How Habits Work
Small daily actions that compound into real growth.
What Are Habits?
Habits in MainQuest are recurring daily behaviors that you check in on. Unlike quests (which are one-off tasks), habits are ongoing. They do not earn XP directly — instead, each check-in awards subpoints toward a linked attribute, gradually growing your character's stats.
Think of habits as your character's training regimen. Quests are the battles; habits are the daily practice.
Creating a Habit
To create a habit, open the Habits screen and tap +. Give it a clear, specific name:
When creating, you can link the habit to an attribute (like Strength, Intelligence, or a custom one). Check-ins will then award subpoints to that attribute. Learn more in the Classes & Attributes guide.
Daily Check-ins
Each day, you check in on your habits. A check-in means you completed the habit for the day. Once you check in, it is immutable — you cannot toggle it off. This is by design to prevent gaming the system.
Each check-in awards subpoints toward the habit's linked attribute. Subpoints accumulate and eventually level up the attribute.
The 3 AM Day Boundary
MainQuest does not use midnight as the day boundary. Instead, the day rolls over at 3 AM.
Why 3 AM?
Many users are night owls or have irregular schedules. A 3 AM boundary means checking in at 1 AM still counts for the current day. Early-morning routines completed before 3 AM also count for the previous day, which aligns with how most people think of "today."
This applies to habit streaks, daily quest resets, and the daily XP cap.
Streaks
Every habit tracks a streak — the number of consecutive days you have checked in. Miss a day and the streak resets to zero.
Streaks provide visual motivation and a sense of momentum. The longer your streak, the more you will want to protect it. This taps into loss aversion psychology — you do not want to lose your 30-day streak over one lazy evening.
Streak checking uses the 3 AM boundary. If you check in at 11 PM Tuesday and then at 2 AM Wednesday (before 3 AM), both count for Tuesday — you need to check in again after 3 AM Wednesday to extend the streak.
Microversions
Some days you just do not have the energy for the full habit. That is where microversions come in. A microversion is a smaller, easier version of your habit that still counts as a check-in.
Examples:
The key insight: doing a tiny version of the habit is infinitely better than doing nothing. Your streak stays alive, and you maintain the psychological momentum of daily consistency.
Attribute Growth
Each habit can be linked to an attribute — a stat on your character like Strength, Intelligence, Creativity, or any custom attribute you define. Every time you check in, the linked attribute gains subpoints.
Over time, subpoints accumulate and the attribute levels up. This gives you a tangible representation of your real-world growth — not just "I exercised," but "my Strength is now level 12."
Note: On the mobile app, each habit links to a single attribute. On the web app, habits can link to multiple attributes. This is a known platform difference.
Chaining Habits with Habit Links
Want to build routines? Habit Links let you chain habits together. Completing a chain of linked habits awards bonus XP and tracks chain streaks.
Read the full details in the Habit Links guide.