Illuvium is a play-to-earn NFT blockchain game that is due for release in the coming months, with a beta version soon to be launched. The game is an RPG game with crypto features and a vast world to explore. What is Illuvium, how does it work, and how do you play it? We talk about everything there is to know about Illuvium in this guide.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
➤ Illuvium is an RPG blockchain game built on Ethereum that uses Immutable X for zero-fee, real-time gameplay and tokenized asset staking.
➤ The game has a collection of creatures called Illuvials, which players can capture, heal, and use in strategic auto-battler combat.
➤ Illuvium integrates a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for governance, alongside an in-game economy powered by its native ILV token.
➤ Illuvium aims to be the first AAA play-to-earn game, distinguished by its advanced graphics and deep gameplay mechanics.
What is Illuvium (ILV)?
Illuvium is a blockchain-based game built on Ethereum. It has been in development since 2020 but officially launched on July 25, 2024. Illuvium leverages the Immutable X blockchain and layer-2 scaling technology.
Role-playing games (RPGs) allow users to create fleshed-out characters and enjoy real-time gameplay within a large world. With Illuvium, users can also earn non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stake their tokenized assets within a decentralized, zero-fee framework.
llluvium utilizes highly scalable, privacy-preserving infrastructure on a zero-knowledge rollup. The game also has other unique characteristics. It leverages a decentralized governance structure to maximize the ecosystem’s Illuvium (ILV) token through the Illuvium decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
Illuvials are creatures that inhabit the world of Illuvium. Players can capture them and then nurse them back to health. They become part of the player’s collection and can fight other adventurers in Illuvium’s Auto Battler gameplay.
It is a combination of open-world exploration and a PVP war game. The game allows players to explore the world and build their own team of powerful beasts.
Created by a global team of over 40 people, the game was conceived by Kieran and Aaron Warwick, whose brother Kain Warwick is the co-founder of Synthetix.
There are many uses for the ILV token within the Illuvium ecosystem. It is the primary token that rewards players for their achievements in-game. It also entitles them to their share in the Illuvium vault.
How does Illuvium work?
To start playing Illuvium, you first need to register and create an account on illuvium.io using your email address. Afterward, you can download the game as a desktop app. You can choose between free-to-play mode or premium subscriptions.
The Illuvium project’s core mechanic is about customizing and collecting your NFT Illuvials. Each Illuvial has a class and an affinity. Illuvials with greater power can combine classes and affinity.
When Illuvials have the same affinities or classes, they can provide bonuses in battle. This is called creating synergies. It allows you to make tactical choices about the Illuvials that you use and collect. Once they reach a certain level, users can merge their Illuvials and create new ones with greater power.
To start playing and collecting NFTs, you will need to catch an Illuvial. To do this, you will need to contain it in a shard. Your Illuvial will start to recover its health if it is injured. If you wish to accelerate the process, you may pay a fee or use items to speed up the process. Some Illuvials can be shiny, gold, or holographic.
Classes
Illuvium has five classes:
- Guardian
- Fighter
- Empath
- Rogue
- Psion
When creating a team, it’s important to pay attention to the class synergies and affinities. This is especially true for creating the ascended or hybrid classes. With this in mind, it is possible to combine two classes of the same type to create an Illuvial with stronger skills of that class.
A fighter Illuvial and a rogue Illuvial can be combined to create a slayer.
Affinities
Five affinities are available to Illuvium:
- Air
- Nature
- Fire
- Water
- Earth
Based on the type of their affinity, each Illuvial deals or takes damage. A water Illuvial, for example, will do more damage to a fire Illuvial and will be weaker than an earth-based one. Ascended Illuvials can be created by combining the five affinities, such as Dust (Air + Earth) and Frost (Air + Water).
Attributes
Apart from its class and affinity, each Illuvial has other attributes that affect its strength, speed, damage, and health. The more you use your Illuvials in battle, the more powerful they become. There are some items that can be used to improve the Illuvial’s abilities. These items can be purchased or made with crafting materials.
How to play Illuvium
Illuvium is an RPG game where players travel to different regions to battle monsters (Illuvials). You can capture them using shards after defeating them. Collected Illuvials see their powers increase over time as they fight more. They can then fight other players or venture into more dangerous areas.
Combat, which isn’t turn-based, is one of many ways Illuvium is different from other RPGs. Each combat instance is an automated battle in which the player strategically places their Illuvials to counterattack their opponent. It is important to choose Illuvials with good synergy and that are strong against the opponent’s choice.
Combat
Each Illuvial will locate an enemy target when the battle starts and then attack it. Through attacks and damage, Illuvials will gain energy.
When they gain enough energy and reach a certain limit, the Illuvial can enable the ultimate ability, which is a special ability that can alter the course of the battle. Ultimates can do damage, boost allies, harm enemies, or knock enemies out. When a team is defeated, the battle ends.
Catches
When playing Adventure Mode, players can capture defeated Illuvials after a victorious fight. They have different capture powers. The capture chance is determined by the Illuvial and the captured power. If you succeed, the Illuvial is yours. Failure will result in the Illuvials fleeing.
It is a good idea to bring powerful Shards when you go into higher-level areas of the game. Weaker Shards might not be able to capture them.
Rare catches
Shiny, rainbow, and holo are rare catches that can make your Illuvial stand apart from the rest. Each rare catch is a great addition to your collection and can be lucrative.
Fusion
Illuvials aren’t able to evolve as they would in traditional role-playing games. However, Illuvials are able to merge and create more powerful stages in their development.
There are two requirements for an Illuvial fusion. The first is that the player must possess three of the same Illuvial. The second requirement is that each Illuvial must have attained its highest level through combat.
The more powerful and valuable a fused monster is, the higher the ILV price. If you want to make a lot of money in Illuvium, this should be your main goal.
Train and strengthen monsters and then sell them for ETH. To earn more combat bonuses, players have the option of teaming up with another Illuvial. This is a semi-permanent option, so make sure you choose wisely.
Experience and levelling
Illuvials are able to gain experience and level with each battle. That’s how two Iluvials of the same type can be distinguished. Also, it’s not a good idea to keep an Illuvial in a Shard with no combat because it cannot gain experience and level up if it’s not used in battles.
Be aware that Illuvials that are defeated during combat in the jungle will return to their fragment (shards) and take some time to recover. There are ways to revive your Illuvial if you don’t have to spend time waiting, including a fee for instant revival.
Resource collection
The fight encompasses more than just the Illuvials. Players also fight the battles. A player’s character can be one of the most influential elements on the battlefield.
Every player has futuristic weapons and protective armor. When infused with crystals and gemstones, your armor and weapon emit an aura of class and affinity.
To make these weapons, you will need to find and mine resources from the surrounding environment. However, adventurers will always have a chance for a new challenge.
Players can compare items and strengthen their character, allowing them to win more powerful and rare monsters. This is the most RPG-intensive perspective of the game.
Traveling around the world
The Illuvium world is wide. Obelisks scattered around the world allow players to travel instantly from one place to another. This allows them to access different regions and Illuvials. As the world grows, more and more Obelisks will become available.
Obelisks can also protect against flooding. Small towns are constructed within their dome. Fast travel happens between “safe zones” and has been called extensive.
Game modes
There are three game modes in Illuvium:
- Story mode
- Ranked arena
- Arena Leviathan
In the story mode, players will be able to explore the globe and find new Illuvials to fight for them. Soon after this mode is deployed, the battle arenas will be activated. Within the arenas, players can compete and will be ranked.
The Ranked Arena will offer skill-based combat among players. These normalized levels have a point cost associated with them.
The Arena Leviathan does not have the same restrictions as the ranked arena. This is the place for players to show off their collection and earn or lose battles and money. Spectators will also be able to place bets on the matches.
What makes Illuvium unique?
Illuvium is unlike other blockchain-powered games. It features a fully 3D environment with over 100 unique Illuvials scattered across its different regions. Each Illuvial has been designed by a team of top-level artists, making its graphics appealing to the eye, and gamers will likely appreciate it.
It also counts many features that make it stand out among other blockchain-based AAA titles and games. These features include:
- Layer-2 incorporation
- IlluviDEX
- Yield farming
Layer-2 incorporation
Illuvium inherits the security of the Ethereum blockchain. A layer-2 rollup called Immutable X (IMX), designed to scale applications that use NFT functionality, also bolsters the network.
Illuvium leverages ImmutableX’s capabilities to ensure that players can trade and mint NFTs with virtually instant transaction finality and zero gas fees. Players have full custody of their assets when using IMX.
The IlluviDEX
Illuvium has a built-in decentralized exchange (DEX), IlluviDEX. You can exchange Illuvial assets on IlluviDEX, including Illuvial NFTs. Each sale has a 5% commission funneled into the rewards pool of ILV stakers.
Yield farming
The Illuvium yield farming program has allocated 3 million ILV, which is equivalent to 30% of the maximum supply of 10 million. Participants who contribute liquidity over a three-year period and those who take part in various reward programs will receive this via distribution.
What is Illuvium (ILV) token?
The Illuvium crypto is an ERC-20 token. It has a variety of uses within the Illuvium game and its ecosystem. There are two types of tokens ━ ILV and sILV.
The maximum supply of ILV is about 9.6 million. 3 million will be distributed as staking rewards. The circulating supply of coins will decrease as more users stake their coins. The Illuvium crypto (ILV) token has three main uses:
- In-game rewards: Players receive ILV coins for their achievements in the game
- Staking: Holders have the option to stake ILV at the Illuvium Vault. Stakers can receive ILV or sILV rewards.
- Governance: Through the Illuvium DAO, holders can take part in game governance. The Illuvinati Council facilitates community collaboration to create game improvement proposals and other modifications.
Users moving ILV or sILV (ERC-20) tokens have to pay Ethereum gas fees. Since Ethereum can have high gas fees, however, by utilizing Immutable X as its underlying technology, Illuvium is able to offer gas-free transactions to its users for most in-game activities.
The sILV token
Illuvium has a unique yield farming rewards system. All ILV rewards from the yield farm are locked for one year before they can be withdrawn.
Stakers can opt to skip the unlock times by converting ILV rewards into a secondary, in-game asset called sILV. Users can claim their rewards as sILV and receive the USD equivalent. They can also spend their rewards earlier to buy in-game assets.
The sILV token cannot be removed from the game. It is not a blockchain-based asset.
Will Illuvium be the world’s first AAA P2E game?
Illuvium is unlike most RPG games in that it is not turn-based, and it integrates cryptocurrency-based features, such as tokens and NFTs. It combines elements of science fiction through alien worlds and keeps the player engaged through exploration, strategy, and resource collection.
Because of this, Illuvium should be judged first on its merits as a game rather than its tokenomics. Whether or not the token does well, the team behind Illuvium has created a fully fleshed-out experience.
Trading cryptocurrency is inherently risky. You can lose money buying in-game tokens and may not be able to trade them for a profit. Always exercise caution when engaging with play-to-earn (P2E) games.
Frequently asked questions
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