> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://esmp-fun.gitbook.io/plugins/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://esmp-fun.gitbook.io/plugins/mythic-trials/how-it-works.md).

# How progression works

This is the whole plugin in one page. Read it and the config files will make sense.

## The core loop

1. A player enters a registered Trial Chamber and fights through it.
2. When **every trial spawner in the chamber completes its wave in one run**, the chamber counts as *cleared* for everyone who took part.
3. Each participant's **personal tier for that chamber** goes up by one.
4. The next time they run that chamber, its mobs are **scaled to their tier** — more health, harder hits, more resistance.
5. Better loot waits at higher tiers (Mythic) and during seasons.

That's it. Harder runs, better rewards, repeat.

## Tiers

There are **25 tiers**, in two ranges:

* **Standard: T1 – T20.** The open climb. Every player starts every chamber at T1 and works up by clearing it.
* **Mythic: M1 – M5.** A prestige range above T20. Mythic is **opt-in per chamber** — it only unlocks where the server owner has configured custom loot for it (see [chambers.yml](/plugins/mythic-trials/chambers-yml.md)). On a chamber with no Mythic configuration, T20 is the ceiling.

Tiers are **per player, per chamber.** Your tier in `arena_a` is separate from your tier in `arena_b`, and from everyone else's tier anywhere. It's stored in the plugin's own database and survives restarts.

## What "cleared in one run" means

A clear is one continuous attempt. The chamber is cleared when all of its spawners finish a wave within the same reset cycle. If the chamber resets (via TCP's normal reset) before you finish every spawner, the run resets too — partial progress in a cycle doesn't bank a tier.

This is deliberate: it makes a clear feel like a real dungeon run, not a grind on a single spawner.

## Scaling

When a chamber mob spawns, it's scaled to the chamber's **effective tier** along several axes — not just bigger numbers, but more interesting fights:

| Axis                             | Effect                                                                                           |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Health                           | Bigger health pool                                                                               |
| Melee damage                     | Harder direct hits                                                                               |
| Spell damage                     | Harder projectile / fang / potion hits                                                           |
| Resistance                       | Takes less incoming damage                                                                       |
| Speed                            | Moves slightly faster                                                                            |
| Armor & toughness                | Wears stronger armor against your hits                                                           |
| Knockback resistance             | Harder to peel off you with a sword swing                                                        |
| Aggro range                      | Spots you from farther away                                                                      |
| Physical size                    | Visibly larger (a built-in tier telegraph)                                                       |
| Knockback dealt                  | Shoves you harder — straight into chamber hazards                                                |
| Absorption shield                | A buffer of yellow hearts above its health                                                       |
| Gear, on-hit effects, swarm size | Higher tiers also wear stronger gear, inflict status effects on hit, and spawn more mobs at once |

Everything is configured in [tiers.yml](/plugins/mythic-trials/tiers-yml.md). Five guardrails are always enforced and can't be turned into something unfair:

* **No one-shots** — a single hit can never take more than a configured fraction of a player's max health (default 75%).
* **No immunity** — resistance is hard-capped (default 65%).
* **No un-outrunnable mobs** — speed is hard-capped (default ×1.5).
* **No giant clipping** — size is capped (default ×3.0).
* **No infinite shields** — absorption hearts are capped per mob (default 40).

## Party resolution

When several players are inside a chamber together, whose tier do the mobs scale to? You choose — `lowest` (default), `highest`, `host`, or `average` — in [tiers.yml](/plugins/mythic-trials/tiers-yml.md#party-resolution), which describes each strategy in full.

## Rewards

Clearing a chamber pays out (all configurable in [rewards.yml](/plugins/mythic-trials/rewards-yml.md)), scaled by the tier you cleared at:

* **XP** — bonus experience.
* **Currency** — a Vault economy deposit.
* **Legendary key** — a chance-rolled crate key (needs Vault Crates), gated by a minimum tier.
* **Leaderboard** — a record in the season completion log.

Rewards are based on the tier you *cleared at* (before the bump) — the difficulty you actually beat — and pay out even once you're maxed.

## Seasons

A season is a date-windowed overlay (see [seasons.yml](/plugins/mythic-trials/seasons-yml.md)) that can swap loot tables, add a flat tier bonus to scaling, and drop limited- time crate keys. Seasons resolve by date automatically; an admin can force one active early for an event with `/tcpmt season set <id>`.

***

Next: [**config.yml →**](/plugins/mythic-trials/config-yml.md)