03 / Iteration
Gaming
A first clear proves completion. Understanding begins with what the next pull reveals.
TheFakerShy is my long-running gaming identity. In Final Fantasy XIV I play physical ranged jobs, raid, review logs and spend plenty of time fishing.
I also enjoy simulations such as Plague Inc. and CatLife: learning the mechanics, trying routes and keeping a record of what happened.
Editorial lenses
From attempt to mastery
- 01
Read the encounter
Break a complex sequence into phases, responsibilities, and recoverable decisions.
- 02
Repeat deliberately
Use each pull to isolate a failure, refine a response, and carry learning forward.
- 03
Execute together
Shared understanding matters only when the group can reproduce it under pressure.
Field note / Final Fantasy XIV
Prepared, still uncertain.
A real fishing experience becomes a way to examine preparation, opportunity, and randomness. Adjust a hypothetical success rate to see why good attempts can still end differently.
Read and try the experimentTheFakerShy / Chinese-server player
There is more to a run than the clear.
I play on the Chinese servers, usually in the physical-ranged seat. High-end encounters, job optimisation, Logs and fishing are the things that keep bringing me back.
Open my merged FFLogs profile ↗Character records merged · use the expansion and encounter selectors for older results.Open the Heavyweight raid desk: guides, roles and review ↗Read a field note about the next pull ↗
Three jobs, one ranged seat
Bard, Machinist and Dancer are my long-standing home in a party. Their rhythms differ: personal execution, party buffs and encounter timing all matter. I enjoy working out which details make each job feel right in a particular fight.
From a first clear to a cleaner run
I began high-end raiding with Eden’s Promise and have since spent time in Savage, Ultimate and Criterion encounters. A clear is a milestone; revisiting a timeline, a movement choice or a missed opportunity gives me a reason to keep playing.
Make a number explain itself
I use FFLogs to revisit runs and compare execution in context. One personal highlight was a 100-percentile Machinist parse in M6S. The useful question after a good run is still the same: which decisions were repeatable, and what could be cleaner next time?
HOW I WOULD REVIEW / FROM A RESULT TO THE NEXT PULL
Four questions after opening a log.
A result describes a run. To turn it into something useful for the next pull, I would work through the comparison conditions, a specific window, the mechanic and one testable change.
- 01
Compare like with like
Start with the encounter, difficulty and job, then check the patch and fight duration. Separate the party’s kill speed and composition from your own execution before reading a percentile.
- 02
Find one specific window
Pick a movement sequence, burst window or recovery after a death. Look for when an opportunity existed, rather than treating the overall number as a diagnosis.
- 03
Reconstruct the job at that moment
Was an action held for party buffs or the next movement? Read the mechanic, position and party plan beside the timeline. An apparent delay needs context before it becomes a correction.
- 04
Take one check into the next pull
Choose a change you can observe: a movement, a missed action or a burst alignment. After the next pull, record what happened and what else changed, then decide whether the adjustment is worth keeping.
Outside the raid / At the water
A different kind of patience.
I also help manage a fishing community on the Chinese servers and have spent years collecting big and legendary fish. I hold fishing titles including 钓场之王. After landing Skyfrond early on 11 October, four targets remain.
BEYOND EORZEA / THE GAME SHELF
There is more on the game shelf.
Alongside my long-running FFXIV interests, I enjoy learning simulation systems, trying different routes and giving runs names that make me laugh.
PLAGUE INC. / STRATEGY SIMULATION
Plague Inc.
I work through pathogen-specific routes, checking the version, gene slots and unlock conditions. The interesting record is how a run developed: what worked, where it stalled and how it ended.
Neurax Worm · Transcendence route
- In-game days
- 551
- Score
- 14,080
- Cure research
- 69%
- Biohazard rating
- 3 / 5
Modes and run names
Bacteria · Virus · Fungus · Parasite · Prion · Nano-Virus · Bio-Weapon · Neurax Worm · Necroa Virus · Simian Flu
Another run name: Undead.exe. There is room for a little humour alongside the mechanics.
More runs, a different approach.
- 24 Sep 2026 · Neurax WormBrainRent followed the Transcendence route. Alongside days and score, I kept the final cure progress and biohazard rating as a reference for future routes.
- 25 Sep 2026 · Necroa VirusAfter this successful run, I noted how much a guide from a Taiwanese player community had helped. It sharpened what I wanted from future guides: confirm the mode, version, gene slots and full upgrade tree before choosing the sequence.
- 25 Sep 2026 · Simian FluI called this one “the world of the apes” in conversation. It took several attempts before I finally cleared it. That process belongs in the record alongside the successful ending.
The modes work differently. When a new run gets stuck, identifying the relevant rules is more useful than carrying over the previous run’s sequence unchanged.
CATLIFE / TEXT SIMULATION
CatLife
Part cat story, part long-running completion list. I keep track of what is already done, then choose another route or outcome to explore.
A story and a completion list.
I enjoy making choices and seeing where a CatLife story goes. Achievements and ribbons add another way to play: keep track of the routes already explored, then choose an outcome to pursue next.
Beside Plague Inc., it shows a different side of what I enjoy in games. One draws me into mechanics and upgrade sequences; the other lets a story unfold through text choices. I like having room for both on the shelf.
A dated record to build on with future stories and progress.
About the game · Candywriter ↗SAVE THE RUN / LEAVE A CLUE FOR NEXT TIME
What is worth keeping before restarting?
- 01
Plague Inc.: establish this run’s rules
Pathogen-specific gene slots, trees and mechanics change the route. I want a review to keep the mode, difficulty and configuration beside the upgrades that changed the run. Next time, I can distinguish a different route from a different set of conditions.
- 02
CatLife: keep the ending and the checklist
The text story and the completion list offer different pleasures. The existing 33/61 is a dated snapshot. A later run can keep its own target, the choice that changed and the ending that followed, without losing the story along the way.
- 03
The next run: take one clear change
Changing everything at once makes the useful difference harder to identify. I would rather name the change I want to try, then revisit its effect on the run. It might be an upgrade sequence or a story choice I have not explored yet.
LJL / ORIGINAL PLAY NO. 03
Your turn at the lights.
Five lights, an unpredictable wait and two modes. Try a start, then review five rounds of timing and decisions.
Play Start Sequence ↗CREATIVE NOTEBOOK / AI-ASSISTED FAN ART
Let a character become a scene.
A Hrothgar lecturer, a moonlit catfish mage and Manaward before the impact. Start with a role, then work through the costume, setting and the details that make it read.
Enter the creative notebook ↗
Eorzea / Legendary fish watch
Follow the weather. Find your next window.
Time and weather for all 36 legendary fish, from A Realm Reborn to Dawntrail. Open a row for the setup, or follow the catches I am still chasing.
Enable JavaScript for countdowns; guides remain available below.
Nepto Dragon
涅普特龙
2.x · LegendarySetup, conditions & upcoming windows
Endoceras
内角石
2.x · LegendarySetup, conditions & upcoming windows
Kuno the Killer
杀手库诺
2.x · LegendarySetup, conditions & upcoming windows
Helicoprion
旋齿鲨
2.x · LegendarySetup, conditions & upcoming windows
Sources & window calculation
Calculated on your device. Calendar exports include up to three future windows, with a reminder up to ten minutes before opening. Rows marked Setup show a prerequisite window; consult the guide for intuition duration, preparation and catch mechanics. Data reviewed 16 October 2026.
Fish Tracker ↗CN game names ↗MIT ↗LJL / READING COMPANION
A term, an example, a way back.
Read a short explanation, connect it to a site example, then return to the question you were exploring.
Browse terms and examples3 terms in this pillar
3 matches
A window marks when the conditions line up.Environmental window
The watch combines the timed rules recorded for each target, such as Eorzea time and weather transitions. Its interval is an environmental opportunity in the current catalogue model.
In a site example
The session planner reserves preparation and a continuous attempt inside that interval. Check the linked fish guide for bait, prerequisite work and the method needed to use the opportunity.
Can both your setup and the target attempt fit into the plan you have made?
The prerequisite has its own timeline.Fisher’s Intuition / 捕鱼人之识
Fisher’s Intuition is a status relevant to particular rare-fish methods. Each target’s guide determines the prerequisite fish and the usable sequence; prepare from that specific entry.
In a site example
Some catalogue entries display a key prerequisite window rather than a timed target-body rule. They stay outside the multi-target solver and remain available through their complete guides.
Does the displayed time belong to the target fish or to a prerequisite you still need?
Repeated chances need their assumptions attached.Independent trials
For independent attempts with the same success chance p, at least one success in n attempts has probability 1 − (1 − p)ⁿ. The assumptions matter as much as the expression.
In a site example
The fishing experiment lets you explore hypothetical inputs. An actual window can include different prerequisite, bite and landing stages, so identifying a consistent attempt is part of interpreting any estimate.
What counts as one attempt, and does its success chance stay the same?
LJL / WATCH · READ · EXPLORE
A guide is better with a question.
Understand the mechanic, confirm the convention and prepare for the next attempt.
Sources reviewed · Companion sources and viewing questionsMMW 攻略组 / 中文 / M9S
Watch one mechanic with your own role in mind.
The MMW M9S guide is a Chinese-language companion to the preparation desk. Choose your role before watching, then note the movement or party agreement you want to confirm on the next pull.
Where does your next position depend on another player’s choice?
MMW / 阿卡狄亚零式登天斗技场 重量级1MMW 攻略组 / 中文 / M10S
Separate the mechanic from the agreed solution.
Use the M10S guide to understand the encounter, then check the actual strategy used by your party. The preparation desk keeps unresolved variant choices visible instead of assuming that every group follows one convention.
Which instruction describes the mechanic, and which is your party’s convention?
MMW / 阿卡狄亚零式登天斗技场 重量级2鱼糕 / FFXIV community / 中文
A window is the start of a plan.
Skyfrond’s fish-specific guide puts prerequisites and fishing method beside the timing problem. The watch and session planner organise environmental windows; use the guide to check what has to happen before the target attempt.
Does your preparation allowance include the prerequisite work?
鱼糕 / 碧空之心鱼类档案External video players connect only when requested, with autoplay off. Closing or switching removes the current player.