# How points actually work.

Earn signal. Climb floors. Never coast.

Every floor in Basement is gated by points. Points come from real contribution: posts that get reactions, accurate fact-checks, weekly streaks, and the badges you claim. The numbers below are pulled live from the backend ledger.

@peroni  
Level 2  
8 points  
2 points to Landing (Level 3)  
+8  
From claim  
+2  
To Level 3  
weekly

## How you earn points

### Every action has a number. Nothing is hidden.

Points are awarded the moment an event lands in the ledger. Daily caps stop you from farming reactions or post volume. Inaccurate fact-checks subtract points so the system pushes back on noise.

| Action                                        | Delta | Note                                                            |
|-----------------------------------------------|-------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Claim a standard badge                        | +8    | Lands you on Stairwell. Almost at Landing, but never past it.  |
| Claim a shiny badge                           | +35   | Lands you on Landing. Almost at Ground.                         |
| Claim a gilded badge                          | +100  | Lands you on Ground. Almost at Sub-one.                        |
| Claim an obsidian badge                       | +250  | Lands you on Sub-one. Almost at Sub-two.                       |
| Reaction received on a post                   | +1    | Capped at 50 per 24 hours.                                      |
| Annotation posted                             | +1    | Capped at 30 per 24 hours so volume alone never moves you.    |
| Weekly activity streak                        | +10   | Resets your decay clock for the week.                           |
| Fact-check on your post: correct             | +5    | Verifier consensus says you were right.                         |
| Fact-check on your post: incorrect           | -10   | Inconclusive checks have no effect.                             |

## Badges and the level wall

### Claiming a badge gets you off Street, but never past Level 2 on its own.

A standard badge claim awards 8 points. That puts you on Stairwell (Level 2) and gets you almost, but not quite, to Landing (Level 3). Reaching Level 3 takes a tiny bit of real activity on top of the claim. Rarer badges award more, but each tier is tuned to land just shy of the next floor, never to vault past it.

| Badge Type | Points  | Level          | Almost at            |
|------------|---------|----------------|----------------------|
| Standard   | +8      | Stairwell      | Landing (Level 3)    |
| Shiny      | +35     | Landing        | Ground (Level 4)     |
| Gilded     | +100    | Ground         | Sub-one (Level 5)    |
| Obsidian   | +250    | Sub-one        | Sub-two (Level 6)    |

## The floor ladder

### Ten floors. Ten point thresholds. The same numbers the app uses.

| Floor         | Name               | Level     | Points Required        |
|---------------|--------------------|-----------|------------------------|
| 00            | Street             | Level 1   | 0 pts                  |
| 01            | Stairwell          | Level 2   | 5 or any badge pts     |
| 02            | Landing            | Level 3   | 10 pts                 |
| 03            | Ground             | Level 4   | 40 pts                 |
| 04            | Sub-one            | Level 5   | 120 pts                |
| 05            | Sub-two            | Level 6   | 300 pts                |
| 06            | Vault              | Level 7   | 800 pts                |
| 07            | Cellar             | Level 8   | 1,800 pts              |
| 08            | Crypt              | Level 9   | 4,000 pts              |
| 09            | Deep Basement      | Level 10  | 10,000 pts             |

## Decay and durability

### Signal trims if you go quiet. Floors do not erode overnight.

If you stop contributing, your live signal decays so the leaderboard stays loud. Reaching a floor still requires real engagement. Premium subscribers get faster Baselings and deeper memory, never deeper floors. You cannot buy depth.

- Decay applies weekly

Inactive accounts trim signal so the leaderboard stays current. A weekly streak event resets the decay clock.

- Caps stop farming

Reactions are capped at 50 per day. Annotation rewards are capped at 30 per day. You cannot brute-force a floor by spamming.

- Floors are not for sale

Premium speeds up the experience. It does not move your level. The point math is the same for everyone.

## Start on the street. Climb on merit.

Install Basement, claim your first badge, and watch your level move.