#echeladder

from our last homestuck reading session with @thursdayplaid

i realized i never did this for the first helltier upd8 to include vriska's echeladdder, so let's start now. but we won't talk about the tiers YET.

what's going on with the candle?

vriska's helltier echeladder interface is... weird, to say the least. often characters will be surrounded by items used to achieve said tier (john and the ectobabies, jane and the hat, etc) but we've never seen that candle before. not pertaining to vriska or anyone else, for that matter, although she does have her fire associations.

candles don't really show up that much, now that i'm thinking about it. given its diminished form in the second "level" upd8 of helltier, it seems like it burns down as vriska advances up the ladder, and as time passes. so logically we should expect to see it further burnt out by the next upd8.

the candle works as a reference two ways: as a manner of keeping time (a physical manifestation of life force, and the use of things like candle clocks), and as a symbol for the light aspect. fairly straightforward for that second one; illuminating important things and keeping people out of the dark is what candles are made to do.

ty aradia for this very applicable quote from the first "level" upd8

Listen. I am not high enough on the fucking echeladder. I am still a FUCKING FIDGETY BOPPER!

Climbing the Echeladder is the equivalent of levelling up in an RPG. If you wonder why we have level-based systems in real life, and competent 13-19 year old sometimes have a starting rank of 0…

Just don’t think about it.

There are 16 Rungs on the Echeladder, and each rung is specially crafted to you and your title, resulting in a literally endless amount of possible rungs. You also get a special Hat with a feather or accessory on it, with the accessory changing form as you ascend the Rungs. Ascending a Rung results in a new Nickname, a new Accessory, some congratulatory Boondollars stored in your Ceramic Porkhollow, and stat increases.

There was a rumor that you needed to be at the top of your Echeladder to ascend to God Tier, but that is… inconsistent. Some players experience difficulty getting risen up when they go to do intimate stuff on your Quest Bed, it seems. The one consistency we noticed is that you will NEVER God-Tier if your rung is 0 (which is normally impossible/highly improbable to begin with).

WAYS TO INCREASE ECHELADDRER RUNG

Win Strifes

Solve Puzzles

Do the Main Quest

Use High-Level Abilities when you don’t have them (Breath Players ascend high when they do their Windy Thing)

Topple Sacred Urns

Defile Hallowed Tombs

Pilfer Mystic Ruins

ECHELADDER BUGS/QUIRKS

You can theoretically hack your Boondollar Reliquary or get yourself indebted beforehand for instant cash. The downside is that you don’t get boondollars from leveling up anymore. Nicknames, Accessories, and Stats are still accessible. This is actually recomended. Instant pay-off and if you can’t handle resources, you won’t be alive long enough to experience the consequences.

Getting a Boonbuck tends to result in a smashed Porkhollow. It still stores your Dollars, but is cosmetically broken.