A Discord leveling bot with free rank cards

How XP works

Members earn XP by sending messages. Each eligible message awards a random amount between a base value and double that value. The base is 15 by default, so a message is worth between 15 and 30 XP, and a server manager can change it with /leveling config xp_per_message.

To keep spam from counting, there is a cooldown between XP awards for each member. It is 60 seconds by default and can be changed with /leveling config xp_cooldown. A member who sends ten messages in one minute earns XP once.

How fast levels come

The XP needed to clear a level is 5 times the level squared, plus 50 times the level, plus 100. The first levels come quickly and each one after takes a little longer.

Reaching level 10 takes 4,675 XP in total. At the default settings, with a message at least once a minute, that is a little over three hours of chatting, so levels reflect steady activity and not a burst of messages.

Level rewards

At any level you can give a role, coins from the server economy, a custom announcement, or a mix. Set one with /leveling rewards set, see them all with /leveling rewards list, and remove a level’s rewards with /leveling rewards remove.

Role rewards have two modes. In stack mode a member keeps every role they have earned. In swap mode they hold only the highest one.

Keeping XP fair

You can stop XP in chosen channels and for chosen roles with /leveling config no_xp_channels and /leveling config no_xp_roles. Excluding a channel also covers the threads inside it, and excluding a category covers the channels under it.

Rank cards, level-ups and the leaderboard

Members run /rank to see their rank card and /leaderboard to see the server’s XP leaderboard. When a member levels up, Akiko posts a level-up card in the channel you set with /leveling config level_up_channel, or in the channel where they were chatting, along with text you write using /leveling config level_up_message.

Both cards are designs you control. You can try them without an account in the rank card maker and the level up card maker, then build the real ones in the dashboard.

Setting it up

1. Add Akiko to your server.
2. Run /leveling enable.
3. Optionally set the XP amount and cooldown, the level-up channel and any excluded channels or roles.
4. Add rewards for the levels you care about with /leveling rewards set.
5. Open the dashboard and design your rank and level-up cards.

Privacy and control

Members can turn off message tracking from their account. Akiko then stops counting their messages for leveling and stats, and it will not show their rank to other members. Server managers can reset one member or the whole leaderboard with /leveling reset. What Akiko stores and for how long is written out in the privacy policy.

What to look for in a leveling bot

Whichever bot you choose, these are the questions worth asking:

• Can you control how fast XP comes, with an amount and a cooldown?
• Can it hand out roles at levels, and can those roles stack or swap?
• Can you keep channels and roles out of XP?
• Can you design the cards yourself, rather than choosing from a fixed list?
• Do members get a rank command and a leaderboard?
• Can members opt out, and can you reset the data?
• Is it clear what permissions the bot asks for and what it costs?