Chocobo Racing 2.55

[StateAlchemist]

I only have a pedigree 2 chocobo so far, and placing in the top three at all is hard. Lathered seems to drain stamina way faster now, and getting frenzied is scarier then caltrops (at least I could try to dodge those). My chocobo has heavy removal, but it's pretty much useless since I get heavied multiple times each race and it last forever now... xD

Seems like the race is more about items now then your chocobo.

On the up side with the xp buff I am still getting the same xp in third (I think) that i was pre patch in 1st, so I won't really complain too much since all I am doing at the moment is leveling. I just can't train my chocobo to be competitive cause lets face it, it's too expensive to try and train grade 2 or 3 and not worth it at my pedigree.

I guess I will see how things go. I don't know how PvP is for racing but since I almsot never see anyone else in a race with me the only thing that affects me is the huge 'buff' the NPCs got. :c

[Applesnap]

Seems like the race is more about items now then your chocobo.

Yes, it is after 2.55. I used to win regularly with a pedigree II, properly-built stamina bird, but it's almost entirely dependent on which items you get now. The NPC racers ... they have ridiculous stat pools that don't seem to be affected by anything outside of three meteors, a bunch of Bacchus Drinks and a briar trap or two. Even then, they'll easily out-pace you with 00.00% stamina on a dead-heat run to the finishing line. *grumbles*

I've been trying to think of an effective work-around or new strategy, but most of them seem to involve a hefty dose of luck. Even if you get three Sprint Shoes you are not guaranteed to win against one of the top-ranked NPCs. Has anyone been winning regularly with a particular strat?

[Welsper59]

Yes, it is after 2.55. I used to win regularly with a pedigree II, properly-built stamina bird, but it's almost entirely dependent on which items you get now. The NPC racers ... they have ridiculous stat pools that don't seem to be affected by anything outside of three meteors, a bunch of Bacchus Drinks and a briar trap or two. Even then, they'll easily out-pace you with 00.00% stamina on a dead-heat run to the finishing line. *grumbles*

I've been trying to think of an effective work-around or new strategy, but most of them seem to involve a hefty dose of luck. Even if you get three Sprint Shoes you are not guaranteed to win against one of the top-ranked NPCs. Has anyone been winning regularly with a particular strat?

The item focus is not new at all. It's from around R140 (maybe before that) that you start to really rely on item distribution and weather for your victories. Once you meet up against the "rival" NPCs, like Speed Racer in... 140? 120? and whoever else, you'll start to rely almost exclusively on items for your wins. It's pretty ridiculous, but it's how it works... at least until you hit P9 status. Even then though, luck on items and weather can make or break you. I'm on P6 at R100 and 120, so I'm working my way back up the ratings. The game seriously changes from easy and "not bad" to "NPCs are cheating" mode... cuz they are in some cases lol, due to default stat differences. Full duration caltrops hitting certain NPCs barely makes them lose 10 stamina, at least prior to patch... I'm guessing it's still like that.

There really isn't much of a strat, besides general tactics (determine whether or not to pick up an item, cut corners, etc).

[Click]

In general I agree with theendcomes. My G9 choc is 4/1/3/4/4 and still has ChocDash3 which remains very good when used late or after an Aether, unlike HeadStart which I dumped. Its pretty useless now. I run dead last now for almost half the race avoiding all kinds of stuff but still with the possibility of getting some good items while not using a lot of stamina. Don't however train every level with a G9 because the random 5% may end up being wasted. I've tried several abilities now and think Increased Stamina3 is really good. As a passive you always know what you'll get with an Aether.

[RobinRethiel]

In general I agree with theendcomes. My G9 choc is 4/1/3/4/4 and still has ChocDash3 which remains very good when used late or after an Aether, unlike HeadStart which I dumped. Its pretty useless now. I run dead last now for almost half the race avoiding all kinds of stuff but still with the possibility of getting some good items while not using a lot of stamina. Don't however train every level with a G9 because the random 5% may end up being wasted. I've tried several abilities now and think Increased Stamina3 is really good. As a passive you always know what you'll get with an Aether.

Absolutely. Got Stamina 3 by luck and the difference is immense.

So somebody obviously didn't read every post as it was explained clearly that :"Holding forward to win" ISN'T the issue. The issues people have been having have been clearly explained. If you think it's "Waaaaa easy mode is gone" then you are wrong. Try reading before spouting off and trying to sound "superior".

And it's not like that you may win, if you don't run the whole game. Just means, that the NPC are crushing you in the middle of the race, not at the end. You can save a little Stamina without losing too much speed, but it's not that much. The NPC got enough Stamina to sprint the whole race. Only when they eat really heavy stamina drains (for example from the traps and monsters), they got problems.