If you do put some money into the game to help you get started, Upland will give you an additional 50% bonus on your purchase – only if you signed up with a referral link. This bonus is applicable for $5 – $100 UPX purchase. For example, if your first in game purchase is $50, you will receive $75 worth of UPX. If you aren’t interested in spending money that is OK as well, but know that by deciding to hold off on spending money, the 50% bonus is valid for your first purchase, and it must be done before you become an Uplander. You will still want to have a strategy before starting (see mistake #10)

By not spending $5 (the minimum amount of money you can put into the game) you remain a visitor. As a visitor you are unable to sell a property until you reach uplander status (net worth of 10,000 UPX ($10). You are gifted a 4,500 UPX to start and you get some bonuses along the way, but not enough to immediately level up. You can put the time in to collect daily login bonuses and complete starter missions to obtain Uplander status. Read here to find all the ways of reaching Uplander status.

Be extra careful when listing properties. People have created bots to look for under priced properties. Always always always double check each digit before listing your property. If your property sells within 30 seconds, you have probably made one of the following mistakes:

  • You forgot a zero in your price. This means you listed it for sale 10X less than what you intended
  • You did not realize your property is a valuable collection property. See this page to double check if your property is part of a collection.
  • You listed the sale price thinking it was in USD but listed in UPX. Below you can see in the leftmost picture you are given the option to the list the property for UPX or USD. If you choose UPX, you are taken to the middle picture. The price you input is in UPX only. The two check boxes below the price are if you are accepting offers on the property. By unchecking the UPX button it does not mean you want to sell for USD. To sell for USD, you should see the 3rd picture, as you can clearly see the offer type in USD, and the value includes the ‘$’ sign. Read more here about how to sign up to sell properties for USD.
Initial sale options
Sell for UPX option
Sell for USD option

3. Starting in the wrong city

Many cities are sold out of properties, or are all out of affordable properties for new players. Make sure to head into Upland’s discord server to ask where to get started. The game is dynamic, so the answer to this question can change on a day to day basis. Watch this quick video to help you narrow down the city you should start in.

3A. Trying to mint a property that is not available

Many people have found properties in cities that appear to be available to mint. In a city like Manhattan, where it has been sold out for months, finding an available property is too good to be true. If you click the property and see under the address “This property is not available”, it means just that. Don’t waste a visit trying to mint it, its not available.

4. Not setting maximum visitor fees

This is a critical mistake if you insist on not investing money to become an Uplander. As a visitor, when you ask people to visit your profile, where the entire goal is to earn as much UPX per visit to help you reach Uplander status, you should set the fees to the maximum.

5. Not understanding the numbers

It can be tempting to jump right in and buy your first few properties. Understand what you are buying. Don’t be fooled by the size of the property. Not all properties of the same size are equal! Read about understanding the property card here.

6. Not taking advantage of FSA properties

FSA stands for Fair Start Act. This allows new players (Visitors and Uplanders who have less than 100,000 UPX net worth) exclusivity on minting certain properties. These properties are typically more affordable, and can be found in almost all neighborhoods! You can find excellent properties if you take part in the release of a new city. Read more about FSA properties here. FSA properties are great for players looking to begin playing upland without investing a lot of money. If you are looking to invest, know that there are restrictions (see number 7 below) and you really won’t be missing out on much by starting out with an initial investment of $100 or more)

7. Not knowing about the FSA restrictions

You may only sell (and list for sale) 2 FSA properties per calendar week (resets on 12AM Monday UST). You can only mint 3 FSA properties each day. If you are unable to sell a property for a very large markup, being stuck trying to flip FSA properties can be a very slow process for growing your net worth. It is recommended to not only purchase FSA properties. Read more about FSA properties and all the restrictions here.

8. Treasure hunting

It might be tempting to try out all the features the game has to offer. For new players, beyond completing the treasure hunting mission, avoid treasure hunts. They require searching the city by use of sends (and paying visitor fees) in the hopes of finding a treasure of more UPX. Sending your block explorer to your own property is free of charge, so treasure hunts typically favor players who have many properties scattered around a city. Learning about treasure hunting is important and it is a great way to find spark. Its important to read this page before beginning to hunt.

9. Not being a part of the amazing Upland community

Join our own Upland Guide Discord Server, and Upland’s Official server. Meet new people, have fun, and help grow the metaverse!

10. Spending $5 to get started without thinking long term

If you did use the referral code, spend some time thinking about how you want to play this game. $5 is a great way to get started, but you might soon realize that it is still difficult to grow with only a handful of properties. By making that $5 purchase, you miss out on an opportunity to gain a 50% bonus on a larger sum of money. The best starter value is to spend $50 as your first purchase. This will give you 75,000 UPX and a lot more room to purchase a more well rounded profile, while still enabling you to benefit from the ability to purchase FSA properties. In addition, if you use the referral code above AND spend $50 or more, you are entitled to another bonus from the Upland Guide! Read more about that bonus here. Note that in order to be eligible for these benefits, in addition to using our referral code, you must make your UPX purchase as a visitor before becoming an Uplander.

Click here to read about the top mistakes to avoid when participating in a new city release.

Good luck in the Metaverse!