In 2021, there was a surge of interest in metaverse land. Some were bewildered by the concept, others grasped the opportunity to hoover up every digital corner plot in the hopes of being a land baron. What bothered me back then was how many games were adding land as a mere afterthought; another FOMO lighthouse acting as a beacon for the ravenous masses. In contrast, this made games like Alien Worlds, which integrated land as a fundamental part of both its ecosystem and its economy, all the more noteworthy.

With Alien Worlds’ latest update to land boosting, I thought it was high time to unpack how land boosting works and what the latest additions of MEGA and SUPER boost NFTs bring to the table.

What Is Land Boosting?

Land boosting is a central mechanism for landowners and miners alike. Each land plot in Alien Worlds has 15 boost slots, one available immediately by default, and then a further 14 unlockable with Trilium. Each land plot has an innate rating based on its rarity and location, and the higher the rating, the more Trilium can potentially be mined by explorers and earned by the owner, although the timing of the mine across the day and competition matter too. This rating can be increased with the boosts.

Boosts can be applied by the land’s owner or explorers and each boost lasts 72 hours before it expires, and the rating reverts. Without land being boosted, its rating will decay, so it’s crucial to keep land boosted. Boosts come in a variety of sizes, from Small (a 0.03% increase) to High (a 0.21% increase), with several in between. Landowners can set the minimum boost strength they allow explorers to plug in, so you can’t troll a rival landowner’s plot by applying 15 Small boosts!

What are the Benefits of Land Boosting for Owners and Explorers?

Trilium, Trilium, Trilium. If you’re a landowner, the higher the rating your land is boosted to, and the more Trilium it is possible to earn from mining that occurs on the plot, which in turn, increases the commissions earned by the owner. Additionally, landowners now earn extra Daily Trilium Allocation (DTAL), and the higher the rating, the larger the share. DTAL is calculated by taking the Land Rating (LR), dividing it by the Total Sum of Land Ratings (TSLR), and then multiplying that number by the Total in Landowners Fund (TFL). That is, (LR/TSLR) * TLF. So, lands are competing against other lands and those with higher ratings do better.

Then, needless to say, higher-rated land plots are worth more, should you want to depart from the constant fear of volcanic activity in Magor in favor of spending your twilight years on a private island in Veles.

Explorers can also boost land they do not own, which may seem unusual, but it’s essential for several reasons. Firstly, if you have a favorite mining spot, it helps keep the mines nice and juicy. But moreover, it cultivates community. Seeing explorers (and even landowners) banding together to keep the best plots fully boosted warms the cockles, for some reason.

What Are MEGA and SUPER Land Boosts?

The latest addition to land boosting is significant: High is no longer the strongest boost. While the ordinary boosts offer incremental gains, MEGA and SUPER boosts can send the plot parabolic, and these boosts are permanent.

On the AtomicHub marketplace, regular auctions will be taking place for these new boosts. For the MEGA Boost NFTs, a daily auction will be held, and for the SUPER Boost NFT, a weekly auction will be held. There will be no mint cap for either boost and these auctions will daisy-chain for the foreseeable future. So, what do they do?

Well, neither boost offers a set % increase. Instead, they are dynamic and heavy-duty! Once you win a daily auction for a MEGA Boost NFT, you will find it in the land management tab of your inventory. Once activated, it can never be used again, and the land you chose to boost will have its rating increased to the average rating across all land in Alien Worlds.

As for SUPER Boost NFTs, you’ll first need to win a weekly auction, then follow the same steps of permanently activating it on the land plot you choose. SUPER boosts are the most powerful in the game and raise the land’s rating to the median point between its previous rating and the top-rated land in all of Alien Worlds.

To give you a sense of how impactful these boosts are, let’s look at the ordinary boosts. If you have land with the default 100 rating, even the High boost of 0.21% is a new rating of 100.2. If you bought all 15 boost slots for a land with a 100 rating and filled all 15 with High boosts, the land would go from 100 to 103.2. If you applied a SUPER boost to that same land, at the time of writing this, I estimate that your 100-rated land would rise to a rating of 23,811.5! This is the median point between the land’s original rating of 100, and Alien World’s top-rated land, which at the time of writing this, is 47,523. There will be a lot of competition to win a weekly auction for a SUPER boost, but if you do, the value added to the land is extraordinary.

It is worth noting that while the MEGA and SUPER Boost NFTs offer permanent rating increases to land, the amount of DTAL earned will decay unless the original 72-hour boosts are still added and maintained.

Final Thoughts

Land has become a central part of the Alien Worlds metaverse for so many reasons, such as community and competition, and the new MEGA and SUPER boosts double down on those areas. Like most facets of Alien Worlds, boosts are careful and considered so as to not cause large swings in results. Well, that’s somewhat out the window with MEGA and SUPER land boosts and I’m all for the madness. Landowners about to pop a SUPER boost, for example, should let the community know so all of us explorers can flock to it, picks and drills at the ready.

If you want to continue your Alien Worlds rise to dominance, check out our article, 3 Strategies to Master the Rarity Pools Update in Alien Worlds!