"After the time got to around 35 seconds, I started spamming this macro once every second. When I finally began to successfully dig, I selected the /clock output without the error (ie, the last one). Start time was x:08:29, end time was x:09:20. "


try it a couple more times, and you will be able to get lower times.


This time use your /clock macro untill you are at 46 seconds then use your /dig macro. It has seemed to me that if you hit the dig macro and you arn't able to dig there is usual a smalll delay untill you are actually able to dig.


Also I have found that I am NEVER able to dig quicker than my expected area wait times. also within 0-4 seconds of that time.


I would say try that test a few more times, and see what sort of results you get.


and one last thing please keep on trying this so you get quite a few times, and keep on doing it to check your dig time. Once you are able to get a time below /45 then you should be at next level.


Edit: Since I am NEVER able to get below my estimated area wait time, and able to get right on it or slightly longer is the main reason that you can test it. This also means you know when you lvl since that time you can never get under will drop by 5 seconds.

However fun it would be, I can't go back and re-test for every level I've passed. I'm also not going to change the way that I test 3/4 the way through leveling. I've thoroughly tested at each level, and these are the results I've gotten, they are what I know to be accurate, and they are the times that are staying on the chocobo page. I also firmly believe that every way of testing is flawed, due to a multitude of things, many of which Cuer mentioned. Until Chocobo Digging becomes un-hidden, it won't be apparent.


That's the end of my argument for Chocobo Digging times.


Like I said - if you want to let me know what you dig up, or if you want to discuss strategies, or how many greens you take out, or whatever, I'd be more than happy to. But I'm not going to return repeatedly to this subject. I'm sure for every person who finds your times correct, there's one who finds my time correct, and still 2 more who disagree with us completely.


So...who's been digging in Bibiki Bay?!

PirateGirl,


With all due respect for what you've done on the website, let me state a few things. If you do not care to respond any more to the dig time topic, I understand --- after all, it's not that important what the AWait is at those lower levels.


And I am pretty sure nobody is asking you to start all over again to go back and retime your D6 area waits on a mule.


>> I said in my previous post that I used BOTH a macro and manually timing it.


So if I've read correctly, you have already been doing the macro-timing method all along? I wasn't sure if that was the same method as darkhorror's.


I also don't understand how you time "manually" --- are you referring to the method where you start your clock when you see the "loading data" message?


I would prefer this issue to be clarified and I would think you are the most qualified authority on this field (at least among the NA). But if you don't feel like discussing this issue or investigating any further, I totally understand.

I am not asking for you to go back. I just want to know what you used to get the area wait times, and to try my method to get the area wait time.

in regards to what PirateGirl said about zones being replenished, items in the zones definitly get replenished in bursts. A zone will be completely 'dug up' void of any items and all of a sudden 4 or 5 items will pop. The time between these bursts of replenishment seems random, I have noticed they tend to range between 1-3 mins apart


Have u also noticed that during certain times different items will be a lot more popular than others? Do u think this has something to do with moon phase/ day of the week?

Because my one test was not sufficient, I went back and did 6 more. All tests were done leaving Jeuno, though I used different exits.


I did three more trials using the same method as last time because I was not convinced that the variance you suggested that gets created by prematurely using /dig actually exists.


The following three results are obtained by waiting for the "Downloading Data" message, spamming a macro that has nothing in it but /clock, then look at the earth time just after the "Area" message. Then I use a macro that does /clock then /dig and spam that until I finally dig, at which point the final /clock time is extracted. Here are the times:


27:26 - 28:17 => 50+1 seconds

59:40 - 00:33 => 50+3 seconds

04:46 - 05:37 => 50+1 seconds


For the next set of three, I used the method as you described, ie, not to spam /dig because it may slow things down somehow (though the results above are very consistent). So after obtaining the "Area" message time in the same way above, I waited until around 36 seconds, started hitting /dig only, then I hit my /clock macro as soon as dig succeeded. Here are the times:


08:34 - 09:26 => 50+2 seconds

13:23 - 14:16 => 50+3 seconds

16:21 - 17:15 => 50+4 seconds


I realize that three of each (well, four of one) is not a very large sample set, bt I had to pay a bunch of choco fees just to test this. I am more than convinced that for my level, Lv4 /wait0, the A-wait time is 50, which is consistent with the Somepage website.


If/when I ever level up again, I'll be happy to do this again for that level.

I'm at level 4 and the marco I start spamming during Downloading Data looks like:


/clock on

/dig

/wait 42

/dig

/wat 5

/dig


Used to be /wait 40 for the first one but that would sometimes error on the final /dig. With the total wait of 47, I'm always able to dig when the macro completes. This would suggest /wait 45 for level 4.


I'm almost thinking there is some discripency between watching clock times and using /wait as your timer.

 

-----signature-----

"So after obtaining the "Area" message time in the same way above, I waited until around 36 seconds, started hitting /dig only, then I hit my /clock macro as soon as dig succeeded. Here are the times: "


thats not what I wanted you to do, I only wanted you to hit the /clock macro, then right at 1 second after when you think you would did hit the /dig macro.


are you sure you are at /wait 0? try this test for that just hit a /dig macro, then as soon as the chocobo is standing up hit the /dig macro again, and just spand the /dig macro. If you ever see you must wait longer to dig then you are only at wait 6.


Thanks for the info, I find it very interesting that different people can get such different results. I am will continue to be checking this stuff out.


Come on people lets see some more of your area wait times.

I have been trying that sort of macro you got there also.


What I have been noticing with that is that I am getting area wait 27. I have tried 26, and 25 and they have yet to work yet 27 has worked every time.

At the risk of adding to the mayhem, here is my experience with wait 0 and area times. It is meant to be an example of sources of confusion and not definitive.


It was very clear to me when I moved from wait 11 to wait 6. The difference is huge.


Nonetheless, at wait 11, my macro worked the vast majority of the time when set to wait 10. Similarly, at wait 6, my macro usually worked when set to wait 5. This was not surprising to me because I find that a lot of timers (e.g. recast) are imprecise in FFXI.


Being at wait 6 (kind of wait 5) and given that it takes about 5 seconds to dig, I often wondered if I had reached wait 0. I could hit a macro that was /dig only and very infrequently get an error saying wait longer. I hadn't tested my area time previously. As I started testing area times by methods described in this thread, I was getting times in the range of 51-55. Comparing myself to the reported area 60 for wait 6, I thought that I had leveled and that the infrequent wait errors were driven by something else. ("Maybe trying to dig just as my bird stands generates an error?!"


Cutting to the point, I recently have found that I cannot ever get a wait error once digging. This has come with an increase in yield and area times in the range of 46-50. Hence, I think that I have only just reached wait 0 and that the area time appears to be 45.


Having said all that, I agree with what many others have said about the imprecision inherent is trying to "dig-up" the exact wait times. (Sorry, I couldn't resist the power of the pun. ^^) I put this example out there just to illustrate how it can be somewhat confusing once the bright line of dig wait is gone or negligible.


Dig it, sell it, done.