no, you are correct, those times you were trying to test were wrong. Area wait 35 is an area wait time.

first of all, i have to agree with PirateGirl for the most part about the levels, and darkhorror you are very stubborn in your beliefs >.> anyway...


i'm a10 and it has taken me ~11000 stacks to level from lv 1. (assuming a 30-40% dig rate, so roughly 45000- 50000 pebbles will max your level^^)

you CAN dig elemental ore, you just need a15 or a10 to dig it efficiently, even then all the JP diggers screw you over >.> you can dig elemental ore anywhere (except kazham area and altepa region)...when/how you get it is... well i'll keep that my secret /grin


here's what i've documented for chocobo digging levels:

/wait 16, a60, about 130D to level up (probably more, sketchy estimate, D = stacks)

/wait 10-11, a60, 230D

/wait 5-6, a50, 510D

/wait 0, a45, 700D

a40, 900D

a35, 1100D

a30, 1350D

a25, 1600D

a20, 2000D

a15, 2600D

a10


as you can see there are 11 dig levels... i guess, PirateGirl, you must have skipped one O.O

I've also dug on my cousin's account to help him, so i can verify the first 7 are correct, and the rest i know are right because i test the area-wait every time i zone (or used to).


there is no skill up "test item," you just need to dig enough items, so if you are digging a lot of "ou dig and you dig, but you find nothing," you ain't gunna level anytime soon.


you can't dig gold orcmasks in east ronfaure, but you can dig King Truffles.


You can also dig cactus stems in Ngusta, but its like digging up an adaman, orichalcum,phoenix feather etc.


Also, for adaman, orichalcum, phoenix feather, and cactus stems, you should put extremely rare, as i notice its about a 5:1 ratio of black chocobo feathers to adaman


I also keep a list of diggers so i don't dig in the same place... the list has about 100+ diggers on it... all above lv 4 (wait0)... and 33 of them are a10 diggers...best advice for leveling: don't dig during JP time!


oh... how i test it... basically i spam the /clock function when i zone, and when i think it has been (area wait time) seconds, i spam

/clock

/dig

until i actually dig. usually its off by 1-2 seconds, over the area-wait.

a much better way of testing if you leveled is... for example, if you are in Meriphataud Mountains, run down the path until you can dig and mark that spot. If you keep zoning in and out and you run to that same spot, you will find a distance that shows your level. now, if you think you have leveled you can test it by zoning in and out, and try to dig before the spot you marked. if you can dig roughly 5 seconds before the marked spot, you've leveled^^. An example of this test is... when i was a15, i would zone into Sauromugue from Rolanberry, and i was able to dig a few seconds after i passed the arches. After i got a10, i was able to dig before i got thru the arches.


anyways, there's my two cents, i think i'm the first NA a10 digger on my server^^ /cheer


ps. good guide PirateGirl, i just think it needs some touch ups^^

Yeah Zira, you are agreeing with me on every level except that lvl two which you have listed as a60 where I was saying it a55.

Excellent info Zire, you've answered quite a few questions I've had about mid-level digging.


I agree that Pirategirl has missed a level somewhere, as I am 100% sure I'm at A35 (expecting level up any day now ^^), which is simply not included on the somepage site.


Using the info you provided I created this template:

Lvl 0 - wait 16 a60

Lvl 1 - wait 11 a60

Lvl 2 - wait 6 a50

Lvl 3 - wait 0 a45

Lvl 4 - wait 0 a40

Lvl 5 - wait 0 a35

Lvl 6 - wait 0 a30

Lvl 7 - wait 0 a25

Lvl 8 - wait 0 a20

Lvl 9 - wait 0 a15

Lvl 10 - wait 0 a10


I included 0 as an actual level for a number of reasons:


1) It allows for 10 actually levels, starting at 1 and being level 11 when you're done doesn't fit with the rest of the FFXI crafting/leveling model.


2) When you begin any craft or level a combat/magic skill you start at 0, not 1. If you count 0 there are say, 101 goldsmithing levels.


As for level 1 being a55 I think this is a relatively unimportant argument- for the first few levels you're only really going to be concerned with time between digs and breaking even on green/choco price. After wait 0 obviously AWait becomes an issue as it's the only way to measure your skill level.


I think the reluctance to redefine the chart as starting from 0 is that according to somepage, anyone over lvl 5 is 1 level lower than they actually are. No one wants to lose bragging rights


Anyway great stuff!

Hello, I was reading through the posts on the board about chocobo digging and wanted to ask you something. I am an area 25 digger on Remora server and am looking forward to being able to dig up elemental ores. Right now though I mostly dig in altepa for philospher stone, gold ores, coral frags, etc. These are my biggest profit centers but you mentioned in your post altepa and khazam are not where you can get ores. Did you mean because they are always dug up or you actually cannot get them there. You also said you don't get them effieciently till area 15, I was wondering if that means you can actually get them at area 20? Also, I know you said you didn't want to give out the method for getting them, but if you're not on my server then I would really appreciate it if you would tell me ^^; I'm not looking to go spill it to the world by any means because frankly I want to make gill =D Any tips/advice appreciated. thanks. I wanted to send this as a private message to Zire but since I never post on ign it won't let me.

I keep a list of diggers, too.

It keeps growing, though. LOTS of new NA diggers in the last few months.


I've seen a few JP pages on digging up elemental ores, but I'm only A25 so haven't paid much attention yet. Might drop a note to Cuer on the Somepage forum, he's the one who first showed them to me.

what i meant by "not effiently able to dig until a15" is ... its (elemental ore that is) highly, highly unlikely. i know you CAN dig it before a15, because i got one at a20.


you can't get them in kazham or altepa regions.

not because they are dug up... just because... you can't, i dunno lol. there's no real reason why you can't dig it up there, it doesn't even fit the pattern for elemental ore digging.

maybe because they are money-making areas, SE didn't want to "overpower" those areas in that sense.


and to jaredlared... you're right. the debate on the first few levels are unimportant, as you don't use area wait to determine your skill level. ^^

currently 92.3 goldsmithing and 72.0 woodworking(on my mule) /cheer... now must continue to farm to PL woodworking to 80... stupid ninja and their damn expensive shihei >.>


anyways, good luck^^

is this worth investing time into, and when i dig should i zone every once in a while, and two, can i stay in the same spot? send me a PM

It's as worthwhile as fishing or crafting, I'd say. If you like the idea of riding around Vana 'diel digging for treasure then Chocobo digging is for you.


Actually, all these questions have been asked and answered in the 13 pages of thread before this one. If you want to know more, read up.


Cheers.

Thanks to everyone who has shared. This thread as well as the somepage digging page are by far the best sources of info I've been able to find online for chocobo digging. However, I was looking over the discrepancies of area wait times and I got to thinking.. I know one of you said you had /wait 0 between digs but had 50 area wait. Another person said they had /wait 11 between digs but (!!) 45 area wait! This leads me to wonder if the wait between digs and the wait between area change are not, perhaps, two separate hidden skills. In this manner, if you happened to get more skillups for delay between digs but less for area wait, you could be /wait 0 with areawait 50... or if you, by chance, got a lot of skillups on area wait skill, but not as many on /wait between digs, could end up with /wait 11 , area wait 45. I have not tested this and have no way of proving it. It just came to mind after looking over a lot of the conflicting data and seems like it might explain some things. O.o let me know what you think. -Zorlorn of Asura