Chocobo Racing Guide

[What is Chocobo Racing?]

The CRA (Chocobo Racing Association) racetrack is the perfect place for players to test out and show off the skills of their very own chocobos. The automated races held at this exciting venue require players to piece together a picture-perfect plan based on variables such as chocobo condition and the weather, using options consisting of orders given to their jockeys and items to be utilized on the track. But that’s not all; performing well in these races earns players gil or VCS-mint chocobucks, which can be used to purchase items or services that assist in breeding.

For more information on chocobo breeding.
Related Information>>

[How to Participate]

Required Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion.
The following is a list of steps required before participating in a race:

1. First, players must...

...be raising an adult chocobo and have obtained a CRA racing form (available from a trainer) or have a chocobo out to pasture and possess its VCS registration card. Next, players must visit one of the CRA branches located in San d’Oria, Bastok, and Windurst, and register their chocobo to race.

Regional CRA Branches

**San d’Oria**

Southern San d'Oria – Alangriche * Moved to Chocobo Circuit

Northern San d'Oria – Monteverle * Removed from game.

Port San d'Oria – Ramiene * Removed from game.

**Bastok**

Bastok Mines – Jazgeh * Moved to Chocobo Circuit

Bastok Markets – Galienne * Removed from game.

Port Bastok – Salvador * Removed from game.

**Windurst**

Windurst Waters - Turumi-Byrumi * Removed from game.

Port Windurst - Lhimo Keanyohn * Removed from game.

Windurst Woods - Rungaga * Moved to Chocobo Circuit

• As of Sept 9, 2010 Patch: The CRA racing center NPCs have been removed or relocated. Registration for chocobo racing is now conducted at service counters located within the Chocobo Circuit.

What are Chocobucks?

Chocobucks are a special type of currency for use at CRA-sanctioned establishments. Chocobucks can be earned by winning special races and can be exchanged for items and services used in chocobo breeding. Chocobucks are also required to participate in certain official races.
*The maximum amount of Chocobucks a player can possess at one time is 1000.
*You must spend your existing Chocobucks before you can attain more.
*Chocobucks can only be used at the branch at which they were earned.
*Training programs purchasable with Chocobucks give the message: "The programs are only available to adult chocobos still residing in the stables."

Chocobuck Exchange Centers

Southern San d'Oria – Palabelle

Bastok Mines – Gavoroi

Windurst Woods - Robino-Mobino

Note: You must be registered with a particular CRA branch before you can spend earned Chocobucks at a Chocobuck Exchange Center.

Note: In order to use a Chocobo race training token you must trade the token along with the chococard of the Chocobo you wish to use it on to the Chocobuck Exchange Center NPC.

What are Racing Teams?

Each of the three regional CRA branches has its own racing team. Before participating in any races, players must first join one of the three teams (San d’Oria, Bastok, or Windurst). While similar in many ways, each racing team also offers many unique services--from different items available at the Chocobuck Exchange Centers, to special races. Though players are required to select a racing team, they can change their affiliation (free of charge and without penalties) at any time.

Changing Affiliation

In the event that players wish to change their affiliation, all records of their previous race results and chocobuck earnings will be stored at the CRA branch. While players cannot transfer those results and earnings to their new racing team, if they choose to return to a previous team, they will be able to start where they left off.

2. Register Your Chocobo

Chocobos can be registered at any of the aforementioned CRA branches by trading to the representative either of the two documents (obtainable from a chocobo trainer):

– VCS Registration Card

– CRA Racing Form (free)

*Only adult chocobos can participate in races.

*Players may only register one chocobo at a time.

*If a chocobo’s attributes change after CRA registration, players must re-register their chocobo for those changes to be reflected.

3. Select a Race

Currently, players can choose from the following three types of races:

Race Type	Fee	Prizes	Description
Free Runs	Gil	Chocobucks	“Practice” races that may be ran at any time.
Official Races	Chocobucks	Gil & Prizes	Mission-style races sponsored by the VCS.
Re-runs	Chocobucks	Gil	Previously cleared official races.

• Free Run

*Free Runs are not available until after players complete the novice circuit under Official Races.

Placing in free runs earns the chocobucks necessary for participating in official races and purchasing items at the Chocobuck Exchange Centers. There are no limits to the number of races players may participate in each (Earth) day, but the fee will increase with each race. The cost for free runs is reset at 0:00 JST and increases as follows: 100 gil » 150 gil » 200 gil » 300 gil » 400 gil » 600 gil » 800 gil » 1,000 gil. Once the 1,000 gil fee is reached, participating in further free runs will continue to cost 1,000 gil until it is reset the next (Earth) day.

Rewards for placing in free runs are in chocobucks. For placing first, the player receives 5 chocobucks; for second, 3 chocobucks. Third through seventh place are awarded 1 chocobuck. However, chocobos placing last will receive no reward.

Warning - three particularly strong chocobos often appear in Free Runs, each have extremely high stats and are very difficult to defeat, nearly always coming in first place. These chocobos are:

Strong Chocobos in Free Race

• MeteorBrian of San d'Oria, Black Chocobo with Elvaan Female Jockey.
• InvincibleLeg of Bastok, Blue Chocobo with Galka Jockey.
• StarOnion of Windurst, Green Chocobo with Tarutaru Female Jockey.

As of this writing, choosing the View the Paddock option and checking the 3rd, 5th, and 7th slots for any of these 3 aforementioned maxed chocobos should help decide if a special item is needed or not to win the free run in 1st place.

• Official Race

By successfully completing the objectives of these “mission-style” races, more challenging races will be unlocked. Chocobucks are usually required to participate in official races; however, the first race (Novice Race I) is available free of charge.

*Due to the strain some of the more advanced official races place on a chocobo, players will be required to allow their chocobos a period of rest before entering another race.

When participating in Official Races beyond the Novice rank, players may only race once per (Earth) day, reset at 0:00 JST. This restriction is across all three nations' racing associations; if you compete in a race in Bastok that is beyond Novice rank, you cannot go to San d'Oria or Windurst and race in any official races until the next (Earth) day.

Official Races

Novice Races

Race Name	Objective	Number of Chocobos	Fee	Reward
Novice Race I	Place 3rd or higher	4	Free	500 gil
Novice Race II	Place 3rd or higher	6	Free	1,000 gil
Novice Race III	Place 3rd or higher	8	Free	1,500 gil, 3 Chocobucks

Challenge Races

Race Name	Objective	Number of Chocobos	Fee	Reward
Challenge Race I	Place 1st	2	3 Chocobucks	3,000 gil
International Race I	Place 3rd or higher	8	5 Chocobucks	5,000 gil
International Race II	Place 3rd or higher	8	10 Chocobucks	5,500 gil
Challenge Race II	Place 1st	3	15 Chocobucks	6,000 gil
CRA Classic	Place 1st	8	20 Chocobucks	6,500 gil, 10 Chocobucks, Bronze Trophy, Gysahl Medal, Title: Chocorookie

The Pashhow Swamptrot

Race Name	Objective	Number of Animals	Fee	Reward
Dueler's Race	Place 1st	2	25 Chocobucks	15 Chocobucks, 7,000 gil
Survival Race	Place 1st	8	30 Chocobucks	15 Chocobucks, 7,500 gil
Deadly Race	Place 1st	8	35 Chocobucks	20 Chocobucks, 8,000 gil
Mystery Race	Place 1st	8	40 Chocobucks	20 Chocobucks, 8,500 gil
Lethal Race	Place 1st	8	45 Chocobucks	30 Chocobucks, 9,000 gil, Chocobo Pullus Torque
Dream Race	Place 1st	8	50 Chocobucks	30 Chocobucks, 10,000 gil, Mythril Trophy, Sakura Racing Badge, Title: Chocochampion

Note: To enter Pashhow Swamptrot Races, you must speak to a separate CRA NPC in the Chocobo Circuit.
- For Windurst: Chualulu.
- For San d'Oria: Lafaurelle.
- For Bastok: Zagied.

• Re-run

For a small chocobuck fee, players can re-race previously completed official races. While prizes will be rewarded to those players who place, the amount will be considerably less than that which was received the first time. Only gil is awarded, and the gil reward is equal to 1/100th of the original gil amount received on the first run through.

4. Make Preparations

Before running a race, players will have the opportunity to make the following preparations:

- Visit the paddock

Players can visit the paddock and view the condition of all the chocobos scheduled to participate in the upcoming race.

- Give orders to the jockey

Players can give their jockeys one of the following three orders:

Keep Pace

Have the jockey maintain a consistent pace throughout the whole race. Makes the bird maintain a pace that lowers stamina steadily, while keeping in front if possible.

Final Spurt

Have the jockey save the chocobo's energy until the end of the race. Saves at least 25% stamina for the end, which is then used when the bird runs at Top Speed.

Sprint

Have the jockey push the chocobo to its limits from the get-go. Makes the bird run at top speed at the beginning until it reaches 75% stamina.

- Equip items

Players can equip their chocobo/jockey with items that improve attributes or wreak havoc on other racers. Before players can equip items, they must first trade them to the CRA representative. The representatives will hold on to one of each item.

*Players can only equip one item per race.

5. Start the Race

Once all preparations have been made, the race will begin. All races are automatic, so players only need to sit back and watch the action unfold on the racetrack.

Weather

Just as in the field, weather on the racetrack can affect a chocobo’s performance.

Placing

To make races fair for chocobos of all sizes, placing will be determined not by when a chocobo’s beak crosses the finish line, but when its saddle does.

Items & Equipment

All items equipped to a chocobo or jockey, regardless of their type, are consumable and can only be used once (though the effect of chocobo equipment will be present throughout the race).

[Racing Advice]

The following are a few tips for racing novices:

Attributes

A chocobo’s attributes directly affect its performance in a race. There are four stats, and 6 attributes . The four stats are: Strength, Endurance, Discernment, and Receptivity. These all affect the chocobos attributes, Evasion, Accuracy, Speed, Stamina, .

*Speed: the chocobo's current speed it is traveling at at any point in the race.

*Top speed: Set by your strength and endurance, this is the top speed your bird could possibly reach. Dominant stat - Strength

*Stamina: Like an HP bar, this endurance and strength effected stat goes down throughout the race, see below. dominant stat - Endurance

*Weather: Affects a chocobo’s performance in certain types of weather. Limits your birds top speed.

*Abilities: Canter increases Endurance by one level, Gallop increases Strength by one level.

Stamina and Intelligence

• Stamina: At the start of your race, you bird has X stamina, an invisible HP bar. Throughout the race, this little bar is constantly dropping. Your chocobo's current speed will determine just how fast the HP bar drops.

• Intelligence: This stat will allow your bird to correctly adjust its speeds. A bird with low discernment and receptivity will not pace itself, and either use up its stamina early, or have a bunch left over at the end of race. When a bird's stamina hits zero, they automatically go down to the lowest speed.

Having a high intelligence on the other hand, will allow the bird to perfectly pace itself so it ends the race using its stamina to its full potential, without over working.

Jockey Orders & Equipment

Selecting the appropriate item to equip during a race can be the difference between coming in first and coming in last. It is important to select an item that will complement a chocobo’s abilities and attributes, as well as the jockey’s orders and opponent condition. For example, jockeys who have been given the order to sprint, will often use items at the beginning of a race. In cases like this, equipping the jockey with a stamina apple will help his chocobo to maintain a quick pace for a longer period of time.

[Chocobo Race Items & Equipment]

Item	Effect
Speed Apple	Used during a race to temporarily boost the speed of a chocobo, and reduce endurace.
Stamina Apple	Used during a race to temporarily regenerate a chocobo's stamina.
Shadow Apple	Used during a race to temporarily resist the effects of any detrimental items aimed at the chocobo.
Pepper Biscuit	Used during a race to greatly reduce the speed of an opponent chocobo.
Fire Biscuit	Used during a race to greatly reduce the stamina of an opponent chocobo.
Gysahl Bomb	Used during a race to temporarily reduce the speed of all surrounding opponent chocobos.
Spore Bomb	Used during a race to reduce the discernment of all surrounding opponent chocobos.
Fairweather Fetish	Fetish Used during a race to temporarily clear up the weather.
Foulweather Frog	Fetish Used during a race to temporarily call upon a rainstorm.
Chocobo Taping	When equipped during a race, this item will slightly increase the strength of a chocobo.
Chocobo Blinkers	When equipped during a race, this item will slightly increase the stamina of a chocobo.
Shadow Roll	When equipped during a race, this item will slightly increase the discernment of a chocobo.
Chocobo Hood	When equipped during a race, this item will slightly increase the receptivity of a chocobo.
Dream Apple	This item is used by Sakura during the Dream Race, and is not available to players. It temporarily increases speed, stamina, and resistance to other chocobo's items.
Dream Cracker	This item is used by Kayaki during the Dream Race, and is not available to players. It temporarily reduces the speed and stamina of all chocobos except Sakura and Kayaki.

Saddle	Effect
Lauan Saddle	A standard model, the lauan saddle will stabilize your chocobo's stride.
Ash Saddle	A standard model, the ash saddle will stabilize your chocobo's stride. It also increases your mount's endurance.
Elm Saddle¹	A standard model, the elm saddle will stabilize your chocobo's stride. It also increases your mount's endurance.
Brass Saddle	A bit on the hefty side, the brass saddle can be somewhat taxing on a chocobo's endurance. It compensates for this, however, by increasing the bird's strength.
Silver Saddle	A bit on the hefty side, the silver saddle can be somewhat taxing on a chocobo's endurance. It compensates for this, however, by increasing the bird's strength.
Mythril Saddle¹	A bit on the hefty side, the mythril saddle can be somewhat taxing on a chocobo's endurance. It compensates for this, however, by increasing the bird's strength.
Grass Saddle	This lightweight grass saddle can create a marked improvement in physical performance. However, a chocobo will require some degree of discernment to reap its benefits.
Cotton Saddle	This lightweight cotton saddle can create a marked improvement in physical performance. However, a chocobo will require some degree of discernment to reap its benefits.
Linen Saddle¹	This lightweight linen saddle can create a marked improvement in physical performance. However, a chocobo will require some degree of discernment to reap its benefits.
Rabbit Hide Saddle	Crafted from the finest rabbit hide, this saddle can improve physical performance, but only for chocobos with at least moderate receptivity.
Sheep Leather Saddle	Crafted from the finest sheep leather, this saddle can improve physical performance, but only for chocobos with at least moderate receptivity.
Buffalo Leather Saddle¹	Crafted from the finest buffalo leather, this saddle can improve physical performance, but only for chocobos with at least moderate receptivity.

¹ Available only to the nation's team that is currently at first place, inside the Chocobo Racing Circuit through the C4-C1 races

Chocobo Racing Circuit

Inside the Circuit, jockeys must rack up "Solo Victory Points" In order to unlock higher tier races, starting at the C4, which requires none, all the way up to the crystal stakes, which requires 60. Not participating in a circuit race for a long time (30 days) will result in a deduction of 50% of your "Solo Victory Points".

Like the official races, payment for these Circuit races involves a cost of Chocobucks, and returns a quantity of gil.

Unlike the Official races, Circuit races are repeatable, and require a payment of gil along with chocobucks. Prizes for the race change depending on your placing, similar to free runs, but much more dramatically.

Also, placing first through third on the C1-Crystal Stakes race will reward the chocojockey an additional crystal stakes cup to go in your mog house.

Races occur every 15 minutes, in the following order repeating every 2 hours: C1, C4, C3, C3, C2, C4, C3, C2. The following chart should make it easy to tell the status on any given race, with 00:00 being any even hour in JST or PST, and 01:00 being any odd hour in JST or PST. Remember to account for Daylight Savings Time.

Time	C1	C4	C3	C3	C2	C4	C3	C2
00:00		Race Finishes	Chocobets Close		Signups close, bets open	Signups open
00:15			Race Finishes	Chocobets Close		Signups close, bets open	Signups open
00:30				Race Finishes	Chocobets Close		Signups close, bets open	Signups open
00:45	Signups open				Race Finishes	Chocobets Close		Signups close, bets open
01:00	Signups close, bets open	Signups open				Race Finishes	Chocobets Close
01:15		Signups close, bets open	Signups open				Race Finishes	Chocobets Close
01:30	Chocobets Close		Signups close, bets open	Signups open				Race Finishes
01:45	Race Finishes	Chocobets Close		Signups close, bets open	Signups open

Race Tier	Required SVP	Cost in Gil	Cost in Chocobucks	First Place Reward	Second Place Reward	Third Place Reward	Fourth Through Last
C4	0	500 Gil	10 Chocobucks	25 Chocobucks 5,000 Gil 3 Solo Victory Points	20 Chocobucks 2,000 Gil 2 Solo Victory Points	15 Chocobucks 1,000 Gil 1 Solo Victory Point	1 Chocobuck
C3	10	1,000 Gil	20 Chocobucks	40 Chocobucks 10,000 Gil 6 Solo Victory Points	25 Chocobucks 4,000 Gil 4 Solo Victory Points	22 Chocobucks 2,000 Gil 2 Solo Victory Points	2 Chocobucks
C2	20	5,000 Gil	40 Chocobucks	70 Chocobucks 50,000 Gil 9 Solo Victory Points	55 Chocobucks 20,000 Gil 6 Solo Victory Points	40 Chocobucks 10,000 Gil 3 Solo Victory Points	4 Chocobucks
C1- Crystal Stakes	60	10,000 Gil	80 Chocobucks	120 Chocobucks 100,000 Gil 12 Solo Victory Points. CS Gold Cup Title: "Crystal Stakes Cupholder"	100 Chocobucks 40,000 Gil 8 Solo Victory Points CS Mythril Cup	80 Chocobucks 20,000 Gil 4 Solo Victory Points CS Bronze Cup	6 Chocobucks

Chocobo Circuit Titles

Title	Required Wins
Winning Owner	10
Victorious Owner	25
Triumphant Owner	50

Chocobo Racing Trivia

• One of your opponents in Chocobo racing will be a bird named Boko. This chocobo has been featured in a few other FF games, mainly as Bartz's companion and friend in FFV. In FFVIII, he appeared as a summon that required the use of Gysahl Greens to summon into battle, as well as the "Chobobo World" minigame. He also appeared as a possible Chocobo team member in Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions.