Skill tree and missions

Gems

Skills cost gems. You earn them three ways:

• Promotions. Every new rank pays gems.
• Trophies. Each achievement pays gems, more for rarer ones.
• Research. Once you have spare cash, you can buy gems with your in-game money, below the tree. Each purchase costs more than the last.

Gems are earned in the game only. There's nothing to buy with real money.

Three branches

The tree is under You, then Skill Tree. Its 3 branches:

• People. Prospecting and relationships: better calls, more referrals, more patient clients and more trusting sellers.
• Deals. Offers, financing and escrow: offers accepted more often, cheaper loans, fewer deals lost.
• Business. Listings and market reading: more exposure for your listings, cheaper marketing, a read on the cycle.

Each branch has three tiers: basic, advanced and elite. To buy an advanced skill you need a basic skill in the same branch; an elite skill needs an advanced one. So going deep in one branch reaches the strongest skills sooner, and spreading out gives you a little of everything.

Most skills are passive: they apply all the time. A few are abilities you trigger yourself, then wait a few months to use again. The higher the tier, the longer the wait.

A few examples, by name:

• Cold Call Confidence and Off-Market Network make prospecting hit more often.
• Credit Analyst cuts the rate on your loans.
• Escrow Auto-Resolve settles the first problem on each deal in escrow for free.
• Market Pulse is an ability that shows where the market cycle is heading two months out.

Respecs

Changed your mind? Each career comes with three respec tokens. A respec refunds every gem you've spent and lets you rebuild the tree from scratch, so it's worth saving one for when you know how you like to play. The button is at the bottom of the tree, under Reset.

Missions

Missions are side goals: close a number of listings, buy in a certain district, refinance, reach a net worth target. Pick them from the Quest Board. You can run up to three at a time, and they're tracked on the You tab.

• They come in four tiers, Common, Rare, Epic and Legendary. Higher tiers give you longer to finish and pay much more.
• Missions pay cash and XP.
• Every mission you finish also banks a bonus month on your career clock, so missions let you play more in one sitting. See Career and score.

Trophies and challenges

The You tab also holds your trophy ladders (achievements, which pay gems) and, when one is running, a challenge with a deadline that pays XP. Neither is required. They're there to point you at things worth trying.