I would consider this scraping the bottom of the barrel, but let's run with it for now.
I never cared about chocobo digging, as someone who hasn't even gotten around to getting all the chocographs for Hot and Cold, but anecdotes about the effect of the blue racing silks, which " enhance chocobo digging endurance," indicate that they dramatically increase the total yield above the usual maximum of 100 items per zone. The sky blue silks, which are supposed to "enhance chocobo digging skill," can give the message "Your chocobo appears to have gained valuable knowledge from this discovery" after a successful dig, but it is unclear to me whether any chocobo digging skill-ups come with that. The blue silks seem like the better value for chocobo digging.
As for Hot and Cold itself, the white and black silks give one additional digging attempt and "increase Jackpot chance," respectively. Since hitting the jackpot allegedly can only occur when your chocobo is "especially sharp today," the white ones would seem to be a better value. I myself have observed that you can receive another digging attempt when your chocobo is "especially energetic," so this status and the white silk effect are not mutually exclusive.
The green racing silks are supposed to "enhance chocobo caring ability," which sounds like it could decrease the amount of energy depleted from both care plans and active care. However, chocobo raising is not something I would expect anyone to do indefinitely, so this doesn't sound like a really good value. Besides, you can raise a maxed-out chocobo with minimal expenditure and attention anyway.
The last three racing silks pertain to a chocobo's speed (how fast it goes) and riding time. It seems as though the orange silks would increase riding time by 10 minutes for both rental and personal chocobos, which is not very useful. Rental chocobos last 30 minutes and personal chocobos with maximum endurance are supposed to last up to 45 minutes. (I'm sure it has been shown but it's something easy enough for me to test, so I will just say "supposed to" until I check it out.) If the orange silks can be shown to increase riding time by 10 minutes for both max-END personal chocobos and rentals, then what about the red silks, which have the vague description "extends riding time"?
Finally, the purple racing silks, which I bought sight unseen because I like purple, are supposed to increase the movement speed of your personal chocobo. From FFXIwiki, which provides a convenient chart showing how levels of STR and END for personal chocobos correspond to movement speed and riding time, respectively, max-STR chocobos are only +95% faster than character running speed, compared to rentals, which again run as fast as Flee.
There is at least one account indicating that a max-STR personal chocobo with the purple silks is as fast as a rental chocobo, although I'm not sure how you can really ensure that your chocobos are lined up so that they run exactly parallel. My own extremely informal testing indicates that my personal chocobo with or without the silks covered approximately the same distance in approximately the same amount of time (about 32 seconds) as a rental, accounting for positioning error and 1-second precision. If the purple silks actually work, sure, why not use them. Again, I just got them because they were pretty.
Overall, the silks corresponding to chocobo digging and Hot and Cold seem to be the most economical uses of 150 chocobucks. To the extent that you do chocobo digging, you want to optimize your yield, and for Hot and Cold, you want to minimize failure. The other ones, not so much, but if you like the colors, go for it.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Chocobo Circuit changes
C1 frequency: C1 races are held every other hour, with the registration period starting 45 minutes after odd hours for Japan time and Eastern Standard Time. This means that the number of C1 races per day has increased from 9 to 12, C2 races from 15 to 24, and C3 races from 24 to 36. Also, it is much more convenient to register for a C1 race because the registration periods are distributed uniformly throughout the day.
So far, the sequence of alternating C1 and C2 races has held. Also, the chocobuck rewards for C1 races have increased to 120, 100, and 80 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respectively. (I have not verified these myself though.) The chocobucks were also increased for C2-C4.
The obvious consequence of this chocobuck change is that, if you win around 50% of your races on average, you will pretty much never have to farm chocobucks ever again, barring an unlucky streak of finishes 4th place or worse, and you'll be swimming in chocobucks, which would give you the incentive to use them on things other than entry fees for Chocobo Circuit (raising another chocobo, even selling items).
Now if only FFXI could "die" some more so that there are fewer Japanese players doing races...
So far, the sequence of alternating C1 and C2 races has held. Also, the chocobuck rewards for C1 races have increased to 120, 100, and 80 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respectively. (I have not verified these myself though.) The chocobucks were also increased for C2-C4.
The obvious consequence of this chocobuck change is that, if you win around 50% of your races on average, you will pretty much never have to farm chocobucks ever again, barring an unlucky streak of finishes 4th place or worse, and you'll be swimming in chocobucks, which would give you the incentive to use them on things other than entry fees for Chocobo Circuit (raising another chocobo, even selling items).
Now if only FFXI could "die" some more so that there are fewer Japanese players doing races...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A cynic's view of the Chocobo Circuit changes
Edit: whoops, major mistake fixed.
I'm kind of surprised that there will be changes to the Chocobo Circuit schedule in the next "major" version update, among other things. Given the skeleton crew assigned to FFXI, you have to wonder if there is any sense of priority. On the other hand, there should no longer be any surprise that SE tends to play up features that hold limited interest, at best, among the "player base" in the lead-up.
For those of you who choose not to spend time racing a chocobo in the Circuit (actually spending time earning enough in entry fees actually to be able to enter your chocobo in the races), here is an overview of what I think the stated changes actually mean:
Bigger Rewards. The amount of chocobucks rewarded to first, second, and third place winners in chocobo racing will be significantly increased.
What it actually means: They obviously forgot to mention the part where the entry fees to chocobo racing rise accordingly. Given SE's penchant for parsimony, the end result is that it will take more time to accumulate enough chocobucks to race, not less time.
Revised Race Schedule. The Chocobo Circuit schedule has undergone a full review. ...
Comment: What do you expect? Their tendency is toward being even more tight-fisted. Any careful consideration (to the extent that there actually was a "full review") is done only to ensure that any changes don't make things inadvertently easier on players.
... The C2 Chocobo Race and C1 Crystal Stakes will be held with greater frequency, and races will take place at the same time each Earth day, making it easier for players to participate than ever before.
Comment: To understand the potential implications, you have to understand how C2 and C1 races are handled under the current schedule. (You may review the details of the August 2007 update that introduced the Chocobo Circuit.)
Currently, all C1 and C2 races are handled by the blue NPC. Either C1 or C2 occurs every hour, but there are only three consecutive C1 races in an 8-hour cycle, or nine in a 24-hour cycle (with the remaining being C2). Furthermore, the sequence of C1 and C2 races follows a pattern such that there are only two C1 races that occur every day, with the third C1 race occurring every other day in its time slot (alternating with C2).
Moreover, the registration period for each C1 (C2) race is only 15 minutes, starting 15 minutes before the hour and about 35 minutes before the actual race. Also, the registration procedure is handled such that up to six PC chocobos can enter a given race, apparently, yet you, the registrant, are completely blind as to how many PC chocobos are currently registered or will eventually register, not to mention blind as to whether the scrub chocobos MegaFlare or LunarHarvester are actually in the race (they always occupy lanes 1 and/or 2). Chocobo racing seems to be fairly popular, relatively speaking, in the JP community (although sheer numbers of Japanese, given that the "market share" of FFXI is predominantly the Japanese market, provide another plausible explanation), so that it's pretty rare, especially during JP prime time, to be in a race that is completely uncontested. (That is no guarantee that you'll win, though.) Therefore, chocobo races end up being a zero-sum game where the first two finishers have net positive earnings (accounting for entry fees) while the rest are totally fucked. (Imagine how it is when there are six PC chocobos registered...)
Also, you are only allowed to register for a race only if at least 24 hours have passed since the last time you registered. Yes, this is the same kind of player-unfriendly time-limit feature that manifests with Dynamis, Limbus, and Einherjar also occurs with chocobo racing. So you can see how the combination of limited C1 races, small registration windows, competition among the JPs (at least on Fenrir), and time limits to registration makes chocobo "racing" generally pretty annoying, but I can deal with it.
Now, regarding the changes, the allegation is that C2 and C1 races will be held with greater frequency. The red NPC, which currently handles only C4 races (yes, C4 races, which have trivial rewards, are held twice an hour currently), will now handle C2 and C3 races, meaning that C3 races may occur twice an hour now.
It will probably be the case that the frequency of C1 races will be cut while the frequency of C2 races will increase, so that SE can technically be correct by saying that "C2 and C1 races will be held with greater frequency" while looking like the asshole Scrooges they are.
New Rewards. The dashing racing silks dutifully worn by jockeys will be added to the list of reward items obtainable in exchange for chocobucks. With each color offering unique beneficial effects for its wearer, there is bound to be something for every chocobo fan!
Comment: Honestly, this is kind of a nice perk and not unexpected, but I wouldn't be surprised if they made the body (and legs?) 500 chocobucks apiece with the benefits being completely incommensurate with the cost (and I don't mean there's going to be movement speed +12% on them).
Stay tuned to see if I should issue a mea culpa after tomorrow.
I suppose I should mention my chocobo racing record since I'm talking about it. I actually had a nice run going, actually approaching the 50% win rate at 149/299. Of course, I dropped my 300th race (second), which initiated an eight-race losing streak (including two 3rd place finishes and coming in second in both uncontested races) that was snapped today, so I now sit at 150-106-35-17. Starting with my 9- or 10-race winning streak (I forget which) earlier in the year, my record since then is 52-28-11-2, for a 56% win rate, which isn't that bad for a server that seems more competitive than others.
I'm kind of surprised that there will be changes to the Chocobo Circuit schedule in the next "major" version update, among other things. Given the skeleton crew assigned to FFXI, you have to wonder if there is any sense of priority. On the other hand, there should no longer be any surprise that SE tends to play up features that hold limited interest, at best, among the "player base" in the lead-up.
For those of you who choose not to spend time racing a chocobo in the Circuit (actually spending time earning enough in entry fees actually to be able to enter your chocobo in the races), here is an overview of what I think the stated changes actually mean:
Bigger Rewards. The amount of chocobucks rewarded to first, second, and third place winners in chocobo racing will be significantly increased.
What it actually means: They obviously forgot to mention the part where the entry fees to chocobo racing rise accordingly. Given SE's penchant for parsimony, the end result is that it will take more time to accumulate enough chocobucks to race, not less time.
Revised Race Schedule. The Chocobo Circuit schedule has undergone a full review. ...
Comment: What do you expect? Their tendency is toward being even more tight-fisted. Any careful consideration (to the extent that there actually was a "full review") is done only to ensure that any changes don't make things inadvertently easier on players.
... The C2 Chocobo Race and C1 Crystal Stakes will be held with greater frequency, and races will take place at the same time each Earth day, making it easier for players to participate than ever before.
Comment: To understand the potential implications, you have to understand how C2 and C1 races are handled under the current schedule. (You may review the details of the August 2007 update that introduced the Chocobo Circuit.)
Currently, all C1 and C2 races are handled by the blue NPC. Either C1 or C2 occurs every hour, but there are only three consecutive C1 races in an 8-hour cycle, or nine in a 24-hour cycle (with the remaining being C2). Furthermore, the sequence of C1 and C2 races follows a pattern such that there are only two C1 races that occur every day, with the third C1 race occurring every other day in its time slot (alternating with C2).
Moreover, the registration period for each C1 (C2) race is only 15 minutes, starting 15 minutes before the hour and about 35 minutes before the actual race. Also, the registration procedure is handled such that up to six PC chocobos can enter a given race, apparently, yet you, the registrant, are completely blind as to how many PC chocobos are currently registered or will eventually register, not to mention blind as to whether the scrub chocobos MegaFlare or LunarHarvester are actually in the race (they always occupy lanes 1 and/or 2). Chocobo racing seems to be fairly popular, relatively speaking, in the JP community (although sheer numbers of Japanese, given that the "market share" of FFXI is predominantly the Japanese market, provide another plausible explanation), so that it's pretty rare, especially during JP prime time, to be in a race that is completely uncontested. (That is no guarantee that you'll win, though.) Therefore, chocobo races end up being a zero-sum game where the first two finishers have net positive earnings (accounting for entry fees) while the rest are totally fucked. (Imagine how it is when there are six PC chocobos registered...)
Also, you are only allowed to register for a race only if at least 24 hours have passed since the last time you registered. Yes, this is the same kind of player-unfriendly time-limit feature that manifests with Dynamis, Limbus, and Einherjar also occurs with chocobo racing. So you can see how the combination of limited C1 races, small registration windows, competition among the JPs (at least on Fenrir), and time limits to registration makes chocobo "racing" generally pretty annoying, but I can deal with it.
Now, regarding the changes, the allegation is that C2 and C1 races will be held with greater frequency. The red NPC, which currently handles only C4 races (yes, C4 races, which have trivial rewards, are held twice an hour currently), will now handle C2 and C3 races, meaning that C3 races may occur twice an hour now.
It will probably be the case that the frequency of C1 races will be cut while the frequency of C2 races will increase, so that SE can technically be correct by saying that "C2 and C1 races will be held with greater frequency" while looking like the asshole Scrooges they are.
New Rewards. The dashing racing silks dutifully worn by jockeys will be added to the list of reward items obtainable in exchange for chocobucks. With each color offering unique beneficial effects for its wearer, there is bound to be something for every chocobo fan!
Comment: Honestly, this is kind of a nice perk and not unexpected, but I wouldn't be surprised if they made the body (and legs?) 500 chocobucks apiece with the benefits being completely incommensurate with the cost (and I don't mean there's going to be movement speed +12% on them).
Stay tuned to see if I should issue a mea culpa after tomorrow.
I suppose I should mention my chocobo racing record since I'm talking about it. I actually had a nice run going, actually approaching the 50% win rate at 149/299. Of course, I dropped my 300th race (second), which initiated an eight-race losing streak (including two 3rd place finishes and coming in second in both uncontested races) that was snapped today, so I now sit at 150-106-35-17. Starting with my 9- or 10-race winning streak (I forget which) earlier in the year, my record since then is 52-28-11-2, for a 56% win rate, which isn't that bad for a server that seems more competitive than others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)