Worthless chocobo companion

[Gunspec]

Has there been any recent discussion about the companion system from the developers? I find myself using my chocobo less and less, even while leveling my ninja this month. The main problem for me is that, after learning choco medica, my companion is absolutely horrible at healing. It uses this weak move when only I am hurt, or when it is not in range for the spell to hit me. I've heard the same problem exists for dps chocobo using their stun move at improper times. I'm tempted to refund the points and spec it differently, but better AI or proper control over the companion would fix the problem entirely. Why should I make a work-around when the problem is on a development side? Has anything been said about a tweak to the companion system when chocobo breeding is introduced?

[Katsu78]

Choco regen is the major reason why I don't use my Chocobo in combat very often. That move is AWFUL. Why does it heal 30 hp at lvl 50? Eos' whispering dawn can heal up to 50hp at a faster rate while being synced down to lvl 25 lmao. If Choco regen is that bad, I hate to see its DPS and Tank abilities

[Shadowzanon]

I really disliked how piss poor the chocobo heals when it llearns chocobo medica, so what i did was not take the last2 healer abilities as acc does not help healing and medica blows if its just you and your chocobo. Doing this made my chocobo waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more reliable and i took some dps n tank things which i use on freestance when its fights i need minor healing or if soloing harder things i switch to healer. seems to be the best bet to get the best of your chocobo.

[Gunspec]

Well, choco cure is halfway decent. I understand that the devs don't want the chocobo to be anywhere near as effective as another human player, but for the effectiveness to DROP after learning a more advanced move is just absurd. You have to avoid ranking up the chocobo in certain areas for it to remain useful.

[Thistledown]

It really needs a buff to the frequency of its attack ability uses. It just autoattacks and hardly ever use a skill. So it really can't be relied upon to gain enmity let alone retaining it.
Healing stance Choco Cure is decent though.

[Alukah]

Choco Medica really sucks, I died in soloing a boss fate thanks to my chocobo spamming medica instead of cure when I was the only one getting hit. Is this really our reward for getting to/past rank 10?

[Wobble]

Yeah they are pretty stupid with their healing. I really don't understand why they don't scale more with the levels. As someone said eos heals better at lower levels, I literally had a SCH that went on follow and afk in a dungeon once and I never died or came close. They don't want the companions to be OP but eos kind of is so what's the difference?

[Fyrebrand]

I am the last person who I thought would come in here and defend Chocobo Companion (one of the most broken, unfinished features in the game), but I will say this: you should view your chocobo from the perspective that anything it does is a bonus. Don't rely on it like it's an additional party member. It's not going to keep you alive in dire situations, it's not going to interrupt key enemy skills, and it's not going to dish out a ton of damage. But when you have a chocobo out, battles are just that little bit smoother. It's worth having the chocobo out when you can, but if it were any more effective it would either be overpowered, or SE would have to start designing open-world content under the assumption that you have a chocobo with you -- and we don't want that.

I made the mistake of trying to make my chocobo a tank, which as it turns out is not a good idea. It can't hold threat at all, even against the most lackluster of White Mage damage. But it makes soloing FATE boses and Hunt marks a lot easier, just having something else constantly whacking away while I take a break from damage to take care of HP upkeep. From what I hear, a balance of mostly DPS with a few ranks of Healing is the way to go with Chocobo Companion. But even then, don't expect an ally who matches your own power in any way. Anything the chocobo does is extra.

[File2ish]

...don't expect an ally who matches your own power in any way. Anything the chocobo does is extra.

Pretty much this.

While I would prefer my chocobo to be at least a bit more useful with some better coding to decide on what attacks/heals it should do and when, it might turn the tides a bit too much in your favor. If my chocobo healed more frequently running fates solo+choco I'd probably survive too well. I mean my healer chocobo already allows me to take on more mobs at a time than normal when I do fates to level my ninja, what more if it healed non-stop? I mean I don't even think our chocobos have MP/TP, so it's pretty much free heals/damage even if it's not big numbers.

[Doki]

Maps are the only place in the game the chocobo companion is even remotely useful, and even then their support is marginal at best. My chocobo is at rank 16 and still fairly useless.