Boot.dev Blog ยป Wiki ยป How the Boot.dev Game Works

How the Boot.dev Game Works

By Lane Wagner on Jan 7, 2023

Greetings, dear student! In our courses, we have crafted a multitude of tasks, projects and challenges for you to undertake. Along the way, you will complete quests, unlock roles and achievements, and earn gems.

We aim to make your voyage of learning to code as delightful as possible. Should you have any questions about the mechanics of the game, fear not, for we have compiled this document that explains all. May your path be full of wonder and adventure as you explore the vast world of back-end development!

Roles

roles banner

Unlocking new roles is your primary objective, and you’ll do so by gaining levels. You will start roleless, but upon reaching level 10, you’ll unlock your first role: “Apprentice”.

Your role is shown on your profile page, and it also gives you special perks and privileges in the Discord community, where your role is shown next to your name.

  • Apprentice: Level 10
  • Pupil: Level 20
  • Acolyte: Level 30
  • Disciple: Level 40
  • Scholar: Level 50
  • Mage: Level 60
  • Sage: Level 70
  • Druid: Level 80
  • Necromancer: Level 90
  • Archmage: Level 100

Levels and XP

You can earn XP in a variety of ways, but the most common way is to pass off coding exercises. Once you have enough XP, you will automatically level up. Higher levels require more and more XP to unlock. For example:

  • Level 1: 0 XP
  • Level 2: 400 XP
  • Level 3: 880 XP
  • Level 4: 1,440 XP
  • Level 5: 2,080 XP

Keep in mind these are totals, so going from level 2 to level 3 only requires 480 XP.

Leaderboard

There are several sections on the leaderboard, and each works a little differently. You’ll gain a spot on the public leaderboard by being one of the top students in a given category for a specific timeframe.

For example, the daily XP leaderboard is very competitive: the students who have earned the most XP in the last 24 hours are shown at the top.

Gems

gems banner

You can earn gems in two different ways:

  • Completing quests
  • Unlocking new roles

Gems can be spent on two things:

  • To recover your sharpshooter progress when you get an answer wrong
  • To buy XP boosts

How do I recover sharpshooter progress?

When you lose your sharpshooter progress by getting an answer wrong, the sharpshooter icon in the course navigation bar will turn red. If you have enough gems to do so, you’ll be able to click on that red icon to recover your progress.

XP Boosts

XP boosts are purchased with gems, and they give you a temporary multiplier for any XP that you earn. For example, you may get +25% XP for all assignments completed within the hour that a boost is active.

You can buy boosts by clicking on the gem icon in the sidebar, as long as you have enough gems.

Quests

Completing quests will award you with gems. You complete quests by earning a certain amount of XP within a week. The harder the quest, the more XP you’ll need to earn, and the more gems you’ll gain as a reward.

You may only have a single quest active at any given time. You can select a quest if you don’t have one yet from the questboard.

Achievements

achievements banner

The primary purpose of achievements is to award you with bonus XP, but when you earn achievements you’ll also unlock the associated badge on your portfolio page. There are many different ways in which achievements can be earned, each achievement is different. You can read about the available achievements on the achievements page.

Karma

Karma is a measure of how helpful you are to others in the Discord community. Karma is shown on your profile and the members with the highest karma earn a spot on the leaderboard.

Here are some ways you can earn karma:

  • Sending messages in the Discord server
  • Receiving emojis from other users on your messages in the Discord server
  • Receiving “thanks” from other users in the Discord server