I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Chocobos make their return in FFXIV, although I would really like to see the XI version of chocobo raising expanded into more than it was as we head into the new game.
A couple things that I hope are being considered by SE:
* Again, being able to raise your own bird from growth and specializing it in certain abilities like before.
* Better integration of chocobo racing with worthwhile rewards... lets face it, they did a really poor job of how they handled chocobo racing in XI. Forcing you to drag yourself through free-runs, and the Chocobo Circuit sorta became a waste of a zone. High levels of betting never really became popular, it just sorta paled in comparison to what they seemed to have hoped for.
* I'd like more variety in how my bird can look. Maybe a couple more colors but I'm more concerned about physical characteristics. We got beak, legs, and tailfeathers in XI, but moving on to FFXIV they should step it up and give us a few more options.
* More job abilities, but job abilities that could really add some additional gameplay. For example, according to lore in XI, Jennet chocobos (the small, green breeds) were used my Mithras to camouflage in the jungle. Palfreys (big blue ones) were better at handling the harsh climates of the desert. These were interesting pieces of lore but in the end they didn't really affect gameplay. I'd like to see more niche uses of certain chocobo breeds that would be really advantageous.
*Tying into what I said above, I'd like chocobos to be expanded from simply just being diggers and runners. Perhaps there should be some areas in the game that are only accessible by having a certain chocobo breed.
*And last thing I swear lol, but if they were to go with this system, make it so that players can rent out their own chocobos to adventurers. So that players could earn a reputation amongst the server as being a famous chocobo breeder who can rent you one of their chocobos depending on your needs. In a way it might be similar to crafting. I also like the implications that it has for an RP character...
Most of this is all a lot of wishful thinking and I really don't expect to see much of these sorts of changes in FFXIV at all, sadly. It'd be nice though to see at least a couple of these things appear though.
A couple things that I hope are being considered by SE:
* Again, being able to raise your own bird from growth and specializing it in certain abilities like before.
* Better integration of chocobo racing with worthwhile rewards... lets face it, they did a really poor job of how they handled chocobo racing in XI. Forcing you to drag yourself through free-runs, and the Chocobo Circuit sorta became a waste of a zone. High levels of betting never really became popular, it just sorta paled in comparison to what they seemed to have hoped for.
* I'd like more variety in how my bird can look. Maybe a couple more colors but I'm more concerned about physical characteristics. We got beak, legs, and tailfeathers in XI, but moving on to FFXIV they should step it up and give us a few more options.
* More job abilities, but job abilities that could really add some additional gameplay. For example, according to lore in XI, Jennet chocobos (the small, green breeds) were used my Mithras to camouflage in the jungle. Palfreys (big blue ones) were better at handling the harsh climates of the desert. These were interesting pieces of lore but in the end they didn't really affect gameplay. I'd like to see more niche uses of certain chocobo breeds that would be really advantageous.
*Tying into what I said above, I'd like chocobos to be expanded from simply just being diggers and runners. Perhaps there should be some areas in the game that are only accessible by having a certain chocobo breed.
*And last thing I swear lol, but if they were to go with this system, make it so that players can rent out their own chocobos to adventurers. So that players could earn a reputation amongst the server as being a famous chocobo breeder who can rent you one of their chocobos depending on your needs. In a way it might be similar to crafting. I also like the implications that it has for an RP character...
Most of this is all a lot of wishful thinking and I really don't expect to see much of these sorts of changes in FFXIV at all, sadly. It'd be nice though to see at least a couple of these things appear though.