Illuvium is an upcoming fantasy role-playing game developed on the Ethereum blockchain by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called the Illuvium DAO. The game was first announced in January of last year and described as “a decentralized, NFT collection and auto battler game built on the Ethereum network.”
What is Illuvium?
In Illuvium, players are immersed in a 3D open world to explore and capture deity-like beasts called Illuvials. The Illuvials that players collect are represented with NFTs on Ethereum’s blockchain with real-world value. Players use the Illuvials they have gathered to battle other players to win ether (ETH).
Quick facts:
Illuvium is an upcoming blockchain-based role-playing game built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Players explore a 3D open-world searching for creatures called Illuvials that they can collect and use to battle other players.
The game uses a play-to-earn model where Illuvials are represented on the Ethereum blockchain as NFTs, and winning battles against others wins players ether.
Illuvium is said to be the first blockchain-based AAA video game of this scope so far, making it a significant milestone in the space.
How to play Illuvium
Setting
The game begins with a spaceship crashing into an alien world with diverse environments, extreme weather events, varied climates and strange beasts. Players then take on the role of a Hunter that must explore, capture beasts and begin to unlock strange obelisks that let players fast travel and uncover more of the map.
Concept art for Illuvium. Source: illuvium.io
Gameplay
Like any role-playing game, players must customize their character to their liking. From there, it’s time to head out into the world and begin exploring.
Illuvium is an open-world game developed on Unreal Engine 4. This engine allows for detailed regions and environments making it stand out amongst previous blockchain-based games. Once captured, Illuvials and other in-game items will exist in the player’s wallet as NFTs.
Concept Illuvial art. Source: illuvium.io
There are over 100 Illuvials to find around the open world that belong to different classes with different affinities. Because of this, some Illuvials match well together during battle while others may not. The variation also depends on the opponents’ Illuvials, making for interesting situations and matchups.
Illuvial classes:
Fighter
Rogue
Psion
Empath
Illuvial affinities:
Water
Fire
Earth
Air
Nature
More powerful Illuvials can have affinities to two elements at a time, allowing for various combinations. Illuvials can even stack the same affinity twice, letting the Illuvial become stronger within that one affinity. For example, air and water can be combined to create a frost Illuvial while two fire affinities can be stacked to create an inferno Illuvium.
The combinations of classes and affinities are hugely important when battling. Should a player choose an overgrowth Illuvial (nature + nature) against an inferno Illuvial (fire + fire), they will likely have a rough experience.
While the NFT representation of Illuvials is stored in crypto wallets, in-game Illuvials are stored in items called shards. You could think of shards as Poké Balls in Pokémon. Just as Illuvials vary in power, shards vary in strength. More powerful Illuvials require stronger shards. Combat experience lets Illuvials grow stronger, increase their powers and level up.
Fusion
One core aspect of the game is the fusing of Illuvials to make them more powerful. Collecting three fully-leveled Illuvials lets players merge, or “fuse,” them into a single, more powerful Illuvial. More powerful Illuvials are better in combat and worth more ILV, the native token in the game. Those looking to make money playing Illuvium will likely need to focus on finding matching Illuvials, training them to their highest level, fusing them, and then selling them for higher values.
Arenas
Once players have captured Illuvials and would like to battle, they may enter a matchmaking queue in the Ranked Arena. They may also call out individual players and challenge them to a battle in the Leviathan Arena where spectators can bet on their match.
Illuvium battle arena. Source: illuvium.io
It’s important to note that Illuvium is an auto-battler. This means that both players must choose their Illuvials, weapons and armor before the match. Players do not manually choose attacks or have the ability to alter the outcome once the battle has started as is with other similarly styled games like Pokémon.
Weapons and armor
The player’s character must also participate in battles along with their chosen Illuvials, giving weapon and armor selection meaning beyond aesthetics. Weapons and armor in the game are represented with NFTs, just as Illuvials are, and the player’s choice can affect the outcome of a battle.
Free-to-play vs. paid version
Players begin Illuvium with a free-to-play experience in the Tier 0 regions of the world. These areas will help them learn the game and understand its mechanics. While Illuvium describes this as a “non-abridged” version, players will need to opt-in to the paid version to collect NFTs from higher-tiered regions.
