How to invite a friend to an MMORPG: rewards, the ladder and Bonds of Brotherhood

An MMORPG is always more fun with a friend: someone to clear a dungeon with, someone to trust with healing on a boss, someone to argue about loot with. In Zarhold, a card MMORPG in your browser, bringing a friend now pays off too, thanks to the Invite a Friend programme. Your friend gets a portrait frame at once, you get Patron Marks and rewards of your choice, and in runs together you both earn +20% experience. Here is how to invite a friend, when they count and what to pick from the rewards.

How to invite a friend

The programme is the same on every platform — the website and browser game, VK Play, Yandex Games and Steam. There are three ways to invite someone:

1. A link. In the game, open More → Invite a friend (or the button on the Friends screen) and copy your link; on the website it is in your account. Your friend follows it and creates an account — the code is filled in automatically.
2. A code. Every player has a 6-character code — Latin letters and digits with no look-alikes (no 0, O, 1, I or L), easy to read out loud. Your friend enters it in the Invite a Friend window within their first 7 days of play.
3. The platform's button. On VK Play there is their Invite friends button. On Yandex Games and Steam it is code only.

A code can only be linked to a new account: within the first 7 days, while your friend has no hero above level 10 and no purchases. A friend has one inviter, forever, and you can't invite yourself or the player who invited you.

When a friend counts

Rewards aren't for logging in and out — they are for a friend who really plays. Both conditions are needed:

• any of their heroes has reached level 20;
• they have played on at least 5 different days.

Levelling up in a single evening won't do — the days matter too. A guest login doesn't count until your friend sets up a permanent one. What each friend still needs — for example "level 14 of 20 · days 3 of 5" — is shown on the Friends tab of the Invite a Friend window and in your account. Once your friend reaches the threshold, the count arrives by itself, with a letter to both of you.

What your friend gets

• The Sworn Brother portrait frame — as soon as the code is linked. It isn't sold anywhere.
• A Wanderer's Satchel with 20 slots — once they count.
• The title Sworn Brother of the Hall — when their hero reaches level 60.

What you get

• 50 Patron Marks for every friend who counts, and 50 more when they reach level 60.
• A step up the reward ladder. Tiers are at 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 counted friends. Each tier offers one reward of three: a look, a service or bags. Nothing repeats, and you can choose in the game or in your account — the reward never expires.
• The title Herald of Zarhold at tier "10" — for all your heroes.
• Looks you can't buy: at tiers 25 and 50 the options include the Herald of Zarhold frame, avatar and card back.
• The Herald badge — a golden horn by your name on the website and VK Play, showing how many friends you brought into the game.

Bonds of Brotherhood: +20% experience together

The most useful part of the programme is Bonds of Brotherhood. When you and your friend go on the same group run — a dungeon, a raid or a world boss — each of you earns +20% experience for the run and its bosses. The Bonds last while your friend has no level 60 hero, and they work as soon as the code is linked — no need to wait for the count. In the party window such heroes are marked "Bonds".

Loot and gold don't change, and solo fights in the world don't trigger the Bonds — only group runs do. That makes for a simple plan for two:

• early levels — quests and world fights, each at your own pace;
• the first dungeon opens at level 10 — queue up together, and world residents fill any empty seats;
• split the roles: one holds the enemy, the other heals or deals damage — how to build a party is covered in “Co-op MMORPG” and in the knowledge base: Group.

The Patron Shop: what to spend marks on

Patron Marks are spent in the Patron Shop, which you can also open from the Invite a Friend window. Marks buy looks and handy services: a hero slot, pouch +25, a hero bank key, a new hero look and Wanderer's Satchels. The shop sells no combat power, and marks can't be transferred or exchanged for gold.

Fair play: why a second account won't count

Rewards are for real friends, so counting is protected against cheating:

• if your device, internet address or network matches your friend's, the count doesn't arrive by itself — a Game Master reviews it ("under review"), and you both get a letter with the reason;
• more than 10 counts in a calendar month are reviewed too;
• while under review there are no Bonds;
• a second account, a farm or cheating won't count, and if abuse comes to light later the count is revoked and the marks for that friend are taken back.

Playing from the same home or dorm isn't against the rules: a Game Master looks at how your friend plays and decides. All the conditions in detail are on the Invite a Friend page and in the knowledge base: Invite a Friend: rewards, the ladder and Bonds of Brotherhood.

Invite a Friend FAQ

When does my friend count?

When any of their heroes reaches level 20 and they have played on at least 5 different days. The count arrives by itself, with a letter to both of you.

How long does my friend have to enter the code?

7 days from creating the account — and only while they have no hero above level 10 and no purchases. If your friend came through your link, there is no code to enter.

Do Bonds of Brotherhood give loot or gold?

No — only +20% experience for each of you in group runs: dungeons, raids and world bosses. Loot and gold stay the same.

What can I get for inviting friends?

Patron Marks (50 for every friend who counts and 50 more when they reach level 60), a reward on every ladder tier — a look, a service or bags of your choice — the title Herald of Zarhold and the Herald badge by your name. There is no money, gold or combat power for invitations.

Does it work on VK Play, Yandex Games and Steam?

Yes, the rules and rewards are the same everywhere. On VK Play you can use their Invite friends button; on Yandex Games and Steam it is code only. Steam has its own world, so a Steam code only works there.

Where do I play?

Right in your browser, no download: zarhold.com/play — on a computer or a phone. The beginner's guide shows where to start.