Creating a Unique Experience

Habitica offers a game play setup designed to encourage users to be productive. It places most of the game decisions on the player, allowing them to dictate their own experience. Players will find suggestions to create a unique experience such as Naming Your Tasks, Gamifying Your Lists, and Self-Imposed Challenges. This article explores these topics and more, with links that provide additional information.
== Your Own Tasks ==
A simple but effective way to create a unique Habitica experience is customizing tasks. Each task type (Habit, Daily,To Do's) has an article with suggestions on how to develop appropriate tasks for your experience.
=== Naming Your Tasks ===
A player might consider the task name a trivial thing. You should take some time thinking about the precise language and goals you have in mind when you create a task. The page Naming Your Tasks details this.
=== Organize Your Tasks ===
Make your tasks easier to find and accomplish. Habitica offers many options for organization. Consider the following:
* Use tags to organize your tasks
* Use markdown or emoji to decorate your tasks
* Use blank or directionless tasks to organize your tasks, as described in Habits/Directionless Habits.
=== Game Your Tasks ===
Many users prefer to transform their tasks into game-related terms. The entry Gamifying Your Lists details this process.
=== Leverage Custom Rewards ===
Custom rewards can be used as both a motivation and a punishment. This is a powerful tool for creating a unique experience. The section on Rewards/Custom Rewards details some of the ways you may use this.
== Custom Rules ==
 A player may adopt custom Habitica rules. These are, in most cases, designed to make the game more challenging. These are discussed later under Adjust Difficulty. Other custom rules may be applied as part of a challenge, rules for a party, guild, or personal preference.
Many custom rules require the use of the Fix Character Values feature, which lets you manipulate your avatar's values. It is located under User Icon > Settings on the website and under Settings in the official Android and iOS apps. Use of this feature is not considered to be cheating, but instead is a legitimate alternative way to play Habitica. For example, adding Health can motivate players to take on harder tasks that they otherwise would be too afraid to go after; removing Health can add a greater sense of risk to the experience.
These custom rules can also be automated by using scripts. One example is the Warrior Subclasses script. It creates reward buttons that when activated automatically perform the Fix Character Values operation for the user, creating custom "skills" for the subclass.
Another example is the custom script Editable Fix Character Values Buttons, which creates buttons that perform Fix Character Values based on the notes section of the button (so, if the notes reads `XP: -50%; GP: +50%;`, you will lose half your XP and gain +50% of your GP). If you want to make the button do something later because you realize a different function will be more motivating, simply edit the notes section (so, you could change the button to be `HP: +5; XP: -50%; MP: +25%; GP: +40;` to make it so you gain 5 HP, lose 50% of your XP, gain 25% of your MP, and gain 40 GP). This button can be a simple way to implement some of the ideas below, if you so choose.
Some examples of custom rules include:
=== Mana Potions ===
A player may decide to "purchase" a Mana potion by using Fix Character Values to exchange an appropriate amount of Gold for Mana. If desired, the player can create a custom Reward to remove the Gold instead of using Fix Character Values for that part of the exchange - this might create a better feeling of gamification.
Or, they can use this custom script to create a Mana Potion button that costs 25 GP and gives 30 MP, complete with a blue potion bottle.
=== Experience Potions ===
Similarly, a player may decide to "purchase" an Experience potion by using Fix Character Values to exchange an appropriate amount of Gold for Experience. If desired, the player can create a custom Reward to remove the Gold instead of using Fix Character Values for that part of the exchange - this might create a better feeling of gamification.
Or, they can use this custom script to create an Experience Potion button that costs 25 GP and gives 150 XP, complete with a yellow potion bottle.
=== Anti-Potions ===
A player may want to have the reverse effect of a potion: gain gold at the expense of HP, XP, or MP. This would be useful for players who wish to gain more gold or they wish to make Habitica more challenging by having less HP, leveling up slower (less XP), or can use skills less often (less MP). A gamified understand of it might be that a crowd of onlookers is willing to pay you to drink a foul potion and watch your reaction as your character gets somewhat weakened.
You can use this custom script to create Anti-Potions.
=== Regenerating HP ===
How to regenerate lost Health Points is a common question that new players have; some expect to regain a set amount of HP every Cron. Habitica does not work that way officially but you might consider using Fix Character Values to regenerate a certain number of Health Points each morning.
You could also decide to only regenerate HP while you are not on a Quest. This adds a feeling of legitimacy to the Quests - you are away fighting or searching for something, and then you come back home to rest and recharge.
===Swapping Health for Mana===
A player who finds that they need more motivation to avoid bad Habits might use Fix Character Values to regularly reduce their health. If they would also like to have more mana, they can "buy" mana with health points. Decide on an appropriate exchange rate (perhaps 1 HP = 2 MP), and then use Fix Character Values to exchange as many points as you will find motivating, or you can use this custom script to create a custom skill allowing you to pay 5 HP for 10 MP.
One possible gamified way of understanding this is an extra effort of heroic exertion that leaves you fatigued (physically weaker = lower HP) while allowing you to accomplish more (more MP).
====Sub-Classes====
There are unofficial names for players who swap Health for Mana. A Mage becomes a Blood Mage, a Warrior is a Berserker, a Healer is a Donor, and a Rogue is a Ninja.
Other ideas for sub-classes are described in the Sub-Classes challenge in the ➕ Habitica Plus guild, or in this custom script that creates subclasses for you.
===Swapping Experience for Mana===
Similar to the above, a player could find it motivating to delay leveling up by losing experience in order to heal themselves, especially if using skills more (with more mana) is a greater motivator to a player than leveling up. Decide on an appropriate exchange rate (perhaps 10 XP = 2 MP), and then use Fix Character Values to exchange as many points as you will find motivating, or you can use this custom script to create a custom skill allowing you to pay 50 XP for 10 MP.
One possible gamified way of understanding this is extra mental effort and exertion that leave you stupefied (mentally weaker = lower XP).
=== Using skills from other classes ===
Art by James_Danger
Sometimes, you want to use skills that are for other classes (known as "cross-class"). One way to do this is to use Fix Character Values to deduct the mana cost of a skill and give yourself approximately the appropriate amount of HP or XP or GP. Stat buffs and boss damage cannot be mimicked this way.
Another way to do this is to use a custom script that has the formula for each skill built in. This script is for stat buffs (they only affect you, not anyone else in your party) and this script is for some of the skills. Clicking a button for any of the skills in those scripts will automatically check to make sure you are a high enough level, deduct mana cost, and do the effect of the skill.
===Other custom skills===
Fix Character Values can create custom skills you can use to make Habitica more motivating, whether mimicking skills from other classes or creating never-before-seen skills. You can do this manually, or use the custom script Editable Fix Character Values Buttons to create buttons that you can edit to change what it does (so if you decide later that you want it to cost more or do something differently, simply edit the notes section of the button).
=== Using transformation items any time of year ===
During Grand Galas, you can purchase the seasonal Transformation Items to transform you or a party member. What if you want to transform yourself other times? You can use this custom script to do just that, including a button that will randomly transform you into any of the four.
===Death, Dying, and Necromancy===
While a party is on a boss quest, a quest participant might leave many Dailies undone and consequently kill everyone. (This used to be more of a problem when people would log in after a long absence, since each day of missed dailies was tallied cumulatively, but presently you are only tagged for one day worth of missed dailies no matter how many days it has been since your last login.) Some players feel it is acceptable to use the Fix Character Values to restore their level and gold.
It is a little-known trick that a Healer can "raise the dead" if they heal the party while one or more "fatally" injured players are not currently active in Habitica (have not yet logged in for the day). If a player's health is zero or less, Habitica will cause avatar death only when the player next takes an action in Habitica or logs in, so if a Healer acts quickly to raise the player's health to above zero, death might be avoided. This is informally known as necromancy.
==Adjust Difficulty==
The key to Habitica is to use it in a way that will make you the most productive. Look for what motivates you the most in Habitica. You can adapt the game mechanics to emphasize that motivation.
You will find many unique rules as Self-Imposed Challenges, like refusing to buy health potions or increasing their price. Additional suggestions are included here:
=== Collection Quest Damage ===
Collection quests can sometimes feel mundane and lack the sense of excitement that boss quests have. You can choose to take self-inflicted questing damage to encourage yourself to finish a quest quickly. Create a Habit with negative value only. Every day you fail to finish a collection quest, click the negative Habit (or remove Health manually using Fix Character Values). This mimics the fatigue that comes with the hardships of questing.
=== Boss Quest Damage ===
Boss quests can be considerably shortened by the use of the Warrior and Mage Skills (Brutal Smash and Burst of Flames). However, overuse of these skills can take some of the challenge out of mid- to low-level bosses when emptying your mana bar can sometimes kill a boss outright. Extend the danger of quest bosses by having Warriors and Mages abide by one or more rules:
*Only use a limited number of casts (1-3) of Brutal Smash and Burst of Flames per day.
*Only cast skills on Dailies you have actually completed that day.
*Avoiding the use of class boss-damaging skills entirely if the boss has less than a certain amount of health.
=== Low Constitution Mode ===
A player who finds that they need more motivation to avoid bad Habits or complete their Dailies on a given day might use this custom script to set their Constitution to 1, thus taking more damage when they press the - button on their bad Habits or fail to complete their Dailies.
The script creates a button that, when clicked, activates Low-Constitution Mode, setting CON to 1 via a negative buff (meaning that the anti-buff wears off at Cron the next morning). In case that mode proves to be too hard a challenge that day, pressing the button again deactivates Low-Constitution Mode. Players could use that mode regularly if doing so would be a good motivation, or could use it only occasionally on days where certain completion of tasks is especially critical.
=== Partial Healing ===
Normally, you fully heal to 50 HP every time you level up. What if you want to heal only part of that? Or none of that? You can manually set your HP using Fix Character Values after you level up, or you can use this custom script to automatically heal only some or none or certain percent of your HP each time you level up
== Accessibility, Adaptations, and Plug-Ins ==
Habitica is always working to provide an ideal space for every person to grow. A variety of tools, applications, and communities have been developed to make your Habitica experience the one you desire. A complete list of add-ons is located on the Extensions, Add-Ons, and Customizations page.
=== Guilds Guide ===
The Habitica Wiki Guilds Guide is a curated list, rather than relying on a keyword search. It may help you find the perfect community.
=== Accessibility ===
The Accessibility page offers suggestions on using Habitica for people with disability.
=== Phobia Extension ===
A browser extension exists for users that may want to block some images. More information is located at Phobia Protection Extension.
==Conclusion==
Habitica is a unique experience and you should not hesitate to make it your own. If you feel like something isn't working for you, ask a more experienced player or make a post about it. Everyone wants you to succeed.
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