Sports in Eorzea

[Gospel]

I was talking with a friend the other night and they brought this question up to me. Since then I've been scratching my head about it because I don't even know how much it's really even talked about in the game? I guess there is chocobo racing but what else is there in the world of XIV that could be considered as a major sport?

[ManuelBravo]

Hope they bring in Blitz ball now that swimming will be an option, othe rthan that...nothing really. Triple triad and minion game I guess.

[Cilia]

As I recall this has been asked before; the only real answer is: "nobody knows."

Eorzea is for the most part a medieval place. Not much time for recreation unless you're part of the aristocracy, y'know?

[myahele]

I seem to recall Chocobo racing was originally a sport for Ul'dahn elites up until Manderville brought it over to the GS. I guess the same could be said about many of the minigames there, too.

Fist-fighting and betting the winner seems to be pretty popular amongst commoners

The Platinum Mirage is home to gambling halls, so we can only speculate what kind of gambling games they do there

The Gladiators in the Blood Sands is one of the biggest spectator sports in Eorzea

I think there was a Chocobo fighting ring in Ishgard

[Theodric]

Fishing is likely treated as a sport by some Eorzeans - especially by those who can afford to fish to show off the biggest catch rather than because they need to fish up something to eat or sell.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Fist-fighting and betting the winner seems to be pretty popular amongst commoners

The Gladiators in the Blood Sands is one of the biggest spectator sports in Eorzea.

When it comes to blood sport, we surely can't neglect to mention the Wolves' Den in Limsa Lominsa!

It always struck me as odd that PvP would be implemented in Limsa rather than Ul'dah, what with the Sultanate's established reputation for such sport.

I suppose it's simply because of a conscious attempt to ensure fair distribution of side content across Eorzea. Limsa gets PvP, Ul'dah gets the Gold Saucer, while Gridania gets the Palace of the Dead.

[Enkidoh]

The Wolves' Den doesn't really count though as lore-wise it's not for the general public but a training ground for the Grand Companies (only GC-enlisted adventurers can participate or even access the place).

Having PvP there instead of in the Colosseum is also probably for technical reasons - 1.0 Ul'dah was a mess with bad lag (and still is if you're on Balmung ), and they're not about to make that worse by adding a major piece of content that everyone would inevitably idle around (look at Quarrymill with Palace of the Dead). This is why major content is moved to outlying towns instead of in the main cities - it's to reduce lag and spread out players who tend to idle at the content npcs).

Also lore wise the Colosseum is for pure spectacle, as it's part of the GLA's Guild - to fight there needed the permission of the guild, so it's only used gameplay wise for a few quests (1.0 GLA class quests and a Hildibrand quest in ARR).

As for other sports, given there is a basketball-shooting style ballgame machine at Gold Saucer, some kind of basketball-like ball game seems to exist in Eorzea as well, but it's unclear as to it's details (it could just be yet another reference to FFVII, given FFVII's GS also featured a basketball shooting minigame).

[Clethoria]

Eorzea's medieval/modern/futuristic world gives a lot of openings for other FF references as well as real life things that wouldn't otherwise make sense if it was firmly one or the other(looking at you ceourl bikini and spotted fedora). Tossing a ball into a hoop goes back to B.C.E. so it doesn't necessarily mean that there's a Quad City slamming and or jamming somewhere off screen. though if anyone's listening please add Ala Mhiggan basketball. It's competitive, highly physical, and a group sport.

Personally, I think Blitzball is going too far because of the level of futuristic technology involved. Unless there's a hidden compartment stored in Crystal Tower's basement- the world's got bigger problems to deal with instead of constructing a giant lake sized bubble for people to play fantasy soccer in.

[Balipu]

Sort of related but I kinda hope the main scenario will have us eventually do some of these mini games. I know people get upset if optional stuff turns into not optional, but it would be nice to go with the Scions to the Saucer to celebrate the liberation of Ala Mhigo or something. And maybe to have them use the mail system if the new main quest is available.

Hey, <player character> please come to the Rising Stone. Something weird is happening at <place>. See you soon.

Love
Alisaie

PS: Still kinda sad Alphinaud and half the Scions were murdered by Zenos

Just joking. But SWTOR was very good at this. A lot of NPCs messaged us after we have done their quests. Often with bonus reward.