The 8th Vana'diel Census (05/16/2008)

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The 8th Vana'diel Census (05/16/2008)

Introduction

On May 16, 2008, FINAL FANTASY XI celebrates its six-year anniversary since its launch in Japan, and will blaze a trail into its seventh year of service! With adventurers now blazing trails across Vana'diel's time stream in the fourth expansion pack, Wings of the Goddess, and with the addition of a “World Transfer Service,” FINAL FANTASY XI's thriving community has grown to more than 500,000 users. Once again, the development and operations teams have analyzed both past and current data to bring you a detailed report on Vana'diel's lively denizens. We hope you enjoy our cross-sectioned look at FINAL FANTASY XI's constantly evolving community!

*All research other than login distribution is based off data obtained April 2008.

Login Distribution

The below graphs represent the login data for the first week in May 2008. As demonstrated in the data collected each year, there are three main login times each day for FINAL FANTASY XI users from Japan, North America, and Europe indicated by the peaks displayed below. The first peak time takes place in Japan, which is followed by Europe, and then - after a short break - by North America. One can see just how busy the game regularly is by looking at the multiple peak login times.

≪Simultaneous Logins≫ * Indicated in JST

Now let's take a look at how much time players are logged into the game each day. When compared to 2006 and 2007, the number of players playing under 3 hours a day has slightly increased and the number of players playing between 4 and 6 hours a day has slightly decreased. The reason for this could be due to experience bonuses through signet and sanctions, enabling players to level up in shorter lengths of time. Another contribution to this figure could be the increase of content such as Assault and Campaign, where players can play with their friends for relatively short periods of time. On the other hand, however, the average play time for a character this year comes to 171 minutes (about 2 hours and 50 minutes), which is slightly longer than last year (168 minutes) and the year before that (164 minutes).

≪Login Time Per Character≫

Job Levels

This year, in addition to our data on Main Job Distribution, we have also added the results of research into how many players have completed Maat's final challenges and obtained the highly coveted “Maat's Cap.”

Let's start out talking about main job distribution. We researched job levels for all characters except those at level 1, most of which would be “storage characters” (also known as “mules”).

The rough distribution is the same as every year, but the percentage of job levels over 31 has increased. It may be obvious that adventurers' levels would rise after a year, but this may also be attributed to the introduction of Campaign Ops, Campaign Battles, and other features added in Wings of the Goddess -- such as the addition of content enabling players to obtain extra experience, the presence of players leveling up to try their hand once again at missions from the expansion packs that have been made easier, and players who have finished various missions now in a position where they can obtain ENM quests or pages from Miratete's memoirs.

≪Main Job Level Distribution (Level 2-75)≫

[ Main Job Distribution (Level 1) ]

Job Levels	Population Distribution
1	56.89%

[ Main Job Level Distribution (Level 2-75) ]

Job Levels Population Distribution Level Distribution 2 2.72% Levels 2-10 25.78% 3 2.44% 4 2.30% 5 3.50% 6 2.49% 7 3.22% 8 2.65% 9 2.08% 10 4.38% 11 2.36% Levels 11-20 20.84% 12 2.41% 13 1.94% 14 1.79% 15 2.72% 16 1.61% 17 1.79% 18 2.33% 19 1.36% 20 2.53% 21 1.40% Levels 21-30 10.77% 22 1.11% 23 0.91% 24 0.93% 25 1.56% 26 0.93% 27 0.81% 28 0.65% 29 0.61% 30 1.86% 31 1.01% Levels 31-40 16.46% 32 0.91% 33 0.75% 34 0.66% 35 0.74% 36 0.82% 37 7.23% 38 1.86% 39 0.73% 40 1.75%

Job Levels Population Distribution Level Distribution 41 0.95% Levels 41-50 5.36% 42 0.98% 43 0.63% 44 0.49% 45 0.52% 46 0.40% 47 0.32% 48 0.28% 49 0.21% 50 0.58% 51 0.39% Levels 51-60 3.54% 52 0.37% 53 0.30% 54 0.28% 55 0.29% 56 0.27% 57 0.24% 58 0.29% 59 0.25% 60 0.86% 61 0.58% Levels 61-70 3.67% 62 0.46% 63 0.40% 64 0.34% 65 0.36% 66 0.39% 67 0.29% 68 0.26% 69 0.21% 70 0.38% 71 0.24% Levels 71-75 13.58% 72 0.26% 73 0.28% 74 0.39% 75 12.41% Total 100% 100%

We will now mention the item that only the Ultimate Champion of the World could possibly acquire, “Maat's Cap.” As you undoubtedly already know, the only way to get one's hands on this enigmatic item is to level up 15 jobs to level 66 or higher and defeat Maat in single combat with each job. The number of adventurers across all worlds who have taken on this treacherous path and successfully become Maat's successor is a staggering 6,575 characters!

Maat's Cap adds +7 to each statistic as a reward for the grueling work put into its acquisition. When Maat's Cap was first being designed, in order to make it the ultimate status-enhancing piece of equipment, it was given STR+7 to surpass even the wyvern helm +1.

[ [ Maat's Cap Acquisition ] *All Worlds ]

Number Acquired
6575

Jobs

This section looks at the distribution of jobs and the most popular combinations for main and support jobs.

As has been the case for the past few years, the initial six jobs (warrior, monk, white mage, black mage, red mage, and thief) account for the vast percentage of main job distribution, having increased by 12% since last year to a total of 74%.

≪Main Job Distribution≫

The incredibly popular mage main and support job combination has continued to hold on to the top two spots.

Because more jobs are regarded as frontline jobs, most backline players tended to select the exact same jobs. Also, when choosing a support job, there are more diverse frontline jobs than backline. If someone thinks, “Hey, I want to help my friends out with restoration and strengthening magic,” the two jobs that come to mind are white mage and bard, but when a character chooses one of the initial jobs, they almost always choose white mage. On the other hand, if someone thinks, “I want to attack with a weapon and deal lots of damage,” a plethora of jobs comes to mind such as warrior, monk, and thief.

However, there are also the dancer and scholar jobs that were added in Wings of the Goddess. While it goes without saying that either could be chosen as a main job, they both happen to be ideal support jobs. In the next census, the rankings may be drastically different, considering the benefits of the magic-oriented scholar with his technical prowess over both black and white magic and the stratagems' ability to turn battles to one's favor.

[ Main/Support Job Ranking ]

Ranking	Main Job	Support Job	Relative Percentage	Change from 2007 Census ( ) denotes 2007 ranking
1	White Mage	Black Mage	13.18%	→
2	Black Mage	White Mage	10.18%	→
3	Red Mage	White Mage	5.58%	↑（6）
4	Red Mage	Black Mage	5.29%	↓（3）
5	Thief	Ninja	4.25%	↑（8）
6	Ninja	Warrior	3.93%	↓（4）
7	Monk	Warrior	3.71%	↓（5）
8	Paladin	Warrior	3.20%	↑（9）
9	Warrior	Ninja	3.19%	↓（7）
10	Warrior	Ninja	2.55%	→
11	Bard	White Mage	2.15%	↑（12）
12	Black Mage	Red Mage	2.02%	↓（11）
13	Dancer	Ninja	1.76%	-
14	Beastmaster	White Mage	1.69%	→
15	Thief	Warrior	1.68%	↓（13）
	Others		35.64%

The data in the following pie chart was taken from characters who have acquired one or more of the new extra jobs. The reason for the dancer's 13% lead over the scholar is most likely due to the difference in the difficulty in acquiring the job. It's been about six months since these jobs have become available and, since the price of the items necessary in obtaining these jobs have come down in price and several version updates have been introduced, the percentage of players who have acquired both jobs is gradually increasing.

≪New Extra Job Acquisition≫

Racial Distribution

Last year we wrote: “Hume males still top the rankings this year; however, Tarutaru males are hot on their heels. If the popularity of the diminutive Windurstians continues to rise, we may see a new race in the number one position this time next year.”And, just as we had predicted, this year the Tarutaru males have overtaken the Hume males, successfully wresting away the number one position. The last time Tarutaru males actually sat in the lead was before the 2005 Vana'diel Census. We'll have to keep our eyes on both the Tarutaru males and Hume males to see what the future holds. Also on the Tarutaru front, Tarutaru females are gradually moving up the ranks and one can see that overall, the Windurstian natives are growing in popularity.

≪Racial Distribution≫

[ Race Ranking ]

Ranking	Race (Gender)	Relative Percentage	Change from 2006 Census ( ) denotes 2006 ranking
1	Tarutaru (♂)	16.99%	↑(2)
2	Hume (♂)	15.59%	↓(2)
3	Mithra (♀)	15.47%	→
4	Hume (♀)	13.38%	→
5	Tarutaru (♀)	12.90%	↑(6)
6	Elvaan (♂)	11.11%	↓(5)
7	Galka (♂)	7.48%	→
8	Elvaan (♀)	7.08%	→

Looking at race size distribution each year, one can see that sizes fitting a race or gender's overall image are extremely popular. This year is, of course, no exception. Last year, Elvaan males' popularity moved from medium to large, and this year, the gap between medium and large grew even wider.

[ Race Size Distribution ]

Racial Distribution (Gender)	Size	Relative Percentage
Hume (♂)	S	17.78%
	M	46.62%
	L	35.60%
Hume (♀)	S	57.85%
	M	29.60%
	L	12.55%
Elvaan (♂)	S	18.44%
	M	37.16%
	L	44.40%
Elvaan (♀)	S	54.91%
	M	24.34%
	L	20.75%
Tarutaru (♂)	S	64.95%
	M	17.94%
	L	17.11%
Tarutaru (♀)	S	79.22%
	M	12.27%
	L	8.51%
Mithra (♀)	S	58.68%
	M	25.85%
	L	15.47%
Galka (♂)	S	12.74%
	M	8.31%
	L	78.95%

Face Type Distribution

The number one face type for each race has remained constant with last year's. Let's take a look at the face type distribution for each race, making sure to pay attention to the minute changes from the number two position on down.

As with last year, three quarters of the male Hume face type distribution is occupied by types 1, 2, 3, and 4. There has been no change in the order of popularity, and there seems to be a balance between each of the popular 4 face types and each of the less popular 4 face types.

Just as with last year, face types 1, 2, and 3 occupy almost three quarters of the female Hume chart and the percentage difference between face types 2 and 3 decreased by 2% since last year.

Face type 1 and 7 switched places this year and returned to the same position they were 2 years ago. Where could this fierce competition take us next year?

The gap between face types 8 and 5 which had started to disappear last year has widened again this year.

Types 3, 5, and 7 have struck an almost perfect balance in their ongoing rivalry. There has been no change in face type order.

The face types being chosen are relatively balanced in popularity. Last year, the gap between face Type 1 and 4 almost disappeared, but this year they have switched places, the gap considerably widening. Now Tarutaru female face Type 4 is diligently protecting its number one position.

Types 5, 6, and 7 occupy about 70% of the chart. Of those, Type 6, by far, boasts the most popularity.

The Galka face types are still relatively balanced in popularity with Type 6 remaining the most popular choice.

Linkshells

Linkshells have become an essential part of life in Vana'diel. Linkshell members may lend you a hand in your struggles, providing you with necessary items or just helping you level up for missions and quests.

There are also many adventurers who participate in events planned out by linkshell leaders to celebrate occasions such as a friend's birthday or marriage.

Let's take a look at linkshells, those amazing tools that let us share adventures and feelings together.

We compiled data on the number of currently active linkshells. According to the data, there were a total of 44,560 linkshells active at least once a day, which comes out to an average of 1,392 linkshells per World.

As seen in the graph below, just as last year's census and the census before that, the large majority of active linkshells consist of up to 9 members. However, what's characteristically different about this year's statistics is how remarkably this percentage has increased (For reference, the percentage of linkshells with 1-9 members in the previous censuses was 72.70% in 2007 and 71.00% in 2006).

This trend establishes that many of FINAL FANTASY XI's players possess and use multiple linkshells. It could be said that this indicates an evolution in the game's community. A single player may possess multiple linkshells with different purposes, from beginner-friendly conversation linkshells to linkshells for organizing user events, or linkshells for strategizing Assault, Salvage, or Limbus on small or large scales. The proliferation of various linkshells indicates the active lifestyle that many players are enjoying in Vana'diel. Many different kinds of linkshells are created every day. Some are for adventurers who share the same goal, such as completing quests and missions or vanquishing powerful monsters, while other linkshells exist solely for conversation and small talk.

On the other hand, let's take a look at The Linkshell Community, a service made for supporting linkshells. Since the time the service started up until the present, a total of 166,144 community accounts have been registered, and a total of 29,226 communities have been established. In a recent version update, a function was added enabling users to upload images to the message board, as well as an album. The Linkshell Community is continuing to advance and evolve as the site is updated. We encourage players who have not yet given the Linkshell Community a chance to register on the site and enjoy a new level of communication with their linkshell members.

Linkshell Community： http://fanzone.playonline.com/lscom/index.do

≪Linkshell Usage≫ *1 day

Items

This section will cover the most common items put up for auction, as well as the proliferation of relic-level equipment.

First, let's take a look at the data from the four auction houses. We can tell by looking at the results that there are more and more adventurers trying to improve their synthesis skills, and that users abusing auction houses for activities such as RMT are being regularly banned.

As before, about half of San d'Oria's rankings are hides and skins, but it is interesting to note that, of those hides, the dhalmel hide is steadily moving up in rank. Besides being a popular item for improving one's skills, it is also an essential material for the Square of Cilice in the quest “The Gobbiebag Part III.” It should be noted that it is one of the more expensive hides sold by the Tanners' guild. For example, sheepskin can sometimes be bought cheaper at the Tanners' guild than at the auction house, but dhalmel hide is almost always cheaper at the auction house. The reason it is bought so much from the auction house is likely because it is difficult to locally procure at places such as Buburimu Peninsula, it is just too much trouble to procure, or because it is required for a certain product's synthesis recipe. Elm log moved up from last year's number 9 position to number 4 this year. This is most likely due to the Special Task Force's activities against users selling items for RMT and, as a result, an increase in the number of players making “shihei” themselves.

[ Goods Most Placed On Auction ]

[ San d'Oria ] Ranking Item Name Successful Bids Change from 2007 Census ( ) denotes 2007 ranking 1 Moat Carp 93.33% → 2 Tiger Hide 91.49% ↑(3) 3 Ram Skin 87.68% ↓(2) 4 Elm Log 85.17% ↑(9) 5 Zinc Ore 91.81% ↓(4) 6 Dhalmel Hide 86.13% ↑(7) 7 Sheepskin 86.42% ↓(6) 8 Insect Ball 91.64% ↑(Unavailable) 9 Ebony Log 90.17% ↑(Unavailable) 10 Win. Tea Leaves 88.59% ↑(Unavailable)

The four top-ranked items for the Bastok auction house have remained unchanged for the last 3 years. Among the newly ranked items this year, number 6 “chunk of mythril ore” and number 8 “pot of honey” both caught our attention. Mythril ore is quite valuable in goldsmithing synthesis when combined with gold dust. Synthesis for goldsmithing is relatively costly, but one can use just “copper ingot” and “brass ingot” as materials to raise one's synthesis skill to 50 and, by selling the results of the synthesis to different shops, a player can raise one's skill at a relatively low cost. In other words, players are most likely synthesizing “mythril ingot” using “chunk of mythril ore” and then “pinch of gold dust” to raise their skill. Also, due to the influence of items that can be synthesized starting out with a mythril ingot, the demand for mythril ingots has been increasing recently. Pot of honey's rank on the list could be considered an obvious outcome when considering it would be inevitable for players searching for beehive chips to find them, and also because there is some demand in Bastok for pots of honey as a material in synthesis for the item “flask of echo drops.” [ Bastok ] Ranking Item Name Successful Bids Change from 2006 Census ( ) denotes 2006 ranking 1 Zinc Ore 95.04% → 2 Iron Ore 90.78% → 3 Quadav Backplate 93.42% → 4 Beehive Chip 75.73% → 5 Goblin Mask 95.37% ↑(6) 6 Mythril Ore 94.66% ↑(Unavailable) 7 Rusty Leggings 81.68% ↓(5) 8 Honey 88.03% ↑(Unavailable) 9 Silver Ore 88.67% ↑(Unavailable) 10 Rusty Subligar 86.70% ↓(7)

Just like the other nations, the items “pot of honey” and “beetle shell” have climbed into the rankings, and “bone chip” which was ranked number 6 last year, has jumped up in rank to number 3. These are all essential items for improving one's synthesis skills, and it could be said that their low cost is the primary reason for their popularity. Beetle shells are used to synthesize ”Ponze of carapace powder” and bone chips are used to synthesize different kinds of arrowheads, but “pot of honey” is different in that not only is it used by au laits, but also used to some extent in “coeurl subs” and different kinds of cookies.

[ Windurst ] Ranking Item Name Successful Bids Change from 2006 Census ( ) denotes 2006 ranking 1 Giant Femur 90.19% → 2 Yagudo Necklace 85.98% → 3 Bone Chip 91.67% ↑(6) 4 Tarutaru Rice 82.52% → 5 Moat Carp 90.49% ↓(3) 6 Silk Thread 85.92% ↓(5) 7 Scorpion Claw 91.72% → 8 Honey 90.46% ↑(Unavailable) 9 Beetle Shell 72.27% ↑(Unavailable) 10 Ram Horn 81.41% ↓(8)

Next, let's take a look at the rankings at Jeuno's auction house. As is shown every year, when compared to the three starting nations, the items sold in Jeuno are generally end products rather than materials or ingredients. The reason for the meat mithkabob's unusual rank jump is partially due to the new jobs added in the latest expansion, “Wings of the Goddess.”Adventurers of various different jobs engaged in leveling up enjoy the food effects provided by meat mithkabobs to lower-level characters. Also, because “Jack-o'-Lantern” is also a viable choice depending on the situation and on one's tastes, it may have indirectly helped raise meat mithkabob's ranking. The furnishing “Bahut” exploded into the number 7 position with its quickly rising popularity. It goes without saying that its functionality is one reason for this, but considering that it can be created at a low cost with relatively low skills, its high position shouldn't come as a surprise. “Pot of silent oil” has seriously dropped in rank, but it is thought that the reason for this is the introduction of “sanjaku-tenugui.” It hasn't risen as much as Bahut, but it is battling its way up the rankings and is currently at number 16.

[ Jeuno ] Ranking Item Name Successful Bids Change from 2007 Census ( ) denotes 2007 ranking 1 Yagudo Drink 92.31% → 2 Spider Web 96.36% ↑(3) 3 Meat Mithkabob 91.12% ↑(8) 4 Squid Sushi 88.15% ↑(7) 5 Sole Sushi 86.33% ↓(4) 6 Silent Oil 87.13% ↓(2) 7 Bahut 79.28% ↑(Unavailable) 8 Imp. Gold Piece 90.99% ↑(Unavailable) 9 Toolbag (Shihei) 85.38% → 10 Gigant Squid 91.56% ↓(5)

Lastly, we'll take a look at relic-level equipment, which can be acquired through each Dynamis area. As with last year's census, we'll be focusing on the number of fourth stage and completed relic items that exist in all Worlds. Once again, the most popular relic is the Aegis, boasting a total of 366 shields created. Mandau, Kikoku, and Gjallarhorn continue to be very popular, with over 200 of each created. Of the relics, the scythe Apocalypse has drastically and suddenly risen in popularity. While the weapon's performance clearly makes it desirable, its weapon skill “Catastrophe” may be the reason for its incredible popularity. A total of 141 items have been created.

This year's totals of 558 for fourth stage items and 1869 for completed relic items have far exceeded the previous year's totals of 353 and 778. The total number of final stage relics across all Worlds is rapidly approaching 2000 items.

[ Relic Acquisition (4th stage and final stage) ] *All Worlds

Equipment Type	Stage	Relic Name	Number Acquired
Hand-to-Hand	Fourth Stage	Caestus	27
	Final Stage	Spharai	125
Dagger	Fourth Stage	Batardeau	59
	Final Stage	Mandau	238
Sword	Fourth Stage	Caliburn	51
	Final Stage	Excalibur	147
Great Sword	Fourth Stage	Valhalla	23
	Final Stage	Ragnarok	45
Axe	Fourth Stage	Ogre Killer	17
	Final Stage	Guttler	16
Great Axe	Fourth Stage	Abaddon Killer	19
	Final Stage	Bravura	46
Scythe	Fourth Stage	Bec de Faucon	65
	Final Stage	Apocalypse	141
Polearm	Fourth Stage	Gae Assail	17
	Final Stage	Gungnir	28
Katana	Fourth Stage	Yoshimitsu	22
	Final Stage	Kikoku	219
Great Katana	Fourth Stage	Totsukanotsurugi	71
	Final Stage	Amanomurakumo	93
Club	Fourth Stage	Gullintani	16
	Final Stage	Mjollnir	29
Staff	Fourth Stage	Thyrus	4
	Final Stage	Claustrum	16
Bow	Fourth Stage	Futatokoroto	23
	Final Stage	Yoichinoyumi	59
Gun	Fourth Stage	Ferdinand	9
	Final Stage	Annihilator	96
Instrument	Fourth Stage	Millennium Horn	44
	Final Stage	Gjallarhorn	205
Shield	Fourth Stage	Ancile	91
	Final Stage	Aegis	366
Total	Fourth Stage		558
	Final Stage		1869

Synthesis Skills

In this next section, we will be taking a look at this year's data regarding synthesis skills. The last time we looked into synthesis skills was during the 2005 census. How much could synthesis skills have possibly changed in the past three years? We compiled statistics about major synthesis skills and how many characters have skill ranks of craftsman or above.　Even if you're just starting out on a synthesis skill, you can use this data as a resource for finding out how many people are involved in the same synthesis skill as yourself. We have not included characters whose skills have not improved at all.

≪Comparison of Skill Rank Distribution≫ (*All Worlds)

≪Percentage of Characters Craftsman or above≫ (*All Worlds)

By assuming an overall view of the statistics, we can see that skill ranks for most synthesis skills have risen. This is easiest to see when looking at the “Comparison of Skill Rank Distribution” bar graphs, especially by noting the increase in characters above journeyman and craftsman. Among those skills, the three most popular are cooking, alchemy, and woodworking. The reason for their popularity is most likely due to the relative ease in raising them.

≪Skill Rank Distribution≫ (*All Worlds)

The most notable characteristic about fishing is that roughly 50% of practitioners are amateurs. This is most likely due to the fact that only a fishing rod and bait are necessary to fish, and that many of the fishermen included in the statistics may have only fished once. Because fishing is an independent skill, even if another synthesis skill has reached 100, one will be able to raise fishing to 100. Despite that, however, the number of characters craftsman rank or above has not increased since the previous census, possibly due to the difficulty in raising the skill at higher ranks.

Woodworking is peculiar for having a high percentage of journeymen, indicating that many characters use it as a sub-skill. Unlike fishing, the percentage of craftsmen is gradually increasing. Considering that the percentage of veterans has increased to seven times its previous percentage, it could be said that woodworking is one of the easier skills to raise. There are many woodworking recipes that use lumber and, when making lumber from logs, if the player succeeds in a high quality synthesis, that player can receive a lot of lumber from a single log. Whether or not a player receives extra lumber may be the key to raising one's woodworking skill.

After goldsmithing, smithing has the lowest percentage of characters ranked craftsman or above, indicating that it is a very difficult skill to raise. However, for how difficult it is to raise a smithing synthesis skill, high quality items produced through smithing are sold at very high prices. If you are finding it difficult to raise your skill, keep your hand at it and you may find yourself getting rich quick!

Although the number of characters ranked craftsman or above for goldsmithing has increased since the last census, the number still remains the lowest in comparison to the other synthesis skills, and goldsmithing is still considered the most difficult skill to raise. Smithing and goldsmithing are difficult skills to raise because of the high number of recipes that require expensive materials. And, unlike woodworking, when refining ingots (the main ingredient in smithing and goldsmithing recipes), the number of items produced will not change, regardless of whether the synthesis is high quality or not. This could be said about any synthesis skill, but rather than synthesizing with costly items, it is important to check item costs at auction houses and carefully choose cheaper recipes to save gil.

Apprentices and journeymen make up about 50% of weavers. Because leathercrafting and bonecrafting have many recipes that need weaving as a sub-skill, it could be said that weaving is a necessary skill for characters involved in building armor. On the other hand, recipes at adept rank are very expensive, and it is difficult to raise one's skill to veteran. Once one's skill goes above 90, many recipes require smithing and leathercrafting as sub-skills, and one must make various investments simply to raise one's skill.

Like woodworking, there is a high percentage of journeymen, and it seems that many characters are using leathercrafting as a sub-skill. However, if you look only at the percentage of veterans, you'll note that leathercrafting has the second highest percentage of veterans among all synthesis skills and is one of the easiest skills to raise. Once a character becomes an adept, there are many recipes that require weaving or bonecrafting as sub-skills. Leathercrafters can entirely avoid recipes requiring smithing as a sub-skill for raising their skills. Also, there are many high-level recipes with materials that are relatively easy to acquire, and it is quite easy to reach the 100 skill cap when compared to other skills.

Because there are many recipes after initiate that require leathercrafting as a sub-skill, it is necessary to also raise leathercrafting skills in order to raise one's bonecrafting skills. Like leathercrafting, materials for bonecrafting recipes are easy to acquire, and few recipes require a sub-skill once one has become a veteran. However, bonecrafting has the third lowest percentage of characters craftsman rank and above, and it is quite difficult to raise one's skills from craftsman to adept.

Alchemy has the second highest percentage of characters craftsman rank and up. Once players have raised their skills to journeyman rank, they can make items that are useful within burning circles such as hi-potions, or items used for travelling through monster-infested areas such as prism powder and silent oil. Also, one reason for alchemy’s appeal is that successful high quality synthesis will yield players multiple items. With alchemy, it is possible to apply special effects to weapons or armor or to raise one’s skills through recipes that don’t require sub-skills.

Cooking has the highest percentage of characters craftsman rank and higher due to food's position as a necessary item on the battlefield. There are also many characters who continue with another skill as their main skill, while keeping cooking as a sub-skill after raising it to journeyman rank. There are many cooking recipes that use eight ingredients for a single synthesis, but because there are so many inexpensive recipes, cooking skills can be easily and steadily raised. Also, because it does not need any sub-skills, one can become a veteran through practicing cooking alone.

Chocobo Raising

We looked into the different color chocobos Vana'diel's adventurers have been raising, and came up with the following data.

At the moment, yellow chocobos are annihilating the competition, followed by black chocobos, then blue chocobos, red chocobos, and lastly by green chocobos. When a chocobo first hatches from an egg, most people note how common yellow chocobos are--an observation clearly supported by the data here.

As you are undoubtedly aware, you can acquire a chocobo egg as a reward for a quest or battlefield, as a purchase from Dabih's Wares in Ru'Lude Gardens, or another adventurer could transfer his or her chococard to you. There is no possible way of knowing what color your chocobo will be before it has hatched, but the data from our research indicates each color's likelihood.

And nowadays, with methods of chocobo rearing being expanded upon and the proliferation of chococards for colored chocobos on the increase, chocobo color percentages may be very different in next year's census.