I preface this post with saying the following:
- I do not want this feature to be focused on right now.
- I do not want the developers to spend an awful amount of time on this any time soon, either. Maybe a year down the road, or more. I'm willing to wait.

That said!

{Chocobo Breeding} {Can I have it?}

One of the most interesting updates to FFXI, in my opinion and prior to my departure, was the chocobo breeding update. To me, it was fun to watch your chocobo grow from the time it was a tiny chickabo, to a monsterous, titan of the track, hoping for that special colored bird you always wanted in an MMO. Between the races, the utility, and the awesomeness that Choco Hot and Cold always provided, it was a solid, drawing side feature that I would have dumped more of my time into, would the game have let me.

What would this give FF14?
Nothing ever should be added to a game that does not directly benefit the players, community, or developers; so why should we add this? Well, I believe it would be a good side-system, for the following reasons:

1) This would provide a time-sink for players that otherwise have little else to do. For those who are tired of crafting, have few LS mates on, and have already done the leves they want to do, why not breed and raise a bird? Heck, why not go digging with your bird, in fact!?

2) This would provide for more useful culinary recipes, and possibly make more "bridge" synths with it, sharing things with alchemy. I'll not comment on the usefulness of one craft or another in this post, but, extra utility, especially for chefs, would always be a nice addition.

3) Eorzea's zones are already large enough to support Hot and Cold. Hot and Cold, the chocobo treasure hunting game from FF9 and 11, was a nice feature in both to give extra (and useful!) items over time. That said, it also encouraged something for both the aforementioned games; exploration. If you give a general area of "this is where it is about", and put the treasure in a less-than-traveled area of the world (particularly in La Noscea and The Black Shroud, there are plenty of these!), it would encourage players to get out and explore. After all, you never know when you might find that perfect leveling spot!

4) The basic system is already in-house. Now, I'm pretty sure that FF11's code and FF14's code are rather different, but the concept would be generally the same. The system, and the like, are already there, it would just require a translation or at least it would provide a model to follow. Tweaks, of course, would be necessary, but a guide does help.

5) Players go CRAZY for pets. Having played quite a few free MMO's over the past year and a half, along with some paid, something I always see as a draw are "pets". "Raise your own pet!" was a large draw from quite a few of these, and many MMO's that I've seen have had players request mounts and other pet-like creatures. This could, and would, be a nice selling point for FF14, once it goes "live".

As I prefaced this statement with, I don't want this feature now. It would be a nice addition, however, as time goes along, and as a consideration for any dev that (eventually) might have the time to pick this system up. It might be just a dream for Aex to ride his Green Chocobo throughout untamed lands again, but, one day, I'd like to see that dream become a reality.