Chocobo Digging 101 : FFXI General Discussions

Chocobo Digging:

Disclaimer: This is a gathering of information from other threads and my own personal experiences. I do not take credit for all the info here, but everything I have written I can confirm.

How do you chocobo Dig:

This is Easy. Complete the chocobo riding quest, grab a bunch some Gysahl Greens, Rent a chocobo and once your outside type /dig. That’s it, you can choco dig. Sounds simple right. WRONG!!!! This is a very hard “craft” to level. I say “Craft” since some people are dead set against accepting this as a craft but regardless, it is a skill that can be mastered.

The Basics:

Terms: Zoning: The act of changing areas
Dug up: When a zone has had all its items already dug up.
Refresh: When a zone gets new items to be dug up


Levels

There is a series of levels involved that include two things,

Wait time: Time between digs

Area Time: time after a zone that you can dig This is defined as the A in front of the level

the first level is considered an A60 and final Confirmed level is an A 10 (as far as i know)

here is the list of levels.

1) A60 : Wait time of 16

2) A55 : Wait time of 11

3) A50 : Wait time of 6

4) A45 : Wait time of 0

5) A40 : All following levels will have a wait time of 0

6) A35

7) A30

8) A25

9) A20

10) A15

11) A10

Pretty much the higher you get the better items you can get as well. Please note that this can take forever. I have been digging for about a year now and it took about that long in order to get to be an A10 Digger. It is a very long and can be boring process. A bot would really help in this situation.

Macros to use:

I would suggest starting with a macro that is at the level above you.

EXAMPLE1:

You are an A60 Digger Not to concerned with Area time right yet mainly Wait time on dig so you would use

Macro Alt 1: /dig
/wait 16
/dig
/wait 11
/dig

this way you check you wait time every two digs. Once it digs on your last command then you have leveled and can move on.

EXAMPLE2:

You are an A35 Digger No wait time

Macro Alt 1: /dig (so that you can spam dig without a problem)

Macro Alt 2: /echo Countdown (30)
/wait 30
/dig

This way it will start the dig command 30 seconds after you Zone. If you dig you have leveled, if not then keep at it.

There is some discussion on when to actually hit the Macro when you zone. The way I have tried in every zone in the game is the only way I have found that is accurate for all computers and areas. When the chocobo icon on the top right (yellow icon) appears, hit your macro. That is the only CONFIRMED way to make sure you are getting an accurate zone time. The only way to level is to keep digging. There is no set amount of greens or anything it is based on skillups that you don’t see. Someone can take 200 stacks to level, others can take up to 400. It all depends.


Where to dig to level up:

From A60-A50: Keep to the main towns of Windy Sandy and Bastok. Not great money in it but you will have no chance in most other areas. Also if there is a waxing moon (7-17%) you will have a hard time getting anything. I wll explain why later. Stay here until your dig time reaches 0.

A45-30: Move to areas like the Tele areas if you want but a lot of diggers around them. You can also start hitting the deserts. Namely Altepa. Nice finds there bit the area is dug up a lot. I went to Jugner Forest and Carpenters landing for a majority of these leves.

A25-A10: By now you are an advanced digger and can make up your own mind. I went back to the places closer to town to get away from the competition in order to level up. Took forever but I has paid out so far.

Dug up Zones and refresh rates:

When a zone is dug up, it can mean a lot of failed digs. This sucks. This happens a lot in the high profit areas. About every Game hour the zones will refresh with a drop of 4-8 items. Also when you zone into an area for the first time during the current chocobo ride there will be an item refresh for that as well. (there is at least one item you can dig up when you zone to a new area) Problem is if you get it or not, if there are other diggers you may not get them yourself.

Also most zones have a reset timer. This means a time when the zone fills back up with items to its maximum capacity. This is heaven for chocobo diggers. These times fluctuate to often to keep a decent record.

After a maintenance, all areas are also refreshed (at least on my server) so if you want to get some good digging in stock up on greens and logout next to a chocobo ranch so when you log back in you can get in on the hunt!!!


Profiting with Chocobo Digging:

Everyone wants to chocobo dig for the money, and for good reason. There is plenty to be had with it. With all the talk of rare ores and stuff it is no wonder most servers aren’t filled with chocobo diggers.

There is a few ways to make money with this and one of them requires to have other crafts built up.

Crafting and Chocobo Digging:

Gold/Black Smithing: During your digs you will be digging up a lot of ores. In the beginning you will be digging up a lot of copper and zinc if you dig around Gustaberg. Not to mention when you get to higher levels you will be digging up Darksteel, Mythril (coins and ore), Platinum ,Gold (coins and Ore) colored rocks, and elemental ores (yes you can dig them up). Having the right skills in order to synth all of them would help you out a lot with less stops at AH or even for your own synthesis needs.

Woodworking: In the jungles and around Sandy you will be getting a lot of logs. Even the Cheap Arrowood logs sell for a lot when made into lumber. Leveling woodworking up high would be easy with Chocobo Digging leveled up as well. Not to mention the selling of lumber would make you a nice profit as well. I go digging around Dem and go between there Jugner forest and Carpenters landing and take with me 2 stacks of wind crystals and 2 stacks of bundling twine. Also when you go to Kazham you can dig in the jungles for some Rosewood, Mahagony and Ebony to make some nice cash.


Bonecraft: During your digs you will be getting a lot of bone chips, giant femurs and if you got to altep, wyvern scals and coral fragments. All can be used to either level bonecraft or just sell on the AH. All three are always in demand.



Alchemy: Again with the bonechips you get you can make a lot of animal glue for cheap. Also chocobo digging is one of the easiest ways of getting Philosophers stones, which are used in high level alchemy. A nice find to help you level all the way to 100.


Profitable places to dig:

Do not try to dig for profit until you have no wait time. It will be disheartening if you do!!! Placs that have good profit items are usually busy and dug up so do not be surprised if you do not make out all to well til A30 or so. Items are listed by difficulty. Thanks to (ffxi.somepage.com) All prices are based on Ifrit Ecnomy, may vary.


Rolanberry Fields:

Pebble___ Very Common___ Worthless
Little Worm___ Very Common___ Worthless
Insect Wing ___ Common___ Worthless
Flint Stone___ Common___ Worthless
Sage ___ Uncommon___ 4k/stack
Red Jar ___ Rare___ Worthless
Coral Fungus ___ Rare___ 20k/stack
Mythril Beastcoin ___ Rare___ 30k/stack
Gold Beastcoin ___ Very Rare ___300k/stack
Orichalcum Ore ___ Very Rare___ 300k/piece

Eastern Altepa Desert:

Pebble ___ Very Common___ Worthless
Bone Chip___ Very Common ___4k/stack
Giant Femur ___Very Common___ 2k a piece
Zinc Ore ___ Common ___1k a piece
Silver Ore ___ Common ___Worthless
Wyvern Scales ___ Uncommon___ 100k/stack
Mythril Ore ___ Rare___ 2k a piece
Platinum Ore ___ Very Rare___ 40k a piece
Philosopher's Stone___ Very Rare ___70k a piece

Western Altepa Desert:
Pebble ___ Very Common___ Worthless
Bone Chip ___Very Common___ 4k/stack
Giant Femur ___ Very Common___ 2k a piece
Zinc Ore ___Common ___1k a piece
Iron Ore ___ Common___ worthless
Coral Fragment ___ Uncommon___ 75k a stack
Darksteel Ore ___ Rare___ 25k a piece
Gold Ore ___Very Rare___ 30k a piece
Philosopher's Stone ___ Very Rare ___70k a piece


Meriphitaud Mountains:

Pebble ___ Very Common___ Worthless
Flint Stone ___ Very Common___ Worthless
Insect Wing ___ Very Common___ Worthless
Copper Ore ___ Common___ Worthless
Lizard Molt ___Common___ Worthless
Giant Femur ___Common___ 2k a piece
Yellow Rock ___Rare ___2k a piece
Gold Beastcoin ___Rare___ 300k a stack
Black Chocobo Feather ___ Very Rare ___10k a stack
Adaman Ore ___Very Rare___ 100k a piece


Sauromugue Champaign:

Pebble ___ Very Common ___Worthless
Flint Stone ___ Very Common ___Worthless
Bone Chip___ Very Common___ 4k/stack
Insect Wing ___ Common ___Worthless
Lizard Molt ___Common___ Worthless
Iron Ore ___ Common ___Worthless
Red Jar ___ Rare___ Worthless
Gold Beastcoin ___Rare ___300k a stack
Translucent Rock ___ Rare___ 2k a piece
Black Chocobo Feather ___ Very Rare ___10k a stack


Throngi Canyon:

Pebble ___Very Common___ Worthless
Bone Chip ___ Very Common___ 4k/stack
Insect Wing ___ Common ___Worthless
Seashell ___Common ___Worthless
Tin Ore ___Common___ Worthless
Yagudo Feather ___ Common ___Worthless
Giant Femur ___Uncommon___ 2k a piece
Red Rock Rare ___5k a piece___
Gold Beastcoin ___Very Rare___ 300k a stack
Gold Ore ___Very Rare___ 30k a piece


Yhoator Jungle:

Bone Chip___ Very Common___ 4k/stack
Lauan Log ___Very Common___ Worthless
Kazham Pineapple ___Common___ Worthless
Dryad Root ___Uncommon___ 6k a stack
Mahogany Log ___Rare ___9k a piece
Ebony Log___ Rare___ 9k a piece
Coral Fungus ___ Very Rare ___20k a stack
Reishi Mushroom ___Very Rare___ Worthless
Petrified Log ___Very Rare___ 40k


Yuhtunga Jungle:

Bone Chip ___Very Common___ 4k/stack
Rattan Lumber ___Common___ 3k a stack
Cinnamon ___ Common___ 3k a stack
Danceshroom ___ Uncommon ___16k a stack
Rosewood Log ___Rare___ 6k a piece
Ebony Log ___Rare ___9k a piece
Mushroom Locust ___ Rare___ Worthless
Petrified Log ___Very Rare___ 40k a piece
Puffball ___ Very Rare ___20k/stack
King Truffle ___ Very Rare ___30k a piece


Elemental Ore Digging:

Oh yes, everyone’s dream. Digging up the Precious Elemental ore. It is possible but it is still rather rare. There are a few requirements that need to be met in order to dig up elemental ore. If all conditions are met there is a possibility of digging up an ore. The level where you can dig up an Elemental ore is not yet known since the amount of diggers make it impossible to know for sure, but I dug my first on up as an A30 digger. The conditions are as follows:

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent: 7-17% being optimal timing. This is the only phases I have gotten ores at.

Weather element: There has to be some type of weather going on, including Fog in Town zones.

And the Element of the Ore is dependant on the DAY, not the weather.

Seems simple enough but not when every digger that knows anything is around. I get 2 to three ores per moon phase. Hopefully I will learn more as I got but that’s not to bad, giving the other stuff I get when I am digging as well. I make well over 5 mil a week just digging. But it took a lot more than that to get me to where I am now.


Conclusion:
Well that sums it up for now. It is midnight and I am tired. I do hope this help some of you new diggers out there. Or even some of you advanced ones as well. Gl and happy Digging.

Val[/u]

Yay or nay to moving to confirmed and giving points.

Eh... jury is out. If it's original enough, then yay.

allready in confirmed. was put also in submissions and that one was voted in. LOCKED