Tier
Tier is a key concept to understand when it comes to Second Life land ownership. There's common confusion about what "tier" means and what it's all about, so hopefully this page will help you straighten it out.
Important: These are the simplified basics. There are exceptions, be sure to see below. |
In general usage, "tier" can mean a "rank".
In Second Life:
- "Tier" specifically refers to the amount of land you can own on the Second Life mainland.
- Tier is not the land use fees by itself. But Land Use Fees, shown in Your Account, are tied to tier.
- Tier is not the land itself. It's the potential to own land. Think of it like the size of a gas tank. Buying land "fills the gas tank". If you have a "4,096m2" tier, then you can own any combination of land parcels up to a total of 4,096m2. So for example, owning a 1,024m2 parcel + another 3,072m2 parcel = 4,096m2 which completely fills your tier.
- If you need more land, you need to upgrade. By upgrading to a higher tier, you also increase your land use fees, but you also get a bigger "gas tank".
- When purchasing a land parcel, you're notified if buying it will increase your tier.
- Tiers don't have formal ranking names aside from the m2 of land you can hold. But to have a tier, you need to have a Premium account.
Since a Premium account includes a 512m2, does that mean it also comes with free land?
With the introduction of Linden Homes, yes, but you need to choose that land. (Previously, the answer was no: you had to buy the land separately.)
Exceptions
- As explained in the different levels of account membership, you can own a private estate, yet not have a mainland tier.
- Group land gets a 10% bonus tier. This is understandably confusing at first.
- Some Resident-owned private estates may have own, different tier systems which are not part of Linden Lab's Land Use Fees. Resident estate owners may adopt similar ideas to Linden Lab's system, but ultimately, if you're renting land from them, you need to contact them (or another appropriate Resident) for help.