Chocobo Racing 2.55

[Click]

I pretty much agree with Gallus, except I think Choco Dash III is still very viable with either Increased Stamina III or Choco Cure III if you hang back a bit and wait to use it. Head Start is pretty dead now. Also, I think I like Increased Stamina a little more than Choco Cure because as a passive I know what I'll always get with an Aether.

[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?

[MilesSaintboroguh]

My chocobo is only rank 88 so I can't really offer much insight other than races do seem more intense and somewhat more luck based.

[Miste]

Doing r140 and r160 since patch and I find stamina is a huge issue now, it's like..the NPCs can hold down max speed for whole race but I can't so it seems to me they have a kinda lame advantage. It seems the frequency of the stamina items is lower now also so I'm not sure what to do, I mean I guess you aren't supposed to get in high place every time but hmm..I get in like 7th and 8th some now and I never used to get below 4th.

My chocobo has a crappy hereditary skill though, Heavy Resistance 100%, its not as good as other abilities since Stamina is so bad now, need like the cure Frenzy ability or another stamina recovery ability

[RobinRethiel]

No you are not, thats just something many people believe because of soul website. Thing is soul only counts registered accounts and there are simple the most on phoenix because its difficult to make accounts on the real big servers because they are full.

Whatever, it's full.

Funny thing:
R-240 is easier than those before, because there are so many traps and monsters, that many of the NPCs are getting destroyed by them. (though got the luck to learn Increased Stamina III, which is now a massive boost, but well, pure RNG to get it).

[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).

[zurecatherogue]

Well after some more testing and a lot of luck...nothing has changed. I was in a race where i was lucky enough to get 2 stamina tabs and a potion and I STILL ran out of stamina. Like really? Before the patch this was usually enough to hit 0% right when you got to the line, which every guide will tell you is optimal. So basically, don't get any stamina items? gg. Got hit by a water? gg. Sprint to long? gg. Low acceleration stat? Haha, welcome to perma 8th, it will take you so long to get to top speed that with the increased drain from acceleration, there goes half your stamina. Oh you wanna stay at top speed? Wave goodbye to the rest of your stamina. Oh look, your only 50% through the race.

[Aphel]

I don't know about you but I rarely get stamina tabs or pots and still finish the race in 1st to 3rd positions, sometimes with stamina to spare. No you can't stay in lathered for like 10secs straight now.

Stop lathering your Chocobo, increase your pedigree and feed it better stuff.

Then again, it might be cleared up in the upcoming hotfix.

[NaliaBrown]

I'm still a chocobo racing noob. I still have my first racing chocobo and she's only level 20, so I haven't been able to do any breeding or anything like that. I don't have fancy, strong chocobos like the rest of you.

Reading this topic is very discouraging. I have won one race so far. I haven't tried it since the patch, but before the patch I usually placed 5th-7th. I'm afraid now if I try I'll always get 8th and never level my choco.

[Welsper59]

I'm still a chocobo racing noob. I still have my first racing chocobo and she's only level 20, so I haven't been able to do any breeding or anything like that. I don't have fancy, strong chocobos like the rest of you.

Reading this topic is very discouraging. I have won one race so far. I haven't tried it since the patch, but before the patch I usually placed 5th-7th. I'm afraid now if I try I'll always get 8th and never level my choco.

It's not that discouraging really. The thing to keep in mind is that you won't win them all. It just won't happen. If you're just starting out, and thus you're on a pedigree 1 or 2 bird, you'll be kept in the lower tier brackets, so it won't be too bad. The NPCs are very much a band of "cheating" AI, but they're also incredibly stupid at times. You'll come across many races where items won't help you at all, as well as many occasions where you'll just be ganged up on by your opponents, but you'll find yourself winning a lot as you get your bird stronger. The most important thing to understand is how your bird controls, the basics of racing (picking or leaving item boxes, cutting corners, timing of items/abilities, etc), and the track layout (including obstacles, pads, item boxes, etc). Once that's all understood, then we leave our faith with RNGesus for good items and AI that won't gang up on you... which happens a lot from what I'm noticing from the R140+ brackets lol.