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-Dos) 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
Habits used as dividers.
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
Fix Character Values can be found in the User Icon > Settings page
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 mobile 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.
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.
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.
Sub-Classes
There are unofficial names for players who swap Health for Mana. A Mage becomes a Bloodmage, 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.
Death, Dying, Necromancy
While a party is on a boss quest, a quest participant might leave many Dailies undone and consequently kill everyone. 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 using Habitica. If a player's health is zero or less, Habitica will cause avatar death only when the player next takes an action in Habitica, 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.
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.