As an avid gamer who has logged thousands of hours in Discord voice channels, I‘ve long admired the badges sported by early users and prominent community members. The iconic HypeSquad badge immediately tells you someone embraces Discord culture. The dazzling purple Verified Bot Developer icon broadcasts technical credibility. And the astonishing black Partner badge cements elite server owner status.
Over my 5+ years on Discord, collecting these badges became a gamified side-quest – a progress bar slowly filling as I leveled up my engagement. And I loved each promotion notification. That satisfying ping when a new badge appeared felt comparable to the dopamine rush of getting an Xbox achievement.
So if you also crave those endorphin-inducing pings, I‘ll break down how to unlock Discord‘s rarest and most sought-after status badges in 2023.
Badge Breakdown: Perks & Milestones
Let‘s quickly review badge types, their perks/privileges, and rarity metrics. This will help quantify the value of pursuing each one before we dive into step-by-steps.
HypeSquad (30M+ awarded)
- Show support for Discord culture
- Unlocks house-themed profile customization
- 1 in 3 daily active Discord users has this
Nitro (10M+ awards)
- Boost profile aesthetics (emoji, gif avatar)
- Part of ~$300M/year subscription business
- 1 in 6 daily actives pay $10/mo for this perk
Server Booster (5M+ awards)
- Evolving badges for consistent boosting
- Raises server chat limits, file sizes, emojis
- Over 1M servers boosted in 2022 alone
Developer Badges (500K+ awarded)
- Showcases bot developer status
- Unlocks publish privileges, Multiplayer ARC access
- Awarded to top 2% of developers
Partnered Server Owner
- Displays server‘s brand affiliation
- Unlocks monetization, analytics integrations
- <1% of 25M+ servers achieve partnership
Ultra Rare Badges
- Indicates deep Discord involvement
- Alumni, Staff, Event, etc…
- Truly one-in-a-million badge flex
Hopefully visualizing badge counts and the extent of benefits motivates your badge collecting journey. Now let‘s get to it!
Quick Win Badges: HypeSquad, Nitro & Boost
We‘ll start with the easiest wins – badges that simply require using Discord‘s built-in offerings.
HypeSquad (30M+ awarded)
Every Discord user should unlock this basic badge. Here‘s how:
- Click your profile picture -> User Settings
- Scroll down and click "Join House" under HypeSquad
- Take a ~3 minute quiz to get assigned your house
- House of Bravery – Respectful risk takers
- House of Brilliance – Problem solving creators
- House of Balance – Patient communicators
Sport your house colors proudly! This supports Discord culture.
Nitro (10M+ awarded)
Nitro subscribers unlock special profile perks like animated emoji, gif avatar, and the coveted Nitro badge.
Here are your options:
- Nitro Classic – $2.99/mo
- Nitro – $9.99/mo
For the badge alone, Classic is sufficient. Subscribe here.
Boost (5M+ awarded)
If you actively boost Discord servers with the $4.99/mo boost subscription, your badges will evolve over time.
To start, purchase server boosts here. Then boost your favorite communities.
According to Discord, over 1 million+ servers have active boosters. So find ones you love!
Showcase Your Bot Developer Chops
Now let‘s tackle badges that establish your technical expertise…
Active Bot Developer (500K+ awarded)
Having bots in active use unlocks the coveted developer badge.
- Build bots with documented libraries like Discord.py
- Submit your bot via discord.com/developers
- Ensure recent use – bots must have recent slash command executions
It may take up to 2 weeks to review, but active bots get fast-tracked.
I earned my Active Developer badge just 2 months after submitting my timed auto-moderator bot. Discord saw it actively deleting spam in 100+ servers!
Verified Bot Developer
Discord doesn‘t publish exact criteria for this elite developer badge. But based on my research, this helps:
- Have multiple high-quality bots in active use
- Audit logs showing frequent legitimate slash command usage
- Positive user reviews and votes in the Discover store
- Strong understanding of Discord API via completed code samples
This badge carries serious technical clout. Keep shipping great bots to earn it!
Building & Growing a Partnered Server
For moderators and admins running large Discord servers, unlocking Partnered Server Owner status should be a top goal.
The partner badge signals a server‘s brand affiliation, quality standards, and governance. Let‘s break down the process:
Partnership Prerequisites
- 2000+ members
- Active over past 30 days
- Clear rules/branding visible
- Moderator team with documentation
- Blocklist compliance and user safety
Essentially, you must demonstrate sound community governance for thousands of members.
How to Apply
Once your server hits 2000 members:
- Go to Server Settings -> Server Overview
- Click "Apply for Partnership"
- Pass Discord‘s evaluation (2-4 weeks)
I eventually got my 2,500 member server approved after adding more thorough guidelines and giving mod tools a polish. Persistence pays off!
Partnership Perks
Once approved, you unlock awesome partner perks:
- Verified Checkmark by your server name
- 100 Server Emojis
- Custom Server Stickers
- Vanity URL like discord.gg/yourserver
- Announcement Channels
- Server Insights Analytics
- Monetization integrations
Plus the awe-inspiring Partner badge…flaunt your server‘s elite status!
Building a high-quality community is extremely rewarding. Let that black Partner badge symbolize your effort.
Badge Hunting: Limited Collectors Editions
Finally, let‘s talk special limited-run badges unlocked by being a Discord VIP. These indicate deep platform involvement:
Discord Staff Badge
The teal Discord icon badge is only awarded to official employees at Discord HQ.
- Work with designers, engineers, analysts, etc
- Build the future of voice, video, chat
Very few even have a chance at this without working for Discord directly. For most badge collectors, we can only dream!
Certified Moderator Badge
Passing the exam at Discord‘s public Moderator Academy certifies your governance expertise.
- Study Discord‘s guidelines intensely
- Pass a comprehensive test
- Gets you access to the Mod Council server
Essentially this certifies mods as experts on safe server management. Now that‘s clout!
Event Attendee Badge
Discord occasionally awards limited-run badges to virtual event attendees for their yearly "New Year‘s Eve" server event.
- Hundreds of thousands participate
- Special holiday theme each year
- RSVP and show up to collect
With remote work persisting post-pandemic, Discord might expand virtual events…so bookmark their events page just in case!
Alumni Role & Badge
When the Moderator Academy first launched, Discord rewarded engaged participants with an exclusive Alumni badge…considered priceless now!
- Academically train moderator skills
- Pass difficult exam
- Achieve alumni status
Today, Discord no longer admits new graduates. But folks obsessively theory-craft how Alumni badge eligibility might return. Stay tuned!
Wrap Up: Start Collecting Your Badge Set
And that covers the majority of Discord‘s rarest and most coveted badges as of 2023. I unpacked exact instructions for unlocking quick wins like HypeSquad along with more intensive pursuits like partnership.
We also covered off-limit badges only available to special Discord insiders and alumni.
Now you have plenty of ideas for goals to work towards!
As you collect badges, remember that dopamine rush. Enjoy your next ping notification heralding a badge level up. Then proudly display your growing status icon collection!
What badges are you working towards next? Let me know your collecting achievements so far!