore Stamina by roughly 6%.
  • Purple panels inflict the Heavy status for 5 seconds, decreasing speed.
  • Red panels instantly reduce Stamina by roughly 15%.

4.3.2.

Hazards

After a certain rating, players will begin running into course hazards in racecourses. These consist of enemies running around the course that must beavoided. Running into a hazard will temporarily slow down the chocobo,as well as decrease Stamina by a small amount. Some hazards prevent the playerfrom using items or abilities.

4.3.3.

Racing Items

Treasure coffers will appear in fixed locations across the race course.Running into one of these treasure coffers will bestow an item, which the playercan view in the bottom right of their screen. Whenever a player picks up atreasure chest, that item is given to the player, and subsequent items are pushedup the list. Stronger items will appear later in the list to help players who arepotentially falling behind.

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Racing items are automatically added to your hotbar, and you can hold oneracing item at a time. There are a total of 11 racing items, 8 of which arecommon and 3 of which are rare.

  • Choco Potion instantly restores stamina by 10%.
  • Stamina Tablet prevents stamina reduction for 10 seconds and restores stamina if it is at 0%.
  • Sprint Shoes grant a burst of movement speed for 3 seconds.
  • Choco Aether refreshes previously used race abilities, allowing them to be used again.
  • Bacchus's Water inflicts the chocobo in front with Frenzy for 15 seconds, increasing its stamina consumption and forcing it to run.
  • Graviball inflicts the chocobo in front with Heavy for 10 seconds, decreasing their movement speed.
  • Briar Caltrop surrounds your chocobo with a ring of thorns. Chocobos that enter the ring will have their stamina drained by 5% per second for up to 4 seconds.
  • Spiderweb prevents the chocobo directly behind yours from using any items for 10 seconds.
  • Hero Tonic is a rare item that invigorates your chocobo for 15 seconds. This effect increases its overall performance, decreases stamina consumption, and prevents and nullifies any enfeeblements.
  • Choco Meteor is a rare item that targets all chocobos in front of you. It will reduce their stamina by 20% and inflict Lamed for 8 seconds, preventing all acceleration.
  • Stamina Swapper is a rare item that swaps the stamina of your chocobo with a chocobo in front of you. It will not go off if they have less stamina than you.

4.3.4.

Weather

The weather of the racetrack can affect the performance of chocobos. There arethree types of weather: Fair, Foul, and Neutral. The different weathers insidethese types are functionally the same. For example, Sunshine and Clear Skies areboth Fair, and there is no difference between the two. Only Foul weather has aneffect on the race.

  • Foul weather decreases the maximum speed of chocobos that prefer Fair weather by roughly 10%.
  • Foul weather decreases the maximum speed of chocobos that prefer Foul weather by roughly 5%.
  • Foul weather decreases the threshold at which chocobos become Lathered, greatly increasing stamina consumption.

The weather can change over the course of a race. There are certain rulesthat weather follows when changing.

  1. Weather cannot change more than twice during a race.
  2. Weather cannot change to a different weather of the same type.
  3. Weather will randomly change, if possible, when the foremost chocobo reaches 20% increments in the race.
  4. Weather must change at least once if the race starts with a Neutral weather.

4.4.

Chocobo Racing Challenges

Chocobo Challenge races become available when the player's chocobo reaches acertain rating. These are special races where players have to beat specific NPCopponents in order to win. These grant rare rewards such as race abilities, aswell as large sums of MGP upon completion, which can be further increased if playershave MGP buffs active!

Name Rating Required Course MGP Reward
Race 1 - Hugging the Inside 41 Tranquil Paths 20000
Race 2 - Keep Away 61 Costa del Sol 21000
Race 3 - Inability 81 Sagolii Road 22000
Race 4 - Heavy Hooves 101 Tranquil Paths 23000
Race 5 - Defending the Rush 121 Costa del Sol 24000
Race 6 - Road Rivals 141 Sagolii Road 25000
Race 7 - Field of Dreams 161 Costa del Sol 26000
Race 8 - Playing Both Ends 181 Tranquil Paths 27000
Race 9 - Stamina 201 Sagolii Road 28000
Race 10 - Cat and Mouse 221 Costa del Sol 29000
Race 11 - Mad Dash 231 Sagolii Road 30000
Race 12 - Bag of Tricks 241 Tranquil Paths 35000
Race 13 - Tag Team 251 Sagolii Road 40000
Race 14 - Heavier Hooves 261 Costa del Sol 45000
Race 15 - Ultimatum 271 Tranquil Paths 50000

5.

Breeding a Chocobo

Once a race chocobo reaches rank 40, players can choose to retire it. This willpermanently retire that chocobo and give you a Retired Chocobo Registration.In addition, you will be able to praise one of the two abilities the chocobo had,turning it into a hereditary ability that can be passed onto offspring. You canretire a chocobo by talking to the Race Chocobo Trainer NPC.

5.1.

How to Unlock Chocobo Breeding

Once players own a race chocobo rank 40 or higher, they can accept the quest"Like Sire Like Fledgling," which unlocks the ability to breed chocobos. This isdone in Bentbranch Meadows.

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5.2.

Covering

In order to breed chocobos, you need two chocobos: one male and one female.These are represented as Retired Chocobo Registrations or Covering Permissions.You can purchase Covering Permissions from the Tack & Feed Trainer, but at leastone of the chocobos you are breeding must have belonged to you previously.Covering Permissions can only be used once, while Retired Chocobo Registrationscan be used up to ten times. In addition, the appearance, ability, and pedigreeof Covering Permissions is random.

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After you have selected the chocobos you would like to breed, you can pay asmall sum of gil to receive a Chocobo Racing and Breeding Guide (14) Proof of Covering. After the time indicatedon the covering, you can pick up your new race chocobo! You'll have to registerit like any other racing chocobo at the Racing Chocobo Trainer NPC in the GoldSaucer.

5.3.

Inheritance Basics

Fledgling chocobos will inherit parameters from its parents. Each chocobo will inherita hereditary ability from one parent, in addition to a colour from one parent. Thisis chosen at random with a 50% chance for either parent.

A chocobo's pedigree and star rating is determined based on the parent.The fledgling's pedigree will be equal to the pedigree of the parent with thelowest pedigree plus one. Therefore, you ideally want to breed two chocoboswith the same pedigree. You can purchase chocobos of all pedigrees from the NPC,however, at least one chocobo must have belonged to you. In orderto reach the maximum pedigree (9), you must raise, race, retire, and breed chocobosfor each pedigree level until you reach the highest level.

Regarding star rating, inheritance is not based off the star rating of the coveringchocobos. Instead, it considers the star rating of the parents of those chocobos.This is why the star rating of a chocobo's parentage is displayed. There is anequal chance for each star rating to be passed down from the parentage of thefather's father, father's mother, mother's father, and mother's mother.

To breed the ideal chocobo, you will need to take into consideration itspedigree, ability, and colour.

6.

Changelog

  • 13 Nov. 2021: Page added.

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Chocobo Racing and Breeding Guide (2024)

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