The Leaderboard
Healthy competition to keep you focused and motivated.
What is the Leaderboard?
The leaderboard is MainQuest's competitive layer — really two separate boards. The Focus board ranks players by how much focus session time they have logged; the Habits board ranks players by how many habit check-ins they have completed. They track independently, and you show up on both.
Unlike systems that punish inactivity, MainQuest's leaderboards only reward effort. There are no penalties for taking a break, no demotions for missing a day, and no pressure to grind beyond what feels healthy. It is competition in its purest form: who put in the work?
Whether you are a power user logging hours of deep work daily or a casual player doing 20-minute Pomodoro sessions and a couple of habit check-ins, the leaderboards give you a way to see your effort reflected and celebrated.
Two Boards: Focus and Habits
Focus Board
Ranked by total focus session time. Weekly, monthly, and all-time views.
Habits Board
Ranked by how many habit check-ins you have completed — a count, not a streak. Scored weekly and monthly; no all-time habit count is kept, so an "All Time" selection falls back to the weekly numbers.
Finish in the Top 10 of either board for the week or month and you earn a tribute: Embercoin scaled by placement (weekly pays 250 / 125 / 60 for the podium and 25 for ranks 4–10; monthly doubles those), with Relics for #1 and #3 — plus a winner's frame shown on the board itself for the podium. Land in the Top 10 of both boards in the same period and a twin Relic marks the sweep; double #1 earns the rarest crown of all.
The Focus Board: All Five Modes Count
The Focus board ranks by total focus time — the sum of every second logged through MainQuest's built-in focus session modes.
Focus session modes that contribute to leaderboard time:
- Pomodoro: Structured work/break intervals (e.g., 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off).
- Default (Timer): Pick a preset block (5 to 90 minutes) and focus until the timer runs out.
- Breadcrumbs: Work in real-time 5-10 minute blocks, ticking each one off as you go.
- Infinite: An open-ended stopwatch with no timer or breaks at all.
- Flowmodoro: Work as long as you like and earn a fraction of it back as banked break time.
All five modes contribute equally to your Focus board time. Choose whichever mode fits your working style.
Weekly, Monthly, and All-Time Rankings
The Focus board offers three views; the Habits board offers two — there is no habits all-time view today.
Weekly
Boundary is Monday 00:00 UTC. Focus and Habits both have this view. Great for short-term motivation and seeing who is putting in the most work right now.
Monthly
Boundary is the 1st of the month, 00:00 UTC. Focus and Habits both have this view. Rewards sustained effort over a longer period.
All-Time
Focus board only. Never resets — your cumulative focus time since you started using MainQuest. The ultimate measure of long-term dedication.
Each view gives you a different lens on your progress. Use the weekly board to stay sharp day to day, and glance at the all-time Focus board to appreciate how far you have come.
Rank-Up Animations
When you climb the rankings, MainQuest celebrates your progress with rank-up animations. This one is specific: it plays right after you submit a focus session, if your weekly Focus board rank improved as a result. It does not fire for the monthly or all-time views, or for the Habits board.
Rank-up animations serve as a dopamine hit — a small but satisfying reward for the hard work you put in. They turn the abstract concept of "I focused for 2 more hours this week" into a tangible, visible achievement.
The animations are designed to feel rewarding without being disruptive. They celebrate your effort and then get out of the way so you can keep working.
Healthy Competition, Not Toxic Pressure
MainQuest's leaderboard is built on a core principle: competition should motivate, not stress. That is why the system is designed with several guardrails:
- No penalties for inactivity: If you take a day off, your logged time is never taken away — though others keep logging, so your rank can drift while you rest. You are never punished for resting.
- Effort-only ranking: Focus time on one board, habit check-ins on the other — never XP, level, or streak length. It measures one thing: did you show up?
- Weekly resets: The weekly leaderboard gives everyone a fresh start, so you are never too far behind to catch up.
- Optional participation: You can completely ignore the leaderboard and still enjoy every other feature in MainQuest.
The goal is to give competitive players an outlet while ensuring casual players never feel left behind.
Friends on the Leaderboard
The leaderboard becomes even more engaging when you have friends on MainQuest. Seeing a friend just above you in the rankings creates a natural, friendly rivalry that pushes both of you to do more.
There is no dedicated "friends only" filter on either board today — you are looking at the same shared leaderboard as everyone else, and a friend's name simply stands out to you on it. The leaderboard itself does not show HP or fallen status; check your friend list directly if you want to know whether someone has fallen and needs a Second Chance Scroll.
Making the Most of the Leaderboard
- Set a weekly focus goal — decide how many hours of focused work you want to log each week, then use the leaderboard to track whether you hit it.
- Use it for accountability — tell a friend your leaderboard goal and check in with each other at the end of the week.
- Aim for the tribute — the Top 10 of either board earns Embercoin scaled by placement each week and month, with Relics for #1 and #3 and a winner's frame on the board; sweeping the Top 10 of both boards in the same period earns its own twin Relic.
- Don't chase the top — competing with yourself (beating your own previous week) is often more sustainable than trying to be number one.