Introducing $SPARKLET Warz: The Ultimate Strategic Battle in Upland!

We are beyond excited to officially announce $SPARKLET Warz, the first-ever large-scale faction-based strategic challenge in Upland! Inspired by the historic “Spud Wars,” this new event will test your strategic prowess, teamwork, and determination as factions battle for territory dominance in the inaugural battleground city of Tokyo!

$SPARKLET Warz will become a recurring event held between seasons, focusing on a different city each time. This inaugural iteration serves as an open beta, with participation per faction intentionally capped to ensure a controlled and balanced experience.

Following this first war, we’ll analyze the results, gather feedback, and refine the event mechanics. Over time, we plan to expand faction sizes, allowing even more players to join the battle and shape the future of $SPARKLET Warz.

What is $SPARKLET Warz?

$SPARKLET Warz is an intense battle for control of the city, designed to inspire teamwork, creativity, and strategic mastery. Featuring counterplay dynamics, tactical item deployment, and score optimization, players must unite within their factions to dominate the city and claim ultimate victory.

At the end of the event, the faction with the highest score will be declared the winner, and every player in that faction will receive a share of a $SPARKLET airdrop, with rewards scaled based on individual contributions.

Choose Your Faction

In Upland, the battle for control of the city is about more than just territory, it’s a war for $SPARKLET, the ultimate prize. Three distinct factions rise to the challenge, each bringing their unique vision, strategy, and determination to claim victory.

Krypto Knights

Guardians of stability and wealth, the Krypto Knights fight to secure $SPARKLET as the foundation of a prosperous future. Clad in armor, they use strategy and resilience to dominate.

Creed: “Secure the wealth, defend the future!”

Purge Pirates

Fearless and bold, the Purge Pirates view $SPARKLET as a treasure to be claimed through chaos and daring tactics. They thrive on disruption, dismantling rival plans and seizing victory.

Battle Cry: “Take what’s ours, leave none for the rest!”

Cypher Cyborgs

Masters of technology and precision, the Cypher Cyborgs see $SPARKLET as the key to evolution and control. They leverage innovation and strategy to dominate the battlefield.

Motto: “Evolve, adapt, dominate!”

The discipline of the Krypto Knights, the audacity of the Purge Pirates, and the precision of the Cypher Cyborgs collide in a high-stakes war. $SPARKLET isn’t just a reward — it’s the ultimate symbol of dominance, shaping the future of the victorious faction.

Prepare for Battle

To participate, you’ll need to burn a faction pass, available in the UPX store starting January 16 at 9 AM PT. The first pass you burn locks in your faction and it’s important to note that additional burns won’t change your allegiance.

Faction passes are randomized, but you can trade with other players to secure your desired faction. These passes are designed specifically for burning and will not contribute to your collection score.

To ensure fair and balanced faction distribution, a minimum of 50 players must register (burn a pass) for each faction before the battle can commence. Additionally, if any single faction exceeds 25% more burns than the other two, burns for that faction’s passes will be temporarily disabled to maintain competitive balance.

Once you’ve joined a faction, you’ll gain access to a $SPARKLET Warz bundle exclusive to your team. These bundles can only be purchased for your chosen faction and include essential tools for victory: Ornaments (faction points), Cannons (offensive items), Chests (defensive items), and the powerful Kart (ultimate weapon), all designed to help you secure points and disrupt rival factions.

Once a pass is burned, players gain access to an exclusive in-game chat channel for their faction, providing a perfect way to strategize and connect with teammates. Additionally, players will receive a temporary unique avatar overlay, proudly displaying the faction they’ve officially joined.

Scoring Mechanics

The goal of $SPARKLET Warz is simple: earn the most points for your faction through strategic building, decorating, and asset placement.

Note: Cheat sheets for each faction are included at the end of this blog, providing a quick-reference guide on how everything works.

Build and Decorate

The primary way factions will earn points is by placing faction ornaments on existing structures in Tokyo, showcasing your faction’s claim on the city. These ornaments contribute points to your faction’s score based on the type of building they are placed on. These items are designed to be reusable in future $SPARKLET Warz events.

Point Breakdown:

• Ornament on Micro House: 30 points
• Ornament on Tokyo Townhouse: 50 points
• Ornament on Apartment Building: 70 points
• Faction Super Structure: 250 points

In addition, Players can construct faction super structures, permanent buildings that symbolize your faction’s dominance and serve as powerful representations of your collective strength.

These unique structures require 40,000 Spark hours to complete, with a maximum stake of 500 Spark, meaning even a fully staked effort will take at least 3.4 days. The scale of this monumental task demands the pooled resources and collaboration of your entire faction.

Once completed, these super structures grant the highest point values of any scoring method, standing as lasting monuments to your faction’s unity and effort while cementing your place in the battle for dominance.

While all faction super structures are available for anyone to build, only those aligned with your registered faction will count toward the leaderboard. This opens the door for strategic deception for players to construct decoy super structures to mislead rivals. However, be cautious: wasting $SPARKLET on structures that don’t benefit your faction can cost you valuable resources and points. Plan your strategy carefully to maximize your faction’s dominance!

Scoring Progression

Scoring in $SPARKLET Warz is progressive, with a percentage of each faction’s total daily score contributing to the overall score at the end of each day. The percentage increases as the event progresses, making strategy and adaptability key.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Day 1: 10% of the day’s total faction score is added to the overall score.
• Day 2: 20% of the day’s total faction score is added to the overall score.
• Day 3: 30% of the day’s total faction score is added to the overall score.
• Day 4: 40% of the day’s total faction score is added to the overall score.
• Day 5: 50% of the day’s total faction score is added to the overall score.
• Day 6: 75% of the day’s total faction score is added to the overall score.
• Day 7: 100% of the day’s total faction score is added to the overall score.

This scoring system rewards factions that communicate effectively, pay attention to daily performance, and make strategic adjustments. Teams that collaborate and adapt their tactics daily will gain a significant edge as the competition unfolds.

Weapons

Weapons are specialized map assets, categorized by offensive and defensive abilities, used to strategically attack or protect faction scores.

In this first “chapter” of Warz, all offensive and defensive map assets will have the same power levels. These items are designed to be reusable in future $SPARKLET Warz events.

As future seasons unfold, additional map assets will be introduced, each with unique strengths and scoring mechanics to enhance strategic depth.

Offensive Play (Cannons)

Cannons reduce the score of enemy factions within their 25-meter radius by 25%. If multiple cannons target the same score source, their effects stack incrementally based on the remaining score after each reduction. For example, the second cannon reduces the score by 25% of the already reduced amount, and so on.

A single cannon can only target one scoring source (ornament or completed super structure) within its radius, prioritizing the earliest-placed scoring source first.

Offensive items don’t affect your own faction’s score sources.

Defensive Play (Chests)

Chests neutralize the effects of cannons that affect scoring items within the chests’ 22 meters radius. The most impactful cannon (highest multiplier) is neutralized first. If multipliers are tied, the most recent cannon is neutralized.

A single chest can neutralize one cannon per scoring item (a property with a structure ornament or a completed super structure that contributes points to your faction) within its radius.

For example:

• If two cannons are targeting the same scoring item, only one will be neutralized.
• If two cannons are targeting different scoring items within the chest’s radius, both will be neutralized.

Ultimate Weapon (Kart)

The Kart is the ultimate weapon and the rarest of all assets. It reduces all opponent structures’ points to zero, within its 30 meter radius, and is completely unaffected by offensive or defensive map assets, making it a devastating tool of chaos.

Players will have complete freedom to strategically place and reposition their assets anywhere in the city throughout the war, giving them the flexibility to adapt and maximize their faction’s score. No map asset is permanent, assets can be moved at any time during the event, allowing players to respond dynamically to evolving strategies and shifting rival tactics.

Success will hinge on collaboration and communication. Faction members must work together to determine the best locations for placing items, targeting opponents, and constructing critical structures. Whether through in-game chat, group chats, Discord, or other platforms, connecting with your faction is key to building a winning strategy.

The most successful teams will excel by planning ahead, coordinating effectively, and executing their strategy with precision. Teamwork and communication aren’t just advantages, they’re essential to crushing the competition!

New Feature

This exciting new event introduces a brand-new in-game feature specifically designed for $SPARKLET Warz.

During each war, players will have the ability to view the action radius of their items, providing a clear visual of who and what their assets impact. Each faction’s radius is color-coded for easy identification: brown for the Knights, yellow for the Pirates, and blue for the Cyborgs.

This feature ensures players can strategically place their offensive and defensive items for maximum effect.

Note: The image above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent the actual radius of the items shown. It is intended to provide a visual example of how radii will appear.

To secure victory, players must carefully position their assets, ensuring the targets they’re attacking or defending fall within the radius of their placed items. Precision and planning will be the keys to dominating the battlefield!

Key Dates & Details

$SPARKLET Warz Pass Sale
Unlock your path to glory with the exclusive $SPARKLET Warz Pass, granting access to one of three factions: Krypto Knights, Purge Pirates, or Cypher Cyborgs. Each player can purchase one pass, and your faction will be determined by the first pass burned during registration.

Registration Starts: Wednesday, January 15th, 9 AM PT
Sale Begins: Thursday, January 16th, 9 AM PT
Price: $5
Quantity: 600

$SPARKLET Warz Bundle
Each bundle contains two randomly selected NFTs, which may include a Map Asset (Offensive or Defensive), a Kart — the ultimate weapon — or a Structure Ornament tailored for specific buildings like the Micro House, Apartment Building, or Tokyo’s unique Townhouse structure.

Registration Starts: Friday, January 17th, 9 AM PT
Sale Begins: Saturday, January 18th, 9 AM PT
Price: $13
Quantity: 500 Per Faction

Remember, players will only be able to purchase bundles specifically for the faction they have joined by burning their faction pass. Once your faction is locked in, your access to bundles will align exclusively with your chosen team.

• Faction Pass Burning Window Opens: Thursday, January 16th, 9 AM PT
• $SPARKLET Warz Begins: Monday, January 20th, 9 AM PT
• The Battle Concludes: Monday, January 27th, 9 AM PT

The Spoils of War

The ultimate goal of $SPARKLET Warz is to secure a massive 200,000 $SPARKLET airdrop for your faction, but the rewards don’t stop there! The top-performing players in each faction will earn special, exclusive prizes as recognition for their contributions.

Faction Winners:

• $SPARKLET Airdrop: The higher your rank on your faction’s leaderboard, the larger your share of the airdrop.
• Exclusive Badge: The top 3 players in the winning faction will be awarded the coveted $SPARKLET Warz badge, a mark of leadership and excellence.

All Factions:

• Exclusive Block Explorer: The top 25 players on each faction’s leaderboard, regardless of their team, will receive a unique Block Explorer, commemorating their standout performance in the event.

Leaderboards

Players will have access to three leaderboards during the event, each offering unique insights into the battle’s progress:

Real-Time Faction Leaderboard: Tracks the current scores of all factions, updated regularly throughout the day to reflect the latest standings. This leaderboard will be conveniently located in-game under the Leaderboards section of the Quick Menu.

Official Faction Score Leaderboard: The definitive tracker of each faction’s cumulative progressive score, updated daily. It logs all faction points and ultimately determines the victor of $SPARKLET Warz. For easy access, this leaderboard will be conveniently located in-game under the Leaderboards section of the Quick Menu.

Individual Battle Score Leaderboard: A detailed, external leaderboard showcasing individual player performance for each faction throughout the event. A link to this leaderboard will be provided here once it goes live, making it easy to monitor your progress and see where you rank among the competition.

Faction Cheat Sheets

Below are cheat sheets for each faction, providing players with a quick and easy reference to understand how each item functions in $SPARKLET Warz.

Get Ready

Are you ready to build, battle, and conquer? The city of Tokyo awaits its champion. Whether you fight with the precision of the Krypto Knights, the daring of the Purge Pirates, or the ingenuity of the Cypher Cyborgs, your faction’s legacy is at stake.

Assemble your team, deploy your Cannons and Chests, and wield the mighty Kart to claim victory. The war for $SPARKLET begins January 20th, don’t miss your chance to make Upland history!

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