Chocobo’s are a prominent mount in the Final Fantasy series. So, it is no surprise that chocobo’s play an important role in exploring Hydaelyn in Final Fantasy XIV.
However, one question that players ask the most is, how does one change the color of their chocobo? Well, it is no simple task and can be kind of confusing at first. It took me a while to figure out how the system works on my own. However, after a couple hours of research I was finally able to get my snow white chocobo!
With this quick guide, I will describe how the process works and go-step by-step in explaining how you can change the color of your chocobo.
How to Acquire a Chocobo
Players unlock their own chocobo mount after level 20 upon completion of the quest “My Little Chocobo”. This quest has you spend 200 grand company seals to purchase insurance for a company chocobo. These seals will be acquired through FATE’s, Leves, Duty Roulette, and provision missions.
At level 30, players can unlock the ability for your chocobo to fight alongside you after completing the quest “My Feisty Little Chocobo”. Simply acquire gyashl greens and beat up a brood ziz to complete the quest.
How Does the Process Work?
The simple answer is that you feed your chocobo certain foods and its feathers will change colors. But the overall process is a bit more complex than that.
Understanding the RGB Color Model
In order to fully understand how to change your chocobo’s color, you must first understand what the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color model is.
The RGB color model is the process of combining the colors red, green, and blue in different combinations to form colors. The lowest value is 0 and the highest is 255. So, if you have a combination of 255(R)/165(G)/0(B), then you would end up with an orange color since red and light green make an orange hue. Changing these values will change the hue, and this is basically how the chocobo dye system works.
Fruits
Each fruit that you feed your chocobo changes the RGB ratio of the chocobo by either adding or subtracting 5 to each value. The different dye fruit are a Xelphatol Apple, Doman Plum, Mamook Pear, Valfruit, O’Ghomoro Berriy, and Cieldalaes Pineapple. Here is a table showing each dye fruits effect on the RGB scale.
| Fruits | Red | Green | Blue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xelphatol Apple | +5 | -5 | -5 |
| Doman Plum | -5 | +5 | +5 |
| Mamook Pear | -5 | +5 | -5 |
| Valfruit | +5 | -5 | +5 |
| O’Ghomoro Berry | -5 | -5 | +5 |
| Cieldalaes Pineapple | +5 | +5 | -5 |
So, if you wanted to get a red chocobo, you would feed it a lot of Xelphatol Apples as it increases the red value while also decreasing the green and blue values.
As of this post, there are 85 different colors that a chocobos can obtain. Each color is a different RGB combination that, when hit, will trigger the color change. The chocobo’s default hue is desert yellow (219/180/87) and feeding a Han Lemon will restore the chocobo back to this color.
Chocobo Colors
From soot black to colibri pink, there are a vast amount of chocobo colors to choose from. Here is a nice table showing all of the different colors and the RGB color values that need to be reached.
Step by Step Guide
Now that you understand the RGB scale and how the different fruits effect it, let’s get into the step-by-step guide to change a chocobo’s color.
1. Get Access to Chocobo Stables
The first thing you need is access to a chocobo stable. Unfortunately, you can only get one if you own a house or apartment. Now most people will be unable to afford a house or even find a plot of land. However, if you are a part of a free company that has a company hall, you can use their stables.
2. Use Color Calculator
The easiest way to figure out what you need to feed your chocobo is to use a color calculator. My favorite is the FFXIV chocobo colour calculator. Here you can put in your chocobo’s current color and what you want the desired color to be. You will see a list of fruit to feed it and view the feeding order of the fruit. This is important because if any of the values exceeds 255 or goes below 0, then the color change will fail.
3. Obtain Fruit
You can obtain fruit by planting seeds in a garden. Again, you will need a house or apartment in order to use a garden, so check with your free company if needed.
Seeds can be purchased at any of the grand companies, through the hunt billmaster at each of the starting 3 towns (Ul’dah, New Gridania, and Limsa Lominsa). Seeds will take 2 days to fully mature.
Another, easier, option is to spend your hard-earned Gil and buy the fruit directly from the Market Board. If you know exactly what you need and can’t wait to color your chocobo, this is the way to go.
4. Store Chocobo and Feed
Now that you have the fruit and the stable, it is time to start the transformation. Simply store your chocobo in the stable and feed it the fruit in the order recommended from the calculator. You will know you are successful when you see the phrase “(Chocobo name) is beginning to grow new feathers!”.
You will have a six-hour window, from the time you offer the first snack, to feed all of the required fruit. Don’t worry if you mess up. You can pull your chocobo out of the stable within the six hours, and it will negate any fruit it has eaten.
5. Wait Six Hours (Earth Time)
Now that your chocobo is fed and growing new feathers, it is time to wait. The transformation will be complete six hours after the first fruit is given. Just be sure not to pull out your chocobo too early, or you will have to start all over again.
If you ever want a different color chocobo, simply repeat the steps above. For best results, feed your chocobo a Han Lemon to reset the RGB values.
Hopefully this guide was able to help you understand how to dye your chocobo and make it even more personal. What chocobo color will you pick? It’s time to get out there and feed your chocobos!