Network Builder: a prize for bringing in a receiver, not just a pilot

23 Sep 2026 · invites · tridents · cosmetics · achievements · feeders

The Wingman ladder pays for friends who actually fly. That already covers a lot of ground: catches, races, drops, three days airborne. But one friend counts more than the rest, and until now nothing said so out loud. If somebody you invited sets up their own ADS-B or AIS receiver and keeps it running, they aren't just playing. They're extending the network for everyone, including people neither of you have met.

A separate ladder for a rarer proof

Open /my/invites and, under the Wingman section, you'll now see Network Builder. It counts friends whose own receiver has fed the network on 7 of its first 14 days, the same measurable proof that already pays the "feeding" step to both of you. This ladder doesn't replace that payout. It sits on top of it, the same way Wingman sits on top of the "active" step.

Rung I alone pays more Tridents than Wingman's rung I, even though it needs only one friend. That's on purpose. Getting somebody to fly is common. Getting them to buy hardware, plug it in and keep it online for a week is not, and the reward reflects the difference.

The plate is yours, not theirs

The one prize on this ladder is a name-plate frame that colours your callsign above the map, in a shade nobody can buy in the Trident Exchange. It lands the moment your first feeder-recruit hits their 7 days, and it stays even if that friend's receiver later goes quiet. Tridents keep coming at rungs II and III without a second item, because the ladder itself is already rare enough to be its own bragging right.

Nothing about this changes how the base "feeding" reward works, and it doesn't touch the monthly Trident cap on referrals either. It runs through the same hourly sweep that already counts your Wingman rungs, on users.referralFeederAt, so if you've already brought in a feeder, the credit should show up on its own the next time the sweep runs.