Linden Lab has just announced that it is lowering the tier by $30 a month for homesteads and $100 a month for full regions… but…

Yes there is a but.

In stead of lowering the general tier they are offering you the chance to “buy down” your region and/or homestead of a one time fee of $600 and thus turn it into a ‘grandfathered’ sim.

So you’ll get a discount but you have to buy the right to get this discount.

First things first, it is great that LL keeps hammering away at the tier, they know it is too high and are clearly looking into ways of lowering it as much as they can.

Which must be scary and difficult as it is of course their main source of income and they need every penny they get to not just pay for the electricity and virtual schnaps bill, but also for the development of Project Sansar.

Last November they already lowered the set-up fees by 40% so they are on the right path.

Having said that, $600 is a lot of money.

Grandfathered regions have a lower tier level because back when LL raised tier in 2010 they allowed people who already owned land at that time to continue paying the original lower fee.

Which makes sense because if you suddenly raise rent you risk people running away.

You have to make this decision before October 4th, so you have some time to save up money to pay for this but it will also take at least half a year before you earn your investment back in tier discount.

This offer comes at an interesting time because by the time it ends, Sansar will have opened to a lot more beta testers and if all goes well, we’ll be months away from it opening to the main public.

Who knows how things are going in SL by then?

So, if you own a full region you pay LL $600 and they will switch your land to grandfathered tier, which is $195 a month in stead of the regular $295 a month.

If you own a homestead you pay LL $180 and they will switch your land to grandfathered tier, which is $95 a month in stead of the regular $125 a month.

A good deal and another step in the right direction, but still, $600 is a lot of money.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could say… pay it in 6 instalments of $100?

That way you’d just keep paying regular tier for 6 months and then you get the discount.

Luckily the offer stands for the next 6 months so if you save $100 of your Lindens every month, you’ll be able to get one without making the investment in one big payment.

Lets hope this is another step on the way to more discounts and even lower tier.

You can read the full story on the Second Life website by clicking here.