Streak, Shields & Lapses
This is the core mechanic of Locked In. Everything — the flame, the leaderboard, your yield — hangs off these three numbers.
Streak
Your streak is the count of consecutive lesson-days: UTC days on which you passed at least one lesson you hadn’t passed before.
- Pass a new lesson today (UTC) → streak +1 for that day.
- Extra lessons the same day are great for finishing faster, but the streak counts days, not lessons.
Shields
Shields are your safety net. They absorb missed days so that real life doesn’t destroy your progress.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Shields held | 3 |
| Earning rate | +1 Shield per 3 consecutive lesson-days |
| Miss a day with a Shield | Shield burns, streak pauses — no reset, no Lapse |
| Can you buy Shields? | No. Shields are only earned by learning |
“Pauses” means exactly that: a 12-day streak that hits a shielded miss stays a 12-day streak, and continues to 13 when you return.
Lapses
A Lapse is what happens when you miss a day with no Shields left:
- Your streak resets to 0.
- Your Lapse count goes up by 1 — permanently, for this course.
- Your yield share drops (see the table below).
Two rules soften this:
- Consecutive missed days merge into one Lapse. If you disappear for a week with no Shields, that’s one Lapse, not seven. The Lapse “closes” when you come back and pass a lesson; only a later, separate absence can open a new one.
- Lapses stop mattering at 2. The count is capped — after two Lapses your yield share is already 0% and can’t go lower. Your principal is untouchable regardless.
What Lapses cost you
| Lapses | Yield you keep at claim | Where the rest goes |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 100% | — |
| 1 | 50% | Community Pot |
| 2+ | 0% | Community Pot |
Your principal is never touched. The worst case, ever, is receiving exactly what you deposited (subject to strategy risk) with zero yield. Locked In never takes principal as a penalty.
Who judges a missed day
A daily sweep runs shortly after 00:30 UTC and evaluates the previous day for every active lock: lesson-day, shielded miss, or Lapse. The current UTC day is never judged early — you have until midnight UTC, always.
Completion freezes everything
The moment you complete a course, its streak/Shield/Lapse state is frozen. A completed course can never gain a Lapse — your earned yield share is safe even if you take a long break before claiming.