Solana Attack Flow & Transaction Costs

When you attack a Solana Sentinel, your wallet shows a transaction that looks more expensive than the listed attack fee. This page explains every line item: what it is, where it goes, and what comes back to you.

The Two-Transaction Flow

Attacking on Solana is a two-step on-chain process, unlike the single transaction on Sui.

Step 1 — Request Attack

Pays the attack fee, creates your attack ticket on-chain, and reserves your spot in line. This is what your wallet asks you to approve.

Step 2 — Consume Prompt

Submits the TEE-verified result on-chain. If you won, the prize pool transfers to you here. The attack ticket is closed and its rent is returned.

Step 2 happens automatically after the TEE processes your message. You do not need to sign a second transaction manually.

What Your Wallet Shows (and Why)

When you confirm Step 1, the wallet simulator breaks down every account balance change. Here is what each line means:

Example: Attacking a 0.001 SOL Sentinel

Wallet confirmation dialog
───────────────────────────────────────
- 0.00268 SOL  (total leaving your wallet)
+ 0.0001 SOL   (wrapped SOL staying in your token account)

Line items:
  Compute Budget     0.00008 SOL   network fee
  Transfer SOL       0.00111 SOL   wrapping SOL for the attack payment
  Program (sentinel) ─              attack fee deducted from your wrapped SOL
  Attack PDA         0.00157 SOL   temporary rent deposit

It looks like you’re spending 0.00268 SOL for a 0.001 SOL attack. You’re not. Read on.

Cost Breakdown

Item	Amount	What it is	Returned?
Attack fee	~0.001 SOL	The fee set by the defender, split between prize pool, defender, and protocol	No (this is the cost of attacking)
Network fee	~0.00008 SOL	Solana transaction fee	No
WSOL buffer	+10% of fee	Extra SOL wrapped to cover dynamic fee changes	Yes, leftover comes back instantly
Attack PDA rent	~0.00157 SOL	Rent to store your attack ticket on-chain	Yes, returned to you in Step 2

Your actual net cost per attack

Attack fee:    0.001   SOL   (goes to prize pool / defender / protocol)
Network fees:  0.00016 SOL   (two txns × ~0.00008 SOL)
─────────────────────────────
Total net:    ~0.00116 SOL

The Attack PDA rent (~0.00157 SOL) is fully returned when the result is settled on-chain. It is a deposit, not a fee.

Why Solana Needs to Wrap SOL

Solana’s token program does not work with native SOL directly. It requires Wrapped SOL (WSOL), which is SOL converted into a token-account balance so it can be transferred via SPL token instructions. The flow for each attack:

You approve the transaction
SOL is transferred into your Wrapped SOL account (WSOL ATA)
The attack fee is deducted from that WSOL account
Leftover WSOL (the 10% buffer) is converted back to native SOL immediately

You never hold WSOL long-term. The conversion is atomic within the same transaction.

Dynamic Pricing

The attack fee is not always exactly what the defender set. The protocol applies a small multiplier that increases slightly with each attack a Sentinel receives:

effective_fee = base_fee × (1 + attack_count × 0.01)

Examples for a 0.001 SOL base fee:
  First attack:    0.00100 SOL   (0 previous attacks)
  After 10 attacks: 0.00110 SOL  (+10%)
  After 50 attacks: 0.00150 SOL  (+50%)
  Maximum (3×):    0.00300 SOL   (caps at 3×)

This is why the platform wraps 10% more SOL than the displayed fee, to guarantee the transaction succeeds even if the on-chain price ticked up between when you loaded the page and when your transaction landed. Any SOL that was not consumed by the fee is returned to your wallet in the same transaction.

What the Fee Is Split Into

Once the effective fee leaves your account, the smart contract splits it automatically:

Share	Recipient	Amount (0.001 SOL example)
50%	Agent vault (prize pool)	0.0005 SOL
40%	Defender’s fee account	0.0004 SOL
10%	Protocol wallet	0.0001 SOL

The prize pool share compounds with every failed attack, making the Sentinel worth more to defeat.

Full Transaction Lifecycle

You click "Send Message"
        │
        ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│  Step 1: Request Attack      │
│                              │
│  • Wrap SOL → WSOL          │
│  • Deduct attack fee         │
│    ├─ 50% → prize pool      │
│    ├─ 40% → defender        │
│    └─ 10% → protocol        │
│  • Create Attack PDA         │
│    (your receipt on-chain)   │
│  • Return leftover WSOL      │
└─────────────────────────────┘
        │
        ▼
   TEE processes your
   message (~15 seconds)
        │
        ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│  Step 2: Consume Prompt      │
│  (automatic, no approval)    │
│                              │
│  If you won:                 │
│  • Prize pool → your wallet  │
│  • Sentinel marked defeated  │
│                              │
│  Either way:                 │
│  • Attack PDA closed         │
│  • Rent returned to you      │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my wallet show more SOL leaving than the attack fee?

Three things are included in Step 1: the actual attack fee, the WSOL wrapping buffer (returned immediately), and the Attack PDA rent deposit (returned after Step 2). Only the attack fee and network charges are permanent costs. Everything else comes back.

What is the +0.0001 SOL I see in the wallet confirmation?

That is the leftover from the 10% buffer after the actual dynamic fee is deducted. It is converted back to native SOL in the same transaction and stays in your wallet. You are not losing it.

What is the Attack PDA rent and why do I pay it?

Solana charges a small rent deposit (~0.00157 SOL) to store data on-chain. Your attack ticket (the Attack PDA) records your wallet, the agent you’re attacking, and your payment. This ensures the result is tied to you on-chain and cannot be tampered with. The deposit is returned to your wallet automatically when the attack is settled in Step 2.

What are Compute Budget instructions?

These are Solana’s mechanism for setting transaction priority. Wallets like Phantom add them automatically to ensure your transaction lands quickly. They account for a small portion of the network fee (~0.00008 SOL total) and are standard on Solana.

Why does the first-ever attack on a Sentinel cost more?

The very first attack on mainnet may include a one-time token account creation for the protocol wallet (~0.002 SOL). This only ever happens once per token type and is paid for by the first attacker. All subsequent attackers do not see this charge.

What happens if the TEE fails or times out?

If the TEE cannot process your message, the attack ticket remains open on-chain. You can retry; the ticket is reusable. Your attack fee has already been paid, but you will not be double-charged for the same ticket.

Quick Reference

What you see in wallet	What it actually is	Returned?
`-0.00268 SOL` (example)	Fee + buffer + PDA rent	Partially
`+0.0001 SOL`	Unused buffer, back in your wallet	Already returned
`Attack PDA rent`	On-chain storage deposit	Yes, in Step 2
`Compute Budget`	Priority fee set by your wallet	No (tiny)
Network fee	Solana validator fee	No

Bottom line: for a 0.001 SOL Sentinel, your true cost is ~0.00116 SOL per attack attempt.

Introduction

How It Works

Guides

Rewards & Tokenomics

Concepts

Technical Reference

Solana Attack Flow & Transaction Costs

The Two-Transaction Flow

Step 1 — Request Attack

Step 2 — Consume Prompt

What Your Wallet Shows (and Why)

Example: Attacking a 0.001 SOL Sentinel

Cost Breakdown

Your actual net cost per attack

Why Solana Needs to Wrap SOL

Dynamic Pricing

What the Fee Is Split Into

Full Transaction Lifecycle

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Reference

​The Two-Transaction Flow

Step 1 — Request Attack

Step 2 — Consume Prompt

​What Your Wallet Shows (and Why)

​Example: Attacking a 0.001 SOL Sentinel

​Cost Breakdown

​Your actual net cost per attack

​Why Solana Needs to Wrap SOL

​Dynamic Pricing

​What the Fee Is Split Into

​Full Transaction Lifecycle

​Frequently Asked Questions

​Quick Reference

The Two-Transaction Flow

What Your Wallet Shows (and Why)

Example: Attacking a 0.001 SOL Sentinel

Cost Breakdown

Your actual net cost per attack

Why Solana Needs to Wrap SOL

Dynamic Pricing

What the Fee Is Split Into

Full Transaction Lifecycle

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Reference