Badges and Triggers

Badges and Triggers are the two types of achievements players can earn in RapidMule. The key difference? Badges are visible to players, Triggers are invisible.

Badges

Virtual or visual icons, symbols, or images that players earn to signify accomplishments, skills, or milestones achieved within RapidMule. These awards are typically granted based on players' actions, behaviors, or achievements.

Purpose: Social recognition, progress tracking, gamification visibility

Triggers

Triggers can be described as invisible badges. They can be used to trigger an event within your gamification flow.

Example: Sending a notification to the customer support team if a player tries 10 unsuccessful deposits within a day can be achieved via a trigger.

Purpose: Backend automation, feature unlocks, internal logic

Badges: Visible Achievements

Badges are what players see in their profile, share on social media, and compete to collect. They provide social proof and recognition.

Badge Types

RapidMule supports three badge types, each serving different gamification goals:

1. OneTimeOnly

Awarded once and never again. Perfect for milestones and first-time achievements.

Examples:

• "First Purchase" - First order completed
• "VIP Customer" - Spent $1000+ in 30 days
• "Verified Account" - Completed account verification

Use when: You want to celebrate a one-time milestone or prevent repeated earning.

Badge: "First Purchase"
Type: OneTimeOnly
Condition:
  Action: "purchase"
  Challenge: Several Times (count = 1)

---

2. Repeatable

Can be earned multiple times. Great for recurring behaviors and ongoing engagement.

Examples:

• "Weekly Champion" - Win a weekly leaderboard (earns every week)
• "Bulk Buyer" - Purchase 5+ items in one order (repeats each time)
• "Perfect Week" - Complete 7 workouts in 7 days (repeats every time)

Use when: You want to reward repeated behavior and ongoing consistency.

Badge: "Bulk Buyer"
Type: Repeatable
Condition:
  Action: "purchase"
  Challenge: Several Times (count = 1)
  Filter: items_count >= 5

---

3. Ranked

A single badge that evolves through ranks as players progress. Perfect for long-term progression systems.

Examples:

• "Content Creator" → Ranks: Beginner (1), Regular (5), Active (20), Prolific (50), Master (100) posts
• "Community Influencer" → Ranks based on upvotes: 10, 50, 200, 1000, 5000
• "Fitness Warrior" → Ranks based on workouts: 10, 30, 100, 300, 1000

Use when: You want a visible progression path that players can see evolving.

Badge: "Content Creator" (Ranked)
Type: Ranked
Ranks:
  - Rank 1: "First Post" (1 post)
  - Rank 2: "Regular Contributor" (5 posts)
  - Rank 3: "Active Author" (20 posts)
  - Rank 4: "Prolific Writer" (50 posts)
  - Rank 5: "Content Master" (100 posts)

Progression Display:

Content Creator ⭐⭐⭐
Rank 3: Active Author
20/50 posts to Rank 4

When to Use Badges

Scenario	Badge Type	Example
First-time milestone	OneTimeOnly	"First Login", "Account Created"
Recurring behavior	Repeatable	"Weekly Winner", "Daily Visitor"
Long-term progression	Ranked	"Level 1 → 5", "Bronze → Gold"
Social recognition	Any	Display in profile, leaderboards
Achievement collection	OneTimeOnly or Repeatable	"Collect all 10 category badges"

Triggers: Invisible Automation

Triggers are invisible to players but visible to your backend. They fire when conditions are met and signal your system to take action.

Common Trigger Use Cases

1. Feature Unlocks

Trigger: "Unlock Premium Features"
Deliverable: Notification
  - feature_unlock: "premium_dashboard"
  - tier: "vip"

Condition:
  Action: "purchase"
  Challenge: Sum (amount = 1000)
  Challenge: In A Time Period (30 days)

Your backend receives:

{
  "triggers": [
    {
      "uid": "unlock-premium-trigger",
      "label": "Unlock Premium Features"
    }
  ],
  "deliverables": [
    {
      "type": "Notification",
      "details": [
        { "label": "feature_unlock", "value": "premium_dashboard" },
        { "label": "tier", "value": "vip" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Your system then:

1. Updates user tier to "VIP"
2. Enables premium features
3. Sends welcome email
4. Logs analytics event

---

2. Risk Detection

Trigger: "Failed Deposit Alert"
Type: Repeatable
Deliverable: Notification
  - alert_type: "risk_management"
  - action_required: "contact_support"

Condition:
  Action: "deposit_failed"
  Challenge: Several Times (count = 10)
  Challenge: In A Time Period (24 hours)

Use case: Alert your support team when a user has 10 failed deposits in 24 hours.

---

3. Habit Formation Milestones

Trigger: "Habit Formed - Beginner"
Type: OneTimeOnly
Deliverable: Content + Notification
  - Content: Display "🎉 Habit Formed!" celebration popup
  - Notification: Unlock "Advanced Workouts" feature

Condition:
  Action: "complete_workout"
  Challenge: Several Times (5 workouts)
  Challenge: In A Time Period (7 days)

Use case: User completes 5 workouts in 7 days → Trigger fires → Show celebration + unlock advanced features.

---

4. Churn Prevention

Trigger: "At-Risk User"
Type: Repeatable
Deliverable: Notification
  - alert_type: "retention"
  - send_email: "re_engagement_offer"

Condition:
  Action: "login"
  Challenge: No action for 14 days

Use case: User hasn't logged in for 14 days → Send re-engagement email with special offer.

---

5. Internal Workflows

Trigger: "Quality Contributor"
Type: OneTimeOnly
Deliverable: Notification
  - workflow: "grant_moderator_review"
  - internal_note: "Consider for community moderator role"

Condition:
  Action: "marked_helpful"
  Challenge: Several Times (50 helpful marks)

Use case: User receives 50 "helpful" marks → Internal system flags for moderator consideration.

When to Use Triggers

Scenario	Why Trigger (not Badge)
Feature unlocks	Users don't need to see it, backend needs to know
Internal alerts	Support/admin notifications, not user-facing
Backend automation	Trigger workflows, integrations, webhooks
Risk detection	Security, fraud, churn signals
A/B testing	Segment users invisibly
Analytics events	Track milestones without UI clutter

Badge + Trigger Combo

Sometimes you want both: visible recognition (Badge) AND backend automation (Trigger).

Example: Elite Status

Badge: "Elite Athlete"
Type: OneTimeOnly
  → Visible in user profile
  → Social recognition
  → Collection achievement

Trigger: "Elite Status Achieved"
Type: OneTimeOnly
  → Unlock "Personal Trainer AI" feature
  → Grant lifetime VIP status
  → Send congratulations email
  → Log to analytics

Both share the same Condition:
  Action: "complete_workout"
  Challenge: Several Times (50 workouts)
  Challenge: Sum (calories = 25,000)
  Challenge: In A Time Period (60 days)

When this fires:

• ✅ User sees "Elite Athlete" badge in their profile
• ✅ Your backend unlocks Personal Trainer AI
• ✅ User receives VIP status
• ✅ Email sent automatically
• ✅ Analytics event logged

Best of both worlds!

Badge vs Trigger Decision Matrix

Need	Use Badge	Use Trigger	Use Both
Show in user profile	✅	❌	✅
Social sharing	✅	❌	✅
Backend automation	❌	✅	✅
Feature unlocking	❌	✅	✅
Progress tracking (visible)	✅	❌	✅
Internal alerts	❌	✅	❌
Milestone celebration	✅	❌	✅
Risk detection	❌	✅	❌

Best Practices

For Badges

1. Make them visual - Include images/icons
2. Use clear names - "VIP Customer" not "Status_Tier_3"
3. Add descriptions - Tell players what they earned
4. Show progress - "15/20 posts to next rank"
5. Create collections - "Collect all 5 category badges"

For Triggers

1. Name descriptively - "Unlock Premium" not "Trigger_001"
2. Use OneTimeOnly for feature unlocks - Prevent repeated unlocking
3. Include context in deliverables - Pass useful data to backend
4. Document what they do - Team should know what each trigger does
5. Test thoroughly - Triggers affect backend behavior

For Both

1. Match complexity to user level - Easy badges for beginners, hard for veterans
2. Use Ranked badges for long-term goals - Keeps users engaged over months
3. Combine multiple conditions - Allow different paths to the same achievement
4. Balance difficulty - Not too easy (meaningless), not too hard (frustrating)

Real-World Patterns

Pattern 1: Progressive Unlocks

Tier 1: Beginner (Badge: "Newcomer")
  → No triggers, just recognition

Tier 2: Regular (Badge: "Active User")
  → Trigger: Unlock "Premium Support"

Tier 3: Advanced (Badge: "Power User")
  → Trigger: Unlock "Advanced Analytics"

Tier 4: Elite (Badge: "VIP")
  → Trigger: Unlock "All Premium Features"

---

Pattern 2: Multi-Dimensional Tracking

Badge: "Content Creator" (Ranked)
  → Visible progression (posts published)

Badge: "Community Influencer" (Ranked)
  → Visible progression (upvotes received)

Trigger: "Quality Contributor"
  → Invisible (grant moderator privileges)

---

Pattern 3: Seasonal Competitions

Badge: "January Champion" (OneTimeOnly)
  → Visible trophy for winning January leaderboard

Trigger: "Season Winner"
  → Internal tracking, enter into "Champion of Champions" yearly competition

Next Steps

• Learn how Deliverables are issued when Badges/Triggers fire
• Understand Conditions that award Badges and Triggers
• See Badge/Trigger examples in our Guides
• Explore the Badges API for technical integration