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Even though Christmas and other December holidays are weeks away, a Final Fantasy 14 fan got into the holiday spirit and crafted their own festive Chocobo decoration. They posted their handiwork on Reddit, just days after the release of Final Fantasy 14 Patch 6.28.
Every December, Final Fantasy 14 players are treated to a bit of festive cheer and gift-giving via an in-game holiday called the Starlight Celebration. Last year, the holiday took place just a few weeks following the release of the Endwalker expansion in December 2021. The Starlight Celebration quests and festivities are usually found every year at Mih Khetto's Amphitheatre in the city of Gridania, though players have held their celebrations through the game's various other cities and housing wards.
In the spirit of the season, a Redditor named crafting_sayoyukiko created their own, handmade "Starlight Chocobo" and posted it on the Final Fantasy 14 subreddit. The post received over 500 upvotes in two days, with the Chocobo's distinct "Kweh!" sound scattered about the comments. The crafter stated that they made the Chocobo out of sculpting clay and acrylic paint, but they did not say how long it took for them to create along with how much the Chocobo weighed. The craft is also intended to be a tabletop item, and not a tree ornament, as it has no place to attach an ornament hook upon closer inspection. The Chocobo's features included some distinctly yellow feathers, which is a common feature of the Final Fantasy series' iconic mascot, as well as a festive barding called the Saintly Barding. The barding featured a pair of sleeves that covered the Chocobo's wings, a green-striped saddle for the rider, and a season-appropriate coat around the neck and head of the Chocobo.
Final Fantasy 14 players can earn a combat-ready Company Chocobo after reaching a certain threshold in the early parts of the main story. The Chocobo can be summoned when outdoors, acting as both a mount and a battle companion, and can be adorned in various kinds of cosmetic barding. The Saintly Barding is an item from a past edition of the Starlight Celebration. Holiday items that can no longer be earned via normal play can instead be purchased on the Final Fantasy 14 Online Store within the following year. Recently, the Online Store made changes to the gifting system features in Final Fantasy 14, which included gifting restrictions on some one-time-use items such as the Saintly Barding. The barding is currently listed for $7.00.
Between the next Starlight Celebration, the recent launch of the Dynamis datacenter, and imminent news about Patch 6.3 in the next Letter from the Producer Live broadcast, Final Fantasy 14 players will have plenty of content coming down the pipeline to look forward to. Whether it holds up against a loaded slate of holiday game releases remains to be seen.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.