Tag: Survivor Incognito

A Quiet Thank You, Before the Year Closes

With Christmas just around the corner, it felt like the right moment to pause and say thank you.

Not a big announcement. Not a recap post. Just a simple acknowledgement of everyone who has clicked a link, read a post, or stuck around longer than they had to.

This blog didn’t start with a plan, a schedule, or any expectations. It started as a place to put words somewhere instead of keeping them in my head. The fact that anyone else found their way here at all is something I don’t take lightly.

Whether you’ve been here since the early posts, discovered the blog through a game guide, or stumbled across it by accident and stayed for a bit — thank you. Every view, comment, and subscription is a quiet signal that the work landed somewhere.

I also want to thank the people who read without interacting. The quiet readers matter just as much. Not everything needs a comment to count.

The image above feels fitting: a warm drink, a handheld console, a notebook, and a sense of pause. That’s what this space has become for me — and knowing it might be that for someone else too means more than numbers ever could.

I’ll keep writing. I’ll keep sharing what I make. And I’ll keep doing it in a way that feels honest, calm, and human.

Wherever you are, I hope you have a peaceful Christmas — or at least a quiet moment to yourself.

Thank you for being here.

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 7: Bowser in the Fire Sea Was Not the Plan

Super Mario 64 Randomizer Log 7: Bowser in the Fire Sea Was Not the Plan

Mode: Randomizer
Lives Remaining: 17
Stars Collected: 38
Stars Remaining: 82

With Tick Tock Clock finally behind me, I head back downstairs to see what’s lurking behind the entrance that should lead to Hazy Maze Cave. The answer, apparently, is Bowser in the Fire Sea.

To make matters worse, a quick look around confirms the red coins are floating over lava. That problem can wait.

Bowser First, Questions Later

After a few failed attempts getting my bearings, I respawn right next to the Bowser fight entrance. I briefly consider going for the red coins first, then decide against it. Survival comes first.

This somehow turns into the only time I’ve ever failed this fight. I misjudge my position, step where I shouldn’t, and Mario drops straight into the lava.

The second attempt goes as expected. Bowser goes down, the key is mine, and we all agree not to talk about the first try.

The Red Coins Problem

With upstairs now unlocked, I return to the Fire Sea red coins. Several attempts later, it’s clear this set is going to be a nuisance. Precision jumps over lava with a randomizer twist are not something to rush.

I leave them for another session — and another video.

Video

Run Status

  • Lives Remaining: 17
  • Stars Collected: 38
  • Stars Remaining: 82
  • Next Goal: Explore upstairs and see what the randomizer has moved.

Continue the Randomizer

Randomizer Hub |
Log 6: Time Stops for No Mario |
Log 7 |
Log 8

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Breaking (and Rebuilding) the Team: From Meta Comfort to Controlled Chaos

Breaking (and Rebuilding) the Team: From Meta Comfort to Controlled Chaos

After earning Guardian of Cantha and finally clearing the Fissure of Woe, I reached that familiar point in Guild Wars where the question isn’t “Can this team work?” but “Do I actually understand why it works?”

That question kicked off a long stretch of trial, error, backtracking, and a few ideas that didn’t survive first contact with Hard Mode. What followed wasn’t a clean break from the meta — it was a slow, deliberate push away from relying on it blindly.

Where This Started

This journey sits on the shoulders of two earlier milestones:

Both were achieved using a fairly standard Mesmer-heavy approach. Effective, yes — but also safe. Too safe.

The Long Experiment Phase

What followed was a revolving door of ideas:

  • An Elementalist replacing a Discord Necromancer
  • A third Ritualist focused on Preservation instead of BiP
  • Dropping BiP entirely in favour of a Dervish frontline
  • Swapping that Dervish for a Warrior
  • Trying an Elementalist again
  • Reducing Mesmers… then adding them back

Some of these worked briefly. Others collapsed almost immediately. A few taught me why the meta exists in the first place.

The biggest lesson? I wasn’t actually trying to avoid Mesmers — I was trying to avoid depending on them.

Lesson Learned:
The goal wasn’t to remove strong tools — it was to understand when and why they were necessary.

The Turning Point: Silkfang

Somewhere in the middle of all this, a Ranger pet tank build entered the picture.

That experiment led to an unexpected constant: a spider.

A trip to the Underworld later, Margrid emerged with a Dire Black Widow. Over time, that spider stopped being a gimmick and became something else entirely — a reliable frontline presence, a pressure sponge, and eventually the team mascot.

That story lives here:

The Final Team (At the Time of Writing)

After all the iteration, the team settled into a shape that felt both familiar and earned:

  • Me – Signet of Spirits Ritualist (offensive spirit artillery)
  • Jora – Hundred Blades Warrior (frontline anchor)
  • Gwen – Panic Mesmer (AoE shutdown)
  • Norgu – Energy Surge Mesmer (spike and execution)
  • Razah – Ineptitude Mesmer (melee control and blind)
  • Livia – N/Rt BiP Healer (energy engine and sustain)
  • Xandra – ST Ritualist (Shelter, Union, Displacement)

Optional flex: Margrid and Silkfang can rotate in when a pet tank or ranged pressure makes more sense for the area.

Design Philosophy:
Proactive defense, layered control, and damage that doesn’t rely on perfect execution.

Early Results

At the time of writing, this team has already cleared two bosses in Slavers’ Exile on Normal Mode.

That’s not a victory lap. Slavers is long, punishing, and Hard Mode is the real test — but it’s enough to confirm that the structure holds up under sustained pressure.

Normal Mode confirms stability. Hard Mode reveals cracks.

Looking Ahead

Urgoz’s Warren and The Deep are firmly on the radar. Both test endurance and discipline more than raw damage.

The Domain of Anguish remains the line in the sand — not avoided, just not rushed. When this team goes there, it needs to be intentional.

Conclusion

This team didn’t come together because I followed a guide. It came together because I kept asking what wasn’t working, changed one piece at a time, and paid attention to the results.

Some ideas stuck. Others didn’t. And a few led me right back to concepts I thought I’d outgrown — including the realisation that sometimes the meta works because it genuinely does.

What matters now is that I understand why this team works. Where it’s strong, where it’s fragile, and what kind of content it’s built for.

If it holds together in the places that matter most, there’ll be more to write about. And if it doesn’t, that might be even more interesting.

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 6: Time Stops for No Mario

Progress: 38 Stars Collected | 82 Remaining | 21 Lives
Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music

“When I looked into the light expecting peace and found Tick Tock Clock instead, I realised this run has no mercy.”

With Whomp’s Fortress cleared, I headed back to the basement to see what chaos was waiting this time. First win of the day: MIPS went down without a fight. One clean grab. One clean star.

Next stop: the Secret Aquarium. Straightforward as always. Then I spotted a platform that needed the Wing Cap. I don’t have it. I took the loss and moved on.

The big basement door — the one that may or may not lead to Hazy Maze Cave — is still locked. No key. No access. Back upstairs it was.

YouTube – Log 6 Video

Tick Tock Clock: Early, Unwanted, but Done

I looked into the light expecting the Wing Cap trial. I got Tick Tock Clock instead.

Shockingly, it wasn’t a disaster. Star placements were forgiving. No awkward jumps on tiny gears. No close calls over the void. The only real struggle was:

  • Grinding out the 100 Coin Star
  • Backtracking to collect the Red Coin Star

Annoying, sure, but manageable. And now the whole level is finished and off the board.

Rainbow Ride: Another Early Win

Like Tick Tock Clock, Rainbow Ride popped up early in this seed. Getting both out of the way now is a massive relief. Two of the most awkward courses cleaned up long before they can cause havoc.

Log 6 Summary

Lives 21
Stars Collected 38
Stars Remaining 82
Nightmares Cleared Early Tick Tock Clock, Rainbow Ride

Two tough courses gone. One rabbit caught. One fake Wing Cap entrance. A solid session.

Continue the Journey

Previous Log | Next Log

Super Mario 64 Randomizer Hub

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Fissure of Woe: A Clear 15 Years in the Making

Fissure of Woe: A Clear 15 Years in the Making

If you’d told younger me that I’d eventually beat the Fissure of Woe without a Barrage/Pet group, I’d have laughed.
Back then, FoW was something I visited, not something I finished. I joined random B/P teams, fired arrows at anything that moved,
and hoped the pets would tank things they absolutely shouldn’t have been tanking.
I even tried the old ranger solo runs to the Forest — mostly because everyone else was doing it and I wanted to feel cool.

A full clear though?
That never happened.
FoW politely reminded me I was not the hero of this story.

Until now.

Standing at the Chest of Woe after my first full Fissure of Woe clear — a moment fifteen years overdue.

The Soulwoven Steps Back Into the Fire

This was my first proper attempt at beating FoW from start to finish — no gimmicks, no leaning on other players to carry me,
and no pretending my ranger pet was going to solve my problems.
Just me, The Soulwoven, and a hero team that has become far too competent for its own good.

This photo above is from the full clear —it captures the general theme of this entire adventure:
me walking into a nightmare realm with seven spirits, three mesmers, three necromancers, a ritualist specialising in restoration spirits, and questionable confidence.

The Wovenway Build Holds Its Ground

For this run I used the build I’ve been refining over the last week: a mix of spiritway, discordway, and mesmerway —
which I’ve nicknamed Wovenway.
Tacky? Possibly.
Accurate? Absolutely.

My heroes did the heavy lifting, as usual.
The E-Surge mesmers handled the hex pressure, the Discord minions kept bodies on the ground (helpful for both damage and nostalgia),
and my restoration Ritualist quietly kept everyone alive.
I focused on offensive spirits and Lamentation, occasionally pretending I understood the exact timing of everything happening on-screen.

A Run That Paid for Itself

To my surprise, the run went smoothly.
Suspiciously smoothly.
Either I’ve improved, or the enemies were having an off day.

I walked out with:

  • Two Passage Scrolls
  • Five Obsidian Shards
  • Several gold items

Not bad for what was meant to be “a test run.”
The whole trip paid for itself and then some.

What Comes Next?

FoW is just the beginning.
I’m still working on hero armor — Gwen, Livia, and Xandra now have Brotherhood sets, the rest are getting sorted one by one —
and I’ve been dipping into the Underworld again to see just how far Wovenway can go.

There’s also a strong temptation to record these runs.
Not a single-session full clear (I value sleep), but segmented videos:
three quests at a time, then stitched together.
Practical hero management, realistic expectations, and my usual commentary whenever something explodes unexpectedly.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

It took more than a decade, a new name, and a surprisingly effective team of heroes,
but I can finally say I’ve beaten the Fissure of Woe.
Not as a ranger hiding behind pets, not as a tag-along in someone else’s group —
but on my own terms, with my own build, playing a class that younger me barely even understood.

FoW didn’t stand a chance.
Apparently, neither did my free time.

Continue the Journey

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Earning Guardian of Cantha — Fifteen Years Later


It turns out my return to Tyria didn’t stop at nostalgia. What started as a simple “let’s see if this still runs on the Steam Deck” somehow turned into a full plunge back into Guild Wars—titles, missions, buildcrafting, and all.

If you missed the first part of this journey, you can read my original post here:

Returning to Tyria – A Moment I Didn’t Expect to Hit This Hard
.
That’s where I covered the first spark that pulled me back in before everything below really started to snowball.

Switching Mains After Fifteen Years

Somewhere along the way I realised my Necromancer—my old faithful—wasn’t the one carrying me this time. Instead, it was my Ritualist, originally named Spirits of Evil, still running the exact same Signet of Spirits build I’d left him with more than a decade ago. And somehow, it still worked.

From there I set one clear goal: Guardian of Cantha. I already had Protector from years ago, but Hard Mode was unfinished business.

Diving Into Builds: Discordway, Mesmerway, and… Wovenway?

Discovering the PvX wiki still existed felt like finding a time capsule. Between that and help from chatgpt, I rebuilt my hero team from the ground up. Discordway led me to Mesmerway, and eventually I stitched the two together with my own Ritualist style—what I jokingly call Wovenway.

The final setup:

  • 1 Discord Minion Master
  • 2 N/Rt healers
  • 3 Energy Surge Mesmers
  • 1 Restoration Ritualist (hero)
  • Me, running offensive spirits

Zen Daijun was the first wall. Eternal Grove was the second. But with enough testing—and a lot of stubbornness—the team broke through both.

Guardian of Cantha Achieved

Raisu Palace fell, and with it came the achievement I’d been chasing since the mid-2000s.

A New Name, A New Look

To mark the achievement, I gave my Ritualist a new identity: The Soulwoven. The name clicked immediately—something that sounded like an NPC title, or a boss you’d find lurking in the Underworld.

I recoloured his armor in a blue-green mix to match spirit animations, and honestly? It suits him far better than anything he’s worn before.

What Comes Next?

Right now, I’m upgrading hero armor. Gwen, Livia, and Xandra are already wearing Brotherhood sets; the rest of the roster is still on the to-do list. When that’s done, The Soulwoven has his eyes on two places:

  • The Fissure of Woe
  • The Underworld

I’ve been doing test runs, but nothing concrete yet. Which direction he goes first… well, that’s something future me will decide.

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 5: Rainbow Ride Conquered

Progress: 29 Stars Collected | 89 Remaining | 18 Lives
Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music — the chaos provides its own soundtrack.

“Somewhere between leaping across spinning triangles and landing on an airship, I accepted that gravity in this randomizer is more of a guideline.”

With two stars left in Rainbow Ride, I decided to finish what I started and clear the hardest course so far. I remembered spotting one on the airship last time, so that was the first target.

The final star was a guess, so I followed instinct and headed for the triangle platforms. For once, instinct didn’t betray me. Two clean grabs later, Rainbow Ride is officially complete.

The Basement Surprise: Whomp’s Fortress

Expecting Dire Dire Docks, I stepped into its usual spot and instead landed in Whomp’s Fortress. The twist? The water level in this version doesn’t lower, so the passage to Bowser in the Fire Sea stayed sealed.

Which leaves one option: I need to find Dire Dire Docks somewhere else. Because of course the randomizer wasn’t going to make boss access simple.

Whomp’s Fortress: Smooth Climbing

Despite the odd placement, Whomp’s Fortress went down without much resistance. No weird geometry, no star placements that require a physics degree — just straightforward platforming for once.

By the time I exited, I sat at 29 stars and 18 lives, still needing to hunt down Dire Dire Docks and, eventually, Bowser.

Today’s Video

Continue the journey:
Log 4 | Log 6

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🧭 Survivor’s Log — November 2025

When the dice roll a natural 1, you reschedule, regroup, and log the chaos anyway.

Log Date: December 1, 2025 · Filed By: Survivor Incognito

When the Dice Betray You

November was supposed to be packed: more logs, more videos, and at least one new project stepping out of the shadows. Instead, as mentioned previously, life rolled a natural 1 on me. A few plans had to be shelved so the offline chaos could be handled first.

The result? Fewer posts than planned, but the campfire is still lit, the hubs are still standing, and the backlog of ideas remains very much alive.

Rediscovering Tyria

On the plus side, I rediscovered Guild Wars. Dropping back into Tyria after all this time felt oddly right — comfortable, dangerous, and full of bad pulls waiting to happen.

With Guild Wars Reforged on the horizon, you can safely assume a lot of my spare time is going to vanish into mission runs, build tinkering, and seeing how much trouble I can get into with heroes and henchmen. Some habits never die; they just wait by the outpost gate.

A Quieter Month at Camp

Because November went sideways, the blog shifted into “keep the lights on” mode rather than “all systems go.” That meant:

  • Some planned entries were delayed or pushed back to a saner month.
  • Ongoing series like Isolation Protocol, Submerged, and 7 Days to Survive stayed on a lighter schedule than intended.
  • The recent site-wide updates to the FAQ, About Me, Rules of Survival, and Surviving, Not Suffering continued to do their job quietly in the background.

Not flashy, but the camp stayed organised, and nothing caught fire that wasn’t supposed to.

Small Wins Still Count

Even in a slower month, a few things still managed to land:

  • The shift to a 2 PM GMT posting schedule continued, giving posts and videos a better overlap with UK, EU, and US readers.
  • The end of Derailed & Doomed: A Choo Choo Charles Survival Diary remained a highlight — the blog’s first full documented win still doing the rounds.
  • Survivor’s Shorts and other videos quietly fed into the archive, strengthening the connection between written logs and gameplay.
  • Ko-fi stayed live in the background, available but unobtrusive — just how it should be.

Not the explosive November originally planned, but still progress. Sometimes survival looks like momentum; sometimes it just looks like not dropping anything important.

Looking Ahead (Carefully)

December’s plans are simple and realistic:

  • Pick up the threads of Isolation Protocol, Submerged, and 7 Days to Survive as time and dice rolls allow.
  • Keep refining the hubs so it’s easier to find older runs and finished series.
  • Let the Guild Wars and Reforged hype simmer in the background and see where it leads on the blog side.

No grand promises, just one core rule: keep the stories moving when possible, and when not, keep the camp ready for when things calm down.

December should bring more structure, more stories, and — inevitably — more things trying to kill me. Business as usual.

Continue the Journey

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 4: Double Trouble in Rainbow Ride

Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music — chaos, but classy.
“They say patience is a virtue, but after chasing red coins in Rainbow Ride, I’m pretty sure it’s a myth.”

Back to Rainbow Ride — because apparently, I didn’t learn my lesson last time. This time I decided to be bold (read: reckless) and go for both the Red Coin Star and the 100 Coin Star together.

Collecting 100 coins went surprisingly smoothly, which immediately made me suspicious. And rightly so — the red coins were spread across moving platforms that seemed determined to throw me into the void.
When I finally gathered them all, the Red Coin Star spawned on the flying ship — nowhere near any of the coins. Several failed leaps and existential sighs later, I finally snagged it.

Only two stars this time, but both felt like boss fights. Rainbow Ride remains the chaotic crown jewel of frustration.

Watch Log 4 Gameplay

Progress Log

  • Total Stars: 20
  • Stars Remaining: 100
  • Lives: 14
Continue the chaos:
Log 3 |
Log 5 (Coming Soon)
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Submerged: A Subnautica Survival Diary – Log 6: The Sunbeam Falls

Platform: Steam Deck
Vehicle: Seamoth “Valentino” — maiden voyage
Objective: Reach the Sunbeam landing site
Status: Stranded indefinitely

“Turns out the cavalry isn’t coming — mostly because a giant alien cannon just vaporised them.”

With my Seamoth finally ready — Valentino’s first dive into open water — I headed toward the Sunbeam landing site. For once, I actually felt hopeful. Then the radio crackled again. Another distress call — this time from Lifepod 19. They could wait. If they were still alive, they’d understand. I had a rescue ship to meet.

The Island of False Hope

Reaching the site, I was greeted by something I definitely didn’t expect: a massive Alien structure that screamed “DO NOT ENTER.” A shimmering forcefield blocked the main door, and every instinct told me I was way out of my depth — both literally and metaphorically.

I parked Valentino nearby and started exploring on foot. The island itself felt eerily empty, save for the alien architecture humming with quiet menace. It wasn’t long before I found strange purple artifacts and terminals that told stories of technology way beyond anything I’d ever seen. One room even held a doomsday device — thankfully, deactivated.

The Infection Revealed

Eventually, I found what looked like a control terminal. My PDA hinted it might shut down the “cannon” perched above. I scanned it, ready to save the day — only for the machine to stab me with a robotic needle and announce, in the most clinical way possible: “Infection detected. Cannot deactivate.”

I scanned myself. Sure enough — infected. The planet was under quarantine, and I was part of the problem now. The only way out? Find a cure. Deeper in the ocean. Because of course it couldn’t be simple.

Fireworks at Dusk

With nothing else to do but accept my new membership in the “Forever Stranded” club, I returned to Valentino and made for the landing site once more. Another radio message came through — ignored. My focus was fixed on the sky.

And then, it happened. The Sunbeam dropped out of orbit, descending toward the island. A blinding green light surged from the alien structure. The cannon fired. And just like that, my rescue became a fireball.

I stood there in stunned silence, the sky lit up with debris and despair. The PDA chirped calmly in my ear, reminding me that rescue was “no longer an option.” Thanks, PDA. Really helps.

Guess I’d better make myself comfortable. It’s going to be a long stay on 4546B.

Video Log

Watch the Sunbeam’s final moments here once the video is live.

Continue the Journey

← Log 5.5: The Waiting Game |
Log 7: Coming Soon

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