This was taken directly from the Earth 2 site.
Summary
Earth 2’s Essence Distribution Commitment is the promise and disclosure of the minimum number of Essence original Tier 1 Property Owners are entitled to. With this commitment, all tiles on Earth 2 have been split into 2 tiers. The distinction between Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 tiles will dictate their function in all future in-game and metaverse activities. Fundamentally, Tier 1 tiles have significantly more benefits than Tier 2 tiles, so it is extremely important to understand the differences and how these will affect your Earth 2 experience as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Property Owner.
Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Tiles:
1. Buying Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Tiles:
As of now, all player-owned properties will be classified by Earth 2 as Tier 1, and all unclaimed land on Earth 2 will be classified as Tier 2. With this change, only Tier 2 tiles will be available for purchase from Earth 2 and their prices will restart at E$0.10, increasing in value as more tiles are bought. Tier 2 tiles can also be traded in the Marketplace while Tier 1 tiles are acquired either by purchasing from a Tier 1 property owner or upgrading from Tier 2 tiles. However, original Tier 1 tiles assigned by Earth 2 are only obtainable through player-to-player trading with an original Tier 1 Property Owner. Only these original Tier 1 properties will have the promise of Essence from Earth 2. A player may upgrade their Tier 2 property to a Tier 1 property at any time. However, the cost of upgrading will vary as the Price-Per-Tile value of Tier 1 land tiles are dynamic and will continue to increase.
To protect all original Tier 1 Property Owners who currently have listings on the Marketplace, a freeze on the Earth 2 Marketplace until Dec 14 inclusive will be implemented. With the Essence promised to all original Tier 1 properties, as well as the additional bonuses tied to those properties, the current Marketplace prices are no longer accurate reflections of the value of these properties. The freeze will give new Tier 1 Property Owners ample opportunity to withdraw their properties from sale. This is highly recommended by Earth 2.
2. Functions of Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Tiles:
Tier 1 and Tier 2 tiles are further differentiated by their functions. Most significantly, Tier 1 tiles have guaranteed Ether to Essence conversion and Essence generation while for Tier 2, the conversion and generation is unpredictable. In addition to guaranteed Essence generation, Tier 1 tiles have other generative abilities that Tier 2 tiles do not. In the future, Tier 1 Property Owners will have full access to discoverable resources while for Tier 2 tiles, access would be restricted. Resource saturation for Tier 1 is also boosted compared to the standard saturation for Tier 2. Tier 1 tiles will also continue to generate LIT (Land Income Tax / Period Bonus) and have the ability to assign EPLs while Tier 2 tiles will not. Tier 1 tiles will retain their land classes under Tier 1, while Tier 2 tiles will be labelled generally and no longer be distinguished by classes.
3. Additional Benefits of Owning Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Tiles:
Along with the functional superiority of Tier 1 tiles, Tier 1 Property Owners will enjoy 7.5% referral code bonus with their unique and customisable referral codes. Tier 2 Property Owners will continue to receive 5% from their randomised referral codes. Finally, both Tier 1 and Tier 2 tiles will grant players access to the Earth 2 EcoSim, though there will be a building cap for Tier 2 tiles. Tier 1 Property Owners will be able to enjoy further benefits in-game and in the metaverse as Earth 2 plans to progressively release more bonuses for the future.
Essence Distribution Commitment:
Upon publication of the Essence Distribution Commitment, Tier 1 Property Owners will immediately receive 20% of their total promised Essence. They will be able to view this amount as well as the total Essence Awaiting Claim in their player profile. Only those Tier 1 properties automatically upgraded by Earth 2 upon publication of the Essence Distribution Commitment will receive this exclusive promise of Essence. Tier 1 properties manually upgraded from Tier 2 properties after this date will retain all other benefits, except for the promise of Essence which is a special gift to our early adopters.
These Tier 1 Property Owners can view the Essence Awaiting Claim balance for each individual Tier 1 property in their portfolio. The promise of Essence to a Tier 1 Property Owner is only valid for as long as they own at least 1 Tier 1 tile. If a Tier 1 property or tile is sold to another player, all benefits and promised Essence tied to the property/tile sold will transfer over to the new owner (not including Essence already claimed). Note that the amount of promised Essence will not regenerate upon transfer of ownership and only the amount of unclaimed Essence/ Essence Awaiting Claim will be transferred. If a Tier 1 property/tile no longer has any Essence Awaiting Claim, only those other Tier 1 bonuses and benefits will be transferred.
Helpful Definitions:
Essence Awaiting Claim: The Essence promised by Earth 2 to a Tier 1 property. The Essence Awaiting Claim value will decrease as players collect their claimable Essence. E.g. a Tier 1 Property Owner has 1,234 Essence Awaiting Claim. They collect Ether which transforms into 12 Essence. The Essence Awaiting Claim value will automatically update to 1,222.
Essence Distribution Commitment: Earth 2’s guaranteed promise to give a minimum allocated amount of Essence to a Tier 1 Property Owner. This offer is valid only for as long as the player owns the Tier 1 property the promised Essence is tied to.
Tier 1 (original): Tiles owned before the publication of the Essence Distribution Commitment. See Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Overview Table.
Tier 1: Tiles upgraded from Tier 2 tiles. See Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Overview Table.
Tier 1 Property Owner: All benefits of Tier 1 properties are tied to the tiles themselves, not the player. In order to retain Tier 1 privileges and bonuses, a player must be the owner of at least 1 Tier 1 tile.
Tier 2: All tiles purchased or available for purchase after the publication of Earth 2’s Essence Distribution Commitment. See Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Overview Table.
