# Consensus Protocol
Mysticeti introduces the concept of a proposer slot as a tuple (validator, round), which can either be empty or contain the validatorβs proposal for the respective round. Unlike Bullshark, which has a proposer slot every two rounds resulting in high latencies, Mysticeti addresses this by introducing multiple proposer slots with three states: to-commit, to-skip, and undecided for each round. The default state of proposer slots is undecided.
The end goal of Mysticeti is to mark all proposer slots as either to-commit or to-skip by detecting specific DAG patterns:
* Skip Pattern: The skip pattern is identified if for all proposals, we observe 2f+1 subsequent blocks that do not support it. The skip pattern, illustrated by Figure 2 (left), where at least 2π + 1 blocks at round π + 1 do not support a block (π΄, π, β).
* Certificate Pattern: The certificate pattern, illustrated by Figure 2 (right), where at least 2π +1 blocks at round π +1 support a block π΅ β‘ (π΄, π, β). We then say that π΅ is certified. Any subsequent block (illustrated at π + 2) that constrains in its history such a pattern is called a certificate for the block π΅.
---
# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:
```
GET https://scalaris.gitbook.io/scalaris/overview/mysticeti-enhanced-consensus-protocol-for-scalaris/consensus-protocol.md?ask=
```
The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.