Star Atlas launched a completely overhauled version of their Starpath referral program, and this guide will explain everything you need to know to get the most out of it!
Referrals?
In both the Web2 and Web3 world, it has been quite common for a long time to reward clients who bring on new clients. This is most of the time done through an online referral system. This system allows a user to copy a link that contains a unique code, and use that to invite new people to the service.
People clicking the link would end up at the service’s website as normal (or on their registration page), and when they sign up, the connection between the two persons would be saved. The person spreading the word and getting someone else to register is called the referrer. The person who was invited is called the referee.
The idea behind this is that the service would reward any referrers for bringing on more clients. If the service requires a user to spend money (through one-off purchases, or a subscription), then the amount of money spent would often dictate how big of a discount/reward a referrer would get. Of course, the more people a referrer referred, the bigger the discount. Benefits could also entail receiving certain “pro” services or items for free.
In the case of crypto, the most direct way to reward a referrer is by simply giving them a part of the tokens they spent while engaging in on-chain transactions. This is exactly what Starpath v2 is doing.
The Story So Far
Back in July of 2022, the team launched the first version of Starpath. It was met with a great deal of criticism due to the perceived low value of any of its rewards. As such, it did not see much use and was generally ignored by both the community and the team.
If the team wanted to reward referrals, then something had to change. In their -low priority- quest to improve the system, the team learned that the LadderCaster team was working on an on-chain referral system, dubbed Buddy Link.
Buddy Link was able to provide the team with a way to have an advanced on-chain referral system, while offloading the maintenance duties of such a system. Though it is more or less “limited” to direct token payouts, this was not a problem anymore, either. The team had meanwhile learned that their rewards needed to be better, and they had -likely- grown more willing to part with a bigger chunk of their potential income.
Important To Know
Before clicking a referral link, or creating one, a few things are good to know!
Note that some of the points mentioned in this section will come back for round 2 in subsequent sections, but we feel their importance warrants this.
Do not create a referral link, before accepting someone else’s!
Once you create your own referral link, you can no longer accept someone else’s referral. So make sure first to accept the referral link of the person who got you into Star Atlas (this includes making a marketplace transaction), and only then grab your own referral link.
First Come – First Serve
Once you click any link containing a referral code, information will be permanently stored in your browser. This information will ensure that when you make your next purchase on the Galactic Marketplace, a connection will be made between your Solana account and the link’s creator.
If you click other referral links between the first one, and you buy something, those will not overwrite the initial link you clicked!
In other words, if you clicked a referral link previously by accident, and you want to make sure the right person gets rewarded for referring you, clicking their link at a later point in time will not overwrite the data stored in your browser. Not before a purchase was made, and definitely not after a purchase was made (as then the connection is already official on-chain).
If you have not yet made a purchase and want to make sure the right person gets rewarded for referring you, the best way to go about this is to either:
- use another browser, or
- use another computer or mobile device
Click the correct link there, and make sure to make a purchase on the Galactic Marketplace right away (it can be anything, really – e.g., buy a single Food) to solidify the connection. This means that you will have to have access to your Solana account on the new device or browser you are using.
See the “How the Connection is Made” section below for another take on this important aspect.
You’re on the Clock
The minute you make a purchase on the Galactic Marketplace (of any kind, including R4), after having clicked a referral link, the connection between you and your referrer is solidified on-chain.
From that moment, a clock starts ticking. A good few benefits run out after 90 days, most importantly for the referee. This means that you may want to time the creation of this referral connection, instead of establishing it right away.
Of course, if you wait, you do run an increased risk of clicking someone else’s link by mistake, thereby accidentally connecting to a random person and starting the clock early.
Everyone can join!
StarPath V2 is not aware of any previous connections made through StarPath V1. It also has no way to distinguish between people who already made purchases on the Galactic Marketplace in the past and those who never made any purchases. This means you can refer friends who are already active in Star Atlas and who have already made purchases, unlike with the previous version.
Creating a Referral Link
No doubt you are eager to start! It may be prudent first to read the remainder of this article, but for those impatient, let’s get you set up!
In order to create a referral link, you will need to visit the play.staratlas.com Portal. Over there, you will need to connect your wallet, after which you can navigate to your Profile.
You will notice there is a new section where the team bundled the Starpath referral link and the EGS Keys. Here, you can claim your referral link by simply clicking the “Create Referral Link”-button.
After you grab the link, feel free to send that to any of your friends via any means, in a fashion similar to the current referral system. Contrary to the old system, all connections are stored on-chain, meaning these can be verified by both users concerned (and any other interested parties).
SUPER IMPORTANT: Once you create a referral link, you yourself can no longer be referred!
So make sure to do everything in order. First, get referred by whoever got you into Star Atlas (this requires a transaction!), and only then grab your own referral link!
Note: If you already joined through someone’s referral link (and confirmed through a purchase), your referral link will have already been created! In this case, you will not see a “Create Referral Link”-button, but instead a “View my Link and Rewards”
How the Connection is Made
When someone clicks your referral link, that browser will store this info in its memory forever. If the user clicks other referral links later in that same browser, these will be ignored. If, at some later point, the user buys something on the Galactic Marketplace (from the team, or someone else) in that same browser, the referral connection is made on-chain, and the link between these two accounts can no longer be broken.
However, if the user has not yet made any purchase and later clicks a different referral link in a different browser (e.g., on a different device, such as mobile) and then proceeds to buy an asset in that browser, the link is made on-chain with the wallet from the second referral link.
As not everyone may buy something on the Galactic Marketplace immediately after following your referral link, it may be good to instruct them to make their purchase (at a later moment in time) in the same browser they were using when they clicked your link.
Double Checking
If you want to make sure you are making the right referral connection and know your way around a browser’s development console, then here is how to do it! When you click a referral link, the information is stored inside the local storage in a key named simply “buddyLink”. The value there should match the part that comes after “r=” in the referral link you clicked.
The Benefits
There are two sets of benefits, one set for the referrer and another for the person being referred, which we call the referee. The benefits apply whenever the referee buys items on the Galactic Marketplace. The benefits differ based on if they buy items from the team (primary sales), or from other users (secondary sales).
Time Limited
As you will see, the rewards vary not only on whom the referee bought their assets from, but also depends on when they made their purchase. The first time the referee buys an item on the marketplace, the referral connection is established on-chain. From that point on, a clock starts ticking that influences the exact benefits (and when they come to an end).
Primary Market Sales
- For the first 90 days, the referee gets a 10% discount on anything they buy from the team
- For the first year, their referrer gets 25% of the net amount spent. For example, the referee buys an item worth 10k USDC in their first 90 days – when their 10% discount is still active. This means they are paying 9k USDC effectively (net). The referrer will get 25% of the 9k, so 2250 USDC.
- After one year has passed, the 25% going to the referrer is lowered to 5% (for that referred person) into perpetuity.
Secondary Market Sales
Money from assets sold on the secondary market sales, of course, flow to their seller. However, a small fee is being levied on such sales, of which 1/3 goes to the Star Atlas DAO and 2/3 flows to the team. The exact fee depends on the ATLAS Locker level reached by the Seller, but it starts at 6% (the maximum).
- For the first year, the referrer gets 25% of ATMTA’s share of their part of the fee. So, if the fee is at its default (max) value, this means a 4% fee (2/3 of 6%) is normally transferred to the team. Now, only 3% will go to the team, and 1% will go to the referrer (25% of 4% = 1%)
- After one year has passed, the 25% cut of the fee going to the referrer is lowered to 5% (for that referred person) into perpetuity.
- There is no benefit for the referee when buying assets from other players.
The part of the fee that is earmarked for the DAO will not be changed.
The BuddyLink Cut
There is one important piece of information missing in the calculations from the above section:
From November 20, 2023, the Buddy Link team will take a 3% cut out of your referral income.
As the team is using Buddy Link (a 3rd party service) to implement this referral system, the developers behind that service need to be compensated as well. The way the Buddy Link team takes care of this is by taking 3% of any tokens that flow to the referrer. In other words, they are taking a 3% cut of the referrer’s income. However…
The team made a deal with Buddy Link to forgo their 3% fee for the first 90 days!
Note that these 90 days start on September 20! Unlike the aforementioned 90-day terms, this does not start after you effectuated your referral through a purchase on the marketplace.
In other words, starting November 20, 2023, the Buddy Link team will take a 3% cut out of your referral income.
If we take the primary market example given above again, assuming the sale took place after the first 90 days, this would mean that the referrer is not actually getting 2250 USDC, but 67.5 USDC (3%) less, meaning only 2182.50 USDC is finding its way to the referrer’s wallet.
SAGE Labs – Golden Tickets
Another reward for the referrer will come in the form of Golden Tickets. For every 500 dollars (including ATLAS equivalent) a referee spends on the Galactic Marketplace, their referrer will receive one Golden Ticket. No distinction is made between primary and secondary sales.
Claiming your Rewards
Rewards do not flow automatically to your wallet; instead, you will have to claim them manually.
As the team did not have time yet to implement their own interface to claim the USDC, ATLAS, and Golden Ticket rewards, you will have to do this at the Buddy Link website for the time being.
An easy way to get to your rewards is by going to your profile on Star Atlas Play Portal, and clicking the “View my Link and Rewards”-button.
This will open the pane again, where you can copy your referral link. It also provides a button titled “View my rewards Dashboard”. Click this button to go to your rewards overview on the Buddy Link website.
Here you will have to connect your wallet again, to get access to your rewards:
On the Buddy Link website, you will find any pending rewards you can claim. Simply click the Claim button below the USDC or ATLAS rewards to claim them. There are three types of rewards that can be claimed:
- ATLAS
- USDC
- Golden Tickets
The Golden Tickets can be claimed using the “Claim all Rewards”-button.
Multiple Accounts
If you use multiple Solana accounts to trade on the marketplace, then a referral connection will be established for each one of them the moment you make a purchase (after having been referred).
