Chocobo Digging Guide

What is chocobo digging?
It's a hobby in FFXI that you can use Gysahl Greens to get chocobos to dig up potentially valuable items. The items vary by zone and rarity.

How to start digging?
You will need to accomplish 5 things before you can start digging. These 5 things are listed below:


 * 1) Level a job to 20 or higher. This is a requirement before "Chocobo's Wounds" quest is even offered.
 * 2) Obtain 4 Gausebit Grass. These drop from Crane Flies in Meriphataud Mountains or Wadi Hare in Dangruf Wadi.  You may also purchase these in the Auction House under Weapons>Ammo&Misc>Pet Items category.
 * 3) Head to Upper Jeuno and complete the quest "Chocobo's Wounds". This will take 6 game days to finish.  Upon completion of the quest you will receive key item "Chocobo License".
 * 4) Purchase Gysahl Greens from vendor. Vendors are available next to chocobo stables in all cities (except Norg), and you can also buy them from the Derfland Regional Vendor.  Price vary from 61 gil to 69 gil per green.
 * 5) Rent chocobo. These vendors located in Windurst Woods, Bastok Mines, Southern San d'Oria, Upper Jeuno, Lower Jeuno, Port Jeuno, Kazham, Rabao, and Norg.  Vendors are also located at Crags of Dem, Mea, and Holla.  You can only rent chocobos in Al Zahbi if the NPC is not claimed prisoner.

In addition, it is strongly recommended to cap fame in all areas to ensure you get the cheapest price possible on greens. It is recommended to have BLM leveled to at least 17 for Warp, and have a white mage job at least level 38 for the teleport spells. This will allow you to move about much of Vana'diel to access the chocobos. Completing all 6 Gobbiebag quests and all 3 Mog House quests is helpful, as several items that are dug up on a frequent basis do not stack. You can only do storage expansion quests if you have fame leveled.

Pros of chocobo digging?
This is one of the cheapest crafts to cap out, over a period of time. It only costs 10M to 15M to go from Amateur to Expert in digging, while other crafts can cost up to 100M if not higher to cap out. The costs associated with digging is pretty much fixed, with only variables being the chocobo rental fee and whether or not you buy the greens in Jeuno. Like fishing, chocobo digging does not count towards the 40 level crafting buffer if you already had plans to take another craft to level 100. Once you hit Initiate Rank in digging (after spending at least 300k on greens), you will be able to break even to make a profit almost every session depending on where you dig, and you should be able to make enough money to fund the gysahl greens at the very least.

Please note:'' The opinion that this is the cheapest craft is not entirely accurate. Cooking and Fishing are extremely inexpensive and cost well under 5M to level to 100. Also, please note many crafts do not cost in upwards of 100M to level. Depending on the amount of farming done crafts can costs between 1-20M to level excluding some such as Goldsmithing which can, but does not necessarily, cost around 100M to level to 100.''

Cons of chocobo digging?
It takes a very long time to cap out chocobo digging. It can take over 15,000 stacks of gysahl greens before your skill caps. This will take about 20 to 28 months to do this if you dig to fatigue every day. Because of the fixed costs associated with digging (only variable being the relatively low chocobo rental fees), the competition tends to be higher than other crafts. It may take a zone up to 60 minutes to reload, as an high level digger can clean out a zone in a matter of minutes. You can only dig based on the turnover rates of your products, and you may be forced to level other crafts (woodworking, smithing, and goldsmithing in particular) to convert non-stackable logs and ores into lumber and ingots. The 24 July 2006 update implemented a chocobo fatigue system, which kicks in once you dug a certain number of items (100) and once you hit that fatigue you will be unable to dig up more items until midnight JP time.

Why can't I dig up items?
Very often, there is competition. It only takes a matter of 5-10 minutes for a high rank digger to clean out a zone, and as long as 60 minutes for a zone to reload. Put 2 diggers in the same zone for digging, and you will find out real fast that the higher rank digger will always get the items. If you are a much lower rank, your dig accuracy is not going to be high to start, so you may only have a 25% dig accuracy rate to start. An higher-rank digger should have a 60% to 70% dig accuracy rate, and most will change areas if they fail a dig at least 6 times in a row. If competition is not the issue, chances are the Moon Phase is. If the moon is 45% to 60%, you will have a much lower success rate of digging up items regardless of competition. If you have hit fatigue status with chocobo digging, your success rate will be 0% and it will not reset until midnight has passed in Japan.

Is chocobo riding gear necessary?
At first, with the 60 second area wait time and the delay of 16 seconds between digs, and the time limit of 30 minutes with a chocobo, you might want to consider putting an extra 200k up front to purchase level 1 chocobo riding gear from the Auction House. The full set will add 15 minutes to your Chocobo Riding Time. The extra time means more digs. As your digging rank increases, you will be able to dig "back-to-back" and have an shorter area delay. Because of this, most diggers usually sell the chocobo gear in order to have 4 extra slots to store items. Use your best judgment when it comes to this type of gear.

What are area and delay timers?
Once you enter a zone, the chocobo won't dig right away. The chocobo needs to warm up in the zone before it will dig. The area and delay timers will decrease as you go up in rank. Expert rank digging is equivalent to 100 skill in a craft.

Does moon phase affect chocobo digging?
Yes it does. Full Moon and New Moon are good for accuracy rates, and second-best for overall profit. First Quarter Moon and Last Quarter Moon tends to yield fewer successful digs (reduced dig accuracy by as much as 50%) and the lowest profit. Early Waxing Crescent is the only time Elemental Ore can be dug up in non-Zilart zones and only during an active weather event. Because all the high level diggers know this, Early Waxing Crescent tends to have the lowest percentage in successful digs than any other moon phase, but the highest potential for profit. In general, anytime between 0% to 43% moon and 62% to 100% moon is a good time to dig.

What macros should I set up?
There are 4 macros that you will need when it comes to digging: These macros will change based on your digging rank. Macros 3 and 4 are optional.

When is the earliest I can pull up an Elemental Ore during Early Waxing Crescent?
Sadly for the new diggers, Elemental Ore requires a digger of Veteran Rank to dig them up. This means the earliest you can possibly pull one up is Craftsman rank, but even for them its hard to do. A digger with Artisan rank has a better chance, but not by much. A digger with Veteran or Expert rank can see anywhere between 3 to 8 elemental ores per Early Waxing Crescent though I have seen some pull more than 10 during that time. Digging competition is extremely high during this time and even Veteran rank diggers will have to deal with constantly dug up zones.

In addition, an active weather effect must be in effect in those zones. Fog counts as a weather effect. The Moon Phase must be between 7% to 24%, and most of the elemental ores tend to come in the early part of that moon phase. It is rare to see an elemental ore at 21% or 24% waxing crescent.

When should I start digging to make a profit?
The earliest I would start digging for profit is the Initiate Rank, as you should be able to start competition in the Jungles. It will take a digging Rank of Journeyman to Craftsman at the earliest to start competition against the "digbots". Your main target for profit digging is to find consumables that have an high turnover rate on the auction house, and should be able to pay at least 1 digging session. Common targets that most diggers go for are Bone Chips, Elm Logs, Mythril Beastcoins, Gold Beastcoins, Gold Ore, Darksteel Ore, Grain Seeds, Danceshrooms, Ebony Logs, Petrified Logs, Puffballs, Rosewood Logs, King Truffles, and Mahogany Logs. There are other valuable targets out there, but you are not likely going to see them pop up. There are other targets that will turn into profit if you craft with them. These include Flint Stones, colored rocks, Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Silver Ore, Tin Ore, Arrowwood Logs, Ash Logs, and Zinc Ore. Most of these will turn into high-demand consumables. The only factor depends if you got inventory space and/or crystals to invest in holding them. The areas outside Al Zahbi have items that sell decently to the NPC vendors, such as Colibri Feather and Lesser Chigoe.

With Bore, the main targets include Demon Skull, Demon Horn, Wildgrass Seeds, Yellow Ginseng, and Tree Cuttings. Diggers that have chocobos with Burrow tend to target zones that beastcoins can be pulled up (primarily in Batallia), or the Wildgrass Seeds in Pashhow Marshlands. Diggers that have personal chocobos with either ability will make profit at a faster rate than diggers that don't have this resource.

How do I calculate chocobo rental fee?
For San d'Oria, Bastok, Windurst, Norg, Rabao, Al Zahbi, and Kazham the chocobo rental fee is:
 * Fee = (50 + Job Level) * Demand

For Jeuno and Crags of Dem/Mea/Holla, the chocobo rental fee is:
 * Fee = (175 + Job Level) * Demand

Demand is a multiplier that can go from 1 to 100, and is based on the current demand of chocobo rentals. The fee can range from 65 gil to as much as 25000 gil. The expensive chocobo fees tend to be at Crag of Mea, with the second highest at Crag of Holla. Chocobo fees are much cheaper at Rabao and Kazham.

The easiest way to know the demand multiplier is to divide Fee by (Base Cost + Job Level). The base cost will either be 50 or 175, and Job Level is your current job level (15-75). The demand multiplier will decrease over an period of time if nobody rents a chocobo at that location.

Is there another way to get gysahl greens?
In addition to purchasing greens from the vendors, they can be obtained by harvesting in Giddeus, or from Gardening. The combination you need in Gardening is Vegetable Seeds (obtained while digging in West Ronfaure) and a Wind Crystal, or Wildgrass Seeds (purchased in Aht Urhgan Whitegate) with either a Wind or Ice crystal. You will need multiple mules to make gardening effective, as you can only hold 10 flowerpots at a given time, and it takes 5 to 6 real life days for a plant with vegetable seeds to be ready for harvest. A word of caution: each plant can yield different results, and your mule must be checked daily or the plant will die. While there is nothing wrong in trying to save some gil via gardening, there are times where it is much cheaper and easier to buy the greens from an NPC vendor.

How often does zone reload with items?
Every minute, between 2 to 8 items will load in a zone. A zone may have anywhere from 20-50 items ready for digging. Moon phase will also affect zone reloading. The zones tend to reload faster during full moon/new moon, and much slower during first quarter moon/last quarter moon. Depending on the rank of the digger, it only takes a few minutes for a zone to be "dug out". Depending on how fast the items load, it can take as little as 10 minutes and as long as 60 minutes for a zone to completely reload. Experienced diggers tend to start digging at the beginning of a game day until a zone is dug out, and then wait for the next game day before digging again. The only thing that will mess up that strategy is if there is very high competition in the area.

What to do if the consumables suddenly quit moving off the AH?
Every now and then, the economy will go stale. It is normal, and usually happens during weekdays. The best way to get those consumables to move during those slow times is by crafting with them. Bone Chips can be converted into a variety of consumables like arrowheads, gelatin, Animal Glue, and accessories made with alchemy and/or bonecraft. Arrowwood Logs and Ash Logs can be converted into lumber which is then used to make high-demand ammunition for various jobs. Elm Logs can be converted into Bast Parchment. Bird Feathers, Insect Wings, and Yagudo Feathers are frequently used to make fletchlings required to make the ammo. Ores are often converted into ingots depending on their demand and the digger's crafting skills. Most of the diggers tend to have a woodworking background, but you will find diggers that have 100 skill in other crafts. If you craft and the products still don't move, avoid digging until the economy returns to normal (usually on a weekend).

What is the best time to go digging?
There is no clear cut choice. The highest competition tends to happen during JP Prime Time and on weekends. Some diggers dig everyday, others dig depending on moon phase. Digging during First or Last Quarter moon phase is not recommended because digging accuracy tends to be the lowest then, and the item reload rate is very slow during that time also (very often, only 2 or 3 items load per game hour instead of 6-8).

Does equipment improve digging results?
No. Equipment can increase chocobo ride time, but has zero effect on digging results. Elemental staves are useless for chocobo digging. Most diggers tend to have little or no equipment on, as inventory space is very important and equipment takes away from inventory space.

On March 7th, 2007, a unique item was added. The effects of the Egg Helm are yet undetermined, but the description notes a "bonus" to Chocobo Digging. The method in which this item is obtained has yet to be discovered. The "Egg Helm" is obtained by trading the first three letters of your name (in initial eggs) to the event moogle. The effect of the helm is that while digging you will find all sorts of egg related items. The most common so far have been: Sairui-Ran (a ninja tool that is made from eggs), Hard-Boiled Egg, Soft-Boiled Egg, Colored Egg, and Bird Egg

What is the chocobo digging fatigue system?
On 24 July 2006, SE put in some much needed updates to chocobo digging. They added new zones and new items, but also implemented a chocobo digging fatigue system similar to fishing. Once you hit fatigue status, you will unable to dig up any items until midnight has passed in Japan. Right now, you will hit fatigue at 100 items (around 20 stacks of gysahl greens) per real life day. The reason the fatigue system was put in place was to punish the RMT dig-bots that monopolized certain zones. The digging fatigue is now reset to the first time you zone after midnight in Japan.

Raising your chocobo for digging.
Since Chocobo Raising was implemented, diggers are trying to raise their chocobos for digging purposes. Some of the reasons is the potential to dig more than 100 items (though it has not been proven as of yet), dig items normally not found in the zone, increase chances of getting good digging sessions, or increase profit per digging session.

There are four ways to obtain chocobo eggs (Exclusive item): ISNM, Upper Jeuno quest from Brutus,  purchasing from the vendor in Ru'Lude Gardens, or getting a female and a male chococard and breeding those for an egg. You trade it to the chocobo stables owner in one of the 3 starting cities. I strongly recommend you trade it in Windurst (read below for explanation).

After you trade the item, it will take 4 real life days for a chick to hatch. Every day you should be feeding it ghysal greens (or feed it greens that cure status ailments as needed), it will take 1 to 3 to fill up a chocobo. Every day you should be taking it on a walk (if you raise your chocobo in Windurst, you will quickly get the key item of the story that teaches Bore ability). You should use care plans that focus on Discernment (and once Discernment skill is maxed you should switch back to Basic Care and let Endurance slowly go up). Once the chocobo is adolescent you should be taking it on Regular walks until you learn the key item of the story that teaches Burrow ability, and giving it the story that the chocobo could learn Bore and/or Burrow.

The decision to teach a chocobo bore/burrow should not be made lightly however. These abilities will cause the chocobo to dig up items not normaly available in an area. Some of these items can be profitable, but many are not. With the recent 100 item fatigue limit, digging up these new items will get you to the fatigue limit much faster and can reduce the number of profitable items you dig up. At the same time, the availability of these "extra" items will yield a higher successful dig rate as the pool of available items will be larger. This accuracy vs profit tradeoff should be considered before teaching these abilities.

Additionaly, it has been confirmed that successfuly finding items in the Chocobo Hot & Cold game raises your digging skill. Therefore, the Treasure Finder ability should also be considered when choosing potential skills for a digging oriented chocobo.

Once your chocobo hits adult stage and learns those items, quest for the Chocobo Whistle, and prepare your chocobo for a mount. You will now dig with the items. When it comes to breeding, you should be finding chocobo mates that have high endurance and/or discernment stats for your best effect.

Modified from The Ultimate Guide to Chocobo Digging on FFXI, with permission.