Chocobo companion timer.

[Shougun]

OP gyshal Greens are so cheap we can basically have them out infinitely, but man do I also wish the timer were gone. Seeing it there ticking down is surprisingly stressful...

Exactly! I don't know why, because it is really nothing at all on the cost side of things - nor is 1 hour too short, but it having a timer just makes it like a hassle or 'stressor' to have your bird out. Which is reaaaallllyy not the feeling you should have, imo. Yet the food idea is cute, but that's why I referenced WoW with Hunter- they had the food thing too but it was rewarding to feed your pet, and encouraged, but far less stressful, imo.

[Ransu]

Exactly! I don't know why, because it is really nothing at all on the cost side of things - nor is 1 hour too short, but it having a timer just makes it like a hassle or 'stressor' to have your bird out. Which is reaaaallllyy not the feeling you should have, imo. Yet the food idea is cute, but that's why I referenced WoW with Hunter- they had the food thing too but it was rewarding to feed your pet, and encouraged, but far less stressful, imo.

Ya the current design just doesn't make sense given how cheap the gyshals are. I mean if its entire reason is for lore then whatever. I can't imagine that would be the main reason for it, but I still find the system annoying and weird and if its really about lore then why not keep the whole gyshal greens to summon but just have no timer while you're logged in. When you log out your chocobo gets dismissed.

[Enkidoh]

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it's deliberate to actually disuade you from having your chocobo out at all times - they don't want you just spamming open-world content over and over again for hours on end with your chocobo, but actually varying what you do (e.g do a few FATEs, then move onto a dungeon or two, then maybe work on some sidequests or something similar) - which is why you cannot take your chocobo into instanced content. Your chocobo companion is simply meant to be a help in certain open-world situations (such as open-world solo fights or FATEs), but not as a crutch to over-rely on.

Really, it's not that hard to simply buy a stack of gysahl greens from the many vendors, then map it to your pet hotbar and simply hit the icon when the chocobo's timer gets low, which again is probably what SE were thinking when they designed the system. It doesn't need to be even more simplified than it already is.

[Iscah]

I don't see where the stress is. Is your companion not summoned when you need it? Press the Gysahl Greens button. Done.

It was only annoying when you had to let the timer run out before you could apply another one.

[Shougun]

I don't see where the stress is. Is your companion not summoned when you need it? Press the Gysahl Greens button. Done.

It was only annoying when you had to let the timer run out before you could apply another one.

I mean I didn't say you had stress, I said I, and another, did. Just like someone might say savage is easy and another says it's not. So.. "okay, great . . . you don't" doesn't mean anything to me though and adds nothing to my feelings on it lol. And it's not like end of the world or savage stress. It's just seeing a timer countdown. . It's minor anxiety. Not the kind that isn't get over-able, but it's just.. meh, it doesn't add anything of value and you could have similar systems that add more value (keep gil sink if that's important). Like running around without a full clip, even in games where it's not that trigger important. No I want the full thing.. Often I just top the chocobo off even when it's like 35 or 40 because bleh.

If it's to dissuade you from using it too much, I guess so in the beginning when you're poor but I literally always have 999 greens. I've always my chocobo out because it's meaningless not to, why not have free heals out. If they want to dissuade players make it cost more or add a cooldown lol.

The timer at this point in the game feels meaningless and yet also annoying - a terrible combination, and if it was for lore / vibes it could be done better, and if it was for companion management that too could have been done better.

One thought where it might still have a function is it might be for server stress, while trying to allow players the opportunity to have it out as much as they want - that I suppose it can do (cooldown can do server stress too but it wouldn't allow some players to have it out all the time, as nature of it being a cooldown).

[Ransu]

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it's deliberate to actually disuade you from having your chocobo out at all times - they don't want you just spamming open-world content over and over again for hours on end with your chocobo, but actually varying what you do (e.g do a few FATEs, then move onto a dungeon or two, then maybe work on some sidequests or something similar) - which is why you cannot take your chocobo into instanced content. Your chocobo companion is simply meant to be a help in certain open-world situations (such as open-world solo fights or FATEs), but not as a crutch to over-rely on.

Really, it's not that hard to simply buy a stack of gysahl greens from the many vendors, then map it to your pet hotbar and simply hit the icon when the chocobo's timer gets low, which again is probably what SE were thinking when they designed the system. It doesn't need to be even more simplified than it already is.

Considering a lot of past post expansion content focused heavily on doing FATES? I find this reasoning to be nonsense.

People are also not going to refuse to do other content just because they have a chocobo companion. Again, that reasoning is just silly.

[Iscah]

I've always my chocobo out because it's meaningless not to, why not have free heals out. If they want to dissuade players make it cost more or add a cooldown lol.

If I'm taking glamour screenshots and going in and out of gpose, it's easier to have the chocobo unsummoned so I don't have to turn it invisible every time.

Plus it's sort of annoying if I'm questing but not trying to fight things, especially if in town talking to NPCs and going in and out of buildings or tight spaces. It can be annoying having it follow me around and getting in the way of characters, at least visually. (Plus I really hate it on occasions when your chocobo snags against someone else's and they both just keep walking against each other trying to move into position.)

[ItMe]

I just don't like having a big clock that says "your friend is leaving you in XX:XX."
Sure it can be reset or extended, but when it's up there's that pressure to get through dialogue / cutscenes / whatever really fast because it's ticking down and doesn't stop ticking. It makes it feel less like you're exploring and adventuring with your buddy in a way I find quite unpleasant.

[Deceptus]

pretty sure Yoshi answered a question like this
"Your buddy gotta eat too"
something like that

It's nothing more than a low level gil sink.

[Raikai]

That's the thing... I agree with the OP that Ghysal Greens are meaningless now. They are extremely cheap, so there's nothing of relevant in having them... Like, you'll always run around with 99x no matter what unless you just forget to buy or don't care about the chocobo. Might as well just remove them and have the summon being an extra action.

However, instead of removing altogether, they could add layers to make it interesting, such as having different Greens (more expensive/rare?) that summon the chocobo with a certain specific buff to help with the role you set it to. If we actually had a choice to make there, having the companion being summoned by an item would make sense.

But still, they would have to make stuff like leveling FATEs more interesting, because that is the only kind of content that I can see the chocobo being uselful to do when there's just you doing them.