How to catch Aquamaton (and Shadeshifter!) in FFXIV

A short guide for catching Aquamaton, Legendary Shadowbringers fish. This mechanical beast is a bit a rough fish to go after due to the Fisher’s Intuition requirements, but persistent attempts will lead to a successful hook!

📖Chapters
0:00 Introduction, What to know ahead of time, and Fisher’s Intuition requirements.
0:15 Aquamaton window prep
1:28 Aquamaton/Shadeshifter window opens
1:55 Shadeshifter catch + Fisher’s Intuition trigger
2:18 Fisher’s Intuition ideal slap target
2:53 How to set up for a second Intuition
3:12 Aquamaton catch

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Aquamaton
Folklore Book: Norvrandt
Location: Kholusia
Fishing Hole: Seagazer Shoals
Folklore: Norvrandt
Bait: Short Bill Minnow
Conditions: 10:00-16:00, Any Weather

x1 Shadeshifter
Location: Kholusia
Fishing Hole: Seagazer Shoals
Folklore: Norvrandt
Bait: Squid Strip
Conditions: 10:00-14:00, Clear or Fair into Gales

x5 Shapeshifter
Location: Kholusia
Fishing Hole: Seagazer Shoals
Folklore: Norvrandt
Bait: Moyebi Shrimp OR Squid Strip
Conditions: Any

📋Prep Phase:
Arrive early and cast out into Seagazer Shoals using Moyebi Shrimp (Squid Strip works too, but shrimp is cheaper). You want to catch 5 Shapeshifters, a 13s+ (usually longer) ! bite. Use Double Hook and Identical cast if needed to get the 5 Shapeshifters. Once you’ve gotten your Shapeshifters, surface slap them, use Chum, and switch to Squid Strip if you weren’t on it already.

🐙Shadeshifter Phase:
Once 10:00 passes in Kholusia, cast out with Squid Strips. Shadeshifter is a !!! bite, and requires Precision Hookset to catch if using Patience (which is not recommended nor required). Ignore any other bites to preserve your Surface Slap buff and to save time. Chum as much as you are able to. Once you get a !!! bite, reel it in. Shadeshifter is a bit slippery and elusive, so it might get away. If it gets away, keep going until 14:00 or (ideally) you land a Shadeshifter.

When you do land a Shadeshifter (and assuming you’ve prepped your 5 Shapeshifters) the Fisher’s Intuition buff will be applied.

🤖Aquamaton Intuition Phase:
Once you have the ~6m Aquamaton Fisher’s Intuition, swap your bait to Short Bill Minnow. Aquamaton will ONLY bite for Short Bill Minnow, it is important you swap your bait! Cast out, once again, and catch the first thing that bites. Ideally, it’s a Minstrelfish, a long !! bite. If it’s not, that’s ok — any fish you can slap is fine. Once you’ve slapped a fish, ignore all bites that are not !!!. Aquamaton will be the only !!! bite, requiring Powerful Hookset to catch if using Patience.

It is not uncommon for Aquamaton to get away, or to not even bite at all during its window. Tie in the fact that Shadeshifter gets away just as often or sometimes doesn’t even bite, Aquamaton becomes a bit of a rough fish.

⏱Time left in Shadeshifter window?
If your Intuition for Aquamaton ends, there is still time left in the Shadeshifter window, AND you didn’t hook Aquamaton, you can try and catch a second Shadeshifter. If you are successful in doing this, you can hold intuition progress until the next Eorzean day, at 10:00. Simply prep for the 10:00 window like you would a normal Aquamaton window, but do not reel in the 5th Shapeshifter. Once you catch your fourth you use Identical Cast to ensure the next fish you catch is a Shapeshifter, then cast out right before the 10:00 window and catch the 5th, triggering intuition. Again, this only works if you get a second Shadeshifter AFTER the Aquamaton intuition falls off.

💬Want to chat with more fishers? Join the Fisherman’s Horizon Discord: https://discord.gg/DVxxA8V
🐤Have fishing questions or requests for guides? Follow me on twitter! https://twitter.com/fisherfruity

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