The Chocobo Hot and Cold Game

Requirements
You must have obtained the maps for the Bastok, San d'Oria and Windurst regions and have a chocobo registered on your chocobo whistle.

Starting the game
Talk to one of these NPCs:

The NPC will talk to you at length about the game. Eventually, you should receive a Tandjana Wildgrass item and some Key Items.
 * Key Items: A Prairie Chocograph and a Bush Chocograph.
 * Coastal Chocograph is given from the NPC after successfully digging in any Bush Chocograph areas 7 times.
 * Dune Chocograph is given from the NPC after successfully digging in any Prairie Chocograph areas 7 times.
 * Jungle Chocograph is given from the NPC after successfully digging in the Coastal Chocograph area 10 times.
 * Desert Chocograph is given from the NPC after successfully digging in the Dune Chocograph area 10 times.

After receiving these items, take a look at your Key Items to determine what area you would like to search for treasure in. Go to that area and use your Tandjana Wildgrass. After using it, you will be placed on your chocobo and you will be shown a map with a ??? marker. You can review the location of the ??? marker on your area map (/map) by switching to the green marker tab. Proceed to that general vicinity and proceed to dig. You do not need any Gysahl Greens to dig.


 * Note: You cannot change area with your chocobo while doing the Hot and Cold game.
 * Note: Be careful not to dismount while digging for treasure.
 * You cannot continue digging by using your Chocobo Whistle to remount.
 * Note: You can only receive the Tandjana Wildgrass once per day.
 * "After your chocobo rests long enough" -- which is past JP midnight.
 * You can dig twice in one day if you do not use your Tandjana grass on the day you receive it.
 * Completing 7 or 10 successful digs in the proper area will award you a new Chocograph on the following (Earth) day, past JP Midnight, not on the day of the final dig.

Digging Messages
You will receive one of five messages when digging:

Imagine a set of three concentric rings around the treasure chest. (Use the graphic to the right for reference. It is definitely not to scale but conveys the idea better than text. If you do not have Treasure Finder, the textured "Kweh?" ring will become part of the "Kweh." ring.)
 * If you dig outside of the colored rings, you will get the "..." message.
 * If you dig in the outer ring, you will get a "Kweh." message.
 * If you dig in the smaller, darker ring, you will get the "Kwehhhh!? (The treasure is close.)" message.
 * If you dig in the bright inner ring, you will get the "K-KWEHHH!!! (You're right on top of it!)" message and should keep digging in that spot. It is indeed a ring as you do not have to be directly on top of the pixel where the treasure chest is.

When your chocobo has the Treasure Finder ability, you break the outer ring into two thus gaining an extra ring for a total of four. This helps you figure out which direction to head. The outer "Kweh." ring is the largest of the three and can make it difficult to narrow down the direction of the chest. As you could easily dig in four or five spots and get a "Kweh." message in each, the extra clue from Treasure Finder can help you determine the appropriate direction to dig more quickly. This is especially true in the advanced Chocograph areas.

In short: If you receive a "Kweh." followed by "Kweh?" you are heading in the correct direction. In this scenario it would be an indication that you are "getting warmer." However, if you get a "Kweh?!" followed by a "Kweh." then you are "getting colder." For now it has been edited as a "getting warmer" message as that is how it should be considered in most instances.

With the addition of the advanced Chocograph areas comes the new Jackpot event. It will only occur after you receive the message "Your chocobo appears a little fatigued." When you hit the jackpot (KWEHHHHHH!!! (You've hit the jackpot!)), the next dig will not count against the chocobo's fatigue (so if the jackpot is hit on the last dig, another attempt may be made.) Since you can only hit the Jackpot while right on top of the chest you will always find it on the next dig, unless you accidentally move.

Once you have seen the "(You're right on top of it!)" message, within 1 to 6 dig attempts you will receive the following message:
 * Kweh! Kweh! Kwehhh!
 * (You've found a treasure chest!)

A "VCS Crate" will spawn near where you dug. You need to dismount from your chocobo to open the chest. The items obtained will fall into the Treasure Pool if you are in a party and/or alliance.

Following the Final Fantasy XI update that occurred on January 14, 2007, it became possible to obtain more than one item from a VCS Crate after completing the Chocobo Hot & Cold game. Two items are commonly found in Prairie, Bush, Coastal, and Dune Chocograph areas; three or four items may be found in Jungle and Desert Chocograph areas. One of the items is usually an inexpensive plant item such as Blue Peas or Gysahl Greens.

After 13-14 dig attempts, you may receive the following message:
 * Your chocobo seems a little fatigued. (Was able to dig at least 5 more times after receiving said message)

After 19 dig attempts, you may receive the following message:
 * Your chocobo refuses to dig any more. Perhaps you should try another day.

Notes:
 * While doing Chocobo Hot and Cold in advanced areas (Coastal, Dune, Desert or Jungle Chocographs), you will receive the "Your Chocobo seems a little fatigued." message after fewer digs. This may be affected by chocobo stats and/or abilities; some reports give the fatigue message after 6-7 digs and "Your chocobo refuses to dig any more." after 11-13 digs.  Reports seem to vary on the chocobos' stats and abilities.  Obviously, comparisons need to be made before a final judgment can be reached on the best stats and abilities for a chocobo bred specifically for Hot & Cold.  The area you dig in should also be taken into consideration.
 * Your bird tires very quickly in the Dune/Desert areas; often within 4-6 digs you get the fatigue message. A game optimized chocobo fatigues on dig 5 and refuses to dig after dig 10 in the deserts. The Dune/Desert areas have a much larger luck factor since you get fewer digs and thus very little information to go on. Your bird will literally be tired just determining between North, South, East, and West in the Dune/Desert. There are a couple of items that can make it worth your while to dig the desert over the jungles but chances are low that you will get one. Also, prices are dropping fast as more and more of the items are dug up.
 * In the Coastal/Jungle areas your number of digs isn't reduced as much as in the Dune/Desert chocograph areas. However, when digging in the Coastal/Jungle areas you must be much more accurate with the chest location in order to be successful. You will notice that when you succeed in the Coastal/Jungle areas the chest will appear almost directly beneath your chocobo. Additionally, the outer dig rings in the Coastal/Jungle areas are much larger than other areas. If your chocobo has Treasure Finder, it may be easier to try the Coastal/Jungle areas than the Dune/Desert areas. The extra digs you get are much more helpful on a bird that gives you the extra information from that ability.

Chocobucks
In addition to other items, each VCS crate contains an EX chocoslip redeemable for chocobucks at your local CRA exchange center NPC. The amount of chocobucks each slip is worth varies with the region where the crate was found, with more bucks obtained in more advanced regions. Prairie/Bush = 1 chocobuck, Coastal/Dunes = 3 chocobucks and Desert/Jungle = 5 chocobucks.

Treasure from the Prairie Chocograph areas
Editing note: When updating drop rates the denominator for all items in a zone MUST be the same and increased by the number of items reporting. The denominator for each group should be the same if revised correctly.

Treasure from the Bush Chocograph areas
Editing note: When updating drop rates the denominator for all items in a zone MUST be the same and increased by the number of items reporting. The denominator for each group should be the same if revised correctly.

Treasure from the Coastal and Dune Chocograph areas
Editing note: When updating drop rates the denominator for all items in a zone MUST be the same and increased by the number of items reporting. The denominator for each group should be the same if revised correctly.

Treasure from the Jungle Chocograph areas
Editing note: When updating drop rates the denominator for all items in a zone MUST be the same and increased by the number of items reporting. The denominator for each group should be the same if revised correctly.

Treasure from the Desert Chocograph areas
Editing note: When updating drop rates the denominator for ALL items in a zone MUST be the same and increased by the number of items reporting. The denominator for each group should be the same if revised correctly.

Tactics
There is a system to this sub game which works well.

The point on your map which is marked ??? is pretty much where the treasure is. Zoom your map in as far as it goes to get a better idea where the ??? really is. The best idea is to dig on that spot first, then if you still get the very cold message, try about four steps in each direction around that point.

E.g:

If you try digging on the ??? spot and get either the very cold message or the cold message try four steps north of the ???, then if you have no luck there try four steps east of the ???, then try the same with four steps south and west around the ???. By digging in these five locations you should have a good idea which direction the treasure is, as it does not seem to be more than about nine or ten steps away from the ??? point on your map. Frequently, the crate will be on or near a distinguishing feature on the landscape, such as in a puddle, in an out-of-place patch of grass, at the base of a tree, or in an indentation in a wall of rock.

Sidenote:

In the advanced chocograph areas the actual treasure chest will never be where the dot shows on your map. In most instances it will be up to 1/2 of a map square away from the location of the dot shown. (Worst case senario, it can be closer.) Since you get fewer digs you will have to spread your pattern out more in order to be successful. The strategy is the same, but instead of only moving four steps, try moving up to six or eight. If you haven't received a "Kweh" by the time you reach your fifth dig (one on dot and one for each cardinal direction eight steps away)you need to examine your map and re-evaluate things. Also, the chests are often in open areas here instead of near/on landmarks like trees, rocks, dirt patches, etc... This is where the ability Treasure Finder finally becomes somewhat more useful. The outer ring has been made larger, making it more difficult, and the central ring's size is also a bit smaller. So you have to be quite a bit closer to exactly where the treasure is in order to get "K-KWEHHH!!! You're right on top of it." The Jungle chocograph areas may have even smaller target areas. (Confirmed: The jungle chocograph has the smallest bullseye of any area so far. It also has larger outter rings making it very difficult.)

Advanced Tactics
Once you have mastered the four point system explained above you may want to try a three point system. Especially if you are now digging in the advanced chocograph areas. Basically you pick three points near the ??? marker (but not on it because you already know that in these areas it wont be there, so save that dig!!) in the shape of a triangle. If any of the messages you get indicate that you have moved closer to the the treasure you abandon any points left in the old triangle and start a new triangle with where you just dug being one of the points. You should pick your two new points in the direction you moved from the original ??? marker. Imagine branches growing outward. Here is a very simple paint graphic that explains it a little better. The colored dots indicate messages that show you've moved closer to the chest. With the exception of the green which is where the starting ??? marker would be on your map. If you had dug in position three prior to digging position one or two you would skip those positions. Since you know the chest is never near the ??? marker it is safe to advance on your first clue as it is highly unlikely you would find another clue in the other directions. This method can save you a lot of digs but it is not as easy as the four point method and depends heavily on having Treasure Finder. This method can be used without the ability, just be prepared to get identical messages. If this happens pick one new point as you normally would on either of the previous spots expanding outward. If you didn't move closer try one point on the other and keep going back/forth until you get it worked out. Another important bit to remember is to shrink your triangles the closer you get to the chest. Start out fairly large, a good eight or ten steps apart if not more. Once you find the "the treasure is close" spot it usually isn't more than a step or two away. The most common mistake people make with this method is to spread their points out too far once they get close to the chest. Some additional tips for using this method:
 * When picking new points try to aim for 45 degrees to each side of a line drawn between your last two points (use ??? as first point.) A common mistake is to wildly pick points that are more than 90 degrees to one side.
 * If messages seem confusing stop and think. If your first dig was "Kweh" and the second and third were "..." what does that tell you? It tells you that your first dig was on the far edge of the outter ring so you have to backtrack. Choose two branching points from the "Kweh" spot heading back in the direction of the ???. Do NOT pick a totally new random point if you already received a clue. Always advance (or backtrack if you must) on the clues you have. Random digs are wasted digs!!
 * PRACTICE! A large factor in being successful is having experience to know how far to space your digs in a particular area. This only comes from having done it many times. Don't get discouraged if you fail everyday for a week or more in a new area. Each failure brings that much more experience.
 * Take the time to raise a chocobo with Treasure Finder and either Bore or Burrow.
 * Do not assume that you will automatically fail if you've passed a certain number of digs. (ie: give up trying and/or waste remaining digs) Keep in mind hitting the Jackpot is always a possibility in the advanced chocographs!! It happens more than you would think on that last possible dig. In fact, the closer you are to your last dig when you find the "right on top of it" spot, the higher the chances seem to be for hitting the Jackpot.
 * ALWAYS be thinking of the rings. Memorize the graphic from above and the messages for each ring. Visualize the rings over top of your dig spots that give the various messages. More often than not, when you've received several clues that seem totally off the wall, a simple visualization of how the rings would have to fall in order for those messages to come about will tell you EXACTLY where the chest is!! Try it, it really does work.