Illuvium has captured the attention of gamers all around the world due to its reputation as the most promising forthcoming play-to-earn game on the blockchain. Kieran and Aaron Warwick, the game’s co-founders, assert that it is the first triple-A game to be released on the blockchain. In addition, the value of one ILV token has skyrocketed from $30 in October 2021 to an all-time high of $1858 in November 2021, reaching a new all-time high. Let’s investigate the game’s themes according to what the makers have revealed to us. Illuvium was able to build up a substantial amount of steam in 2021; however, would it still be the top NFT play-to-earn game in 2022?
Overview
Illuvium is an open-world role-playing game (RPG) that is based on the Ethereum blockchain. The game takes place on a planet that has been completely demolished beyond repair, and it takes you on an adventure through this globe. Illuvials, which are godlike creatures, may be found throughout the game’s many vast biomes, which players can explore on their way to capturing them. As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to level up not only your character but also their buddy drone. All of the in-game purchases you make in Illuvium will be handled in ETH; however, thanks to the Immutable X Layer-2 solution, the transaction speed will be very fast, and there will be no gas fees. While one component of the game consists of going on quests to collect a variety of Illuvials, another allows you to compete against other players in order to move up the scoreboard. Illuvium’s player-versus-player auto-battler gameplay features highly competitive components for tactical combat, and the perspective is set from the player’s point of view.
Illuvials: what exactly are they?
Illuvials are enigmatic fantasy monsters that can be found in the world of Illuvium. They are comparable to Pokemons and Axies in appearance. At launch, players will have access to one hundred different illuvials that were imaginatively crafted by the game’s designers. Illuvials are all distinct and can be categorized into one of five classes or one of five affinities. There isn’t a single Illuvial that doesn’t have its own unique set of powers and fighting style. You will face a wide variety of armored Illuvials as you travel from planet to planet during your trip. Your Illuvial has the ability to absorb the power of other defeated Illuvials and evolve from a cub into a deity by utilizing a feature called synergies. As you get farther into the game, you will come across increasingly powerful Illuvials that have several different affinities and classifications. You can also combine three leveled-up Illuvials to create a new variation with significantly improved capabilities by fusing them together. When you successfully capture an Illuvial in the game, a new NFT is minted. Additionally, when you successfully fuse three Illuvials together, a new Illuvial is minted, and the current ones are burned. There is currently no formal information regarding whether the outcome of fusion is predetermined or determined by chance.
IlluviDEX
Illuvium has its own own online decentralized NFT marketplace that is known as IlluviDEX. This marketplace is administered by the Illuvium DAO. IlluviDEX is a platform that allows you to buy, sell, and trade non-fictional items (NFTs) found in games. These NFTs include things like Illuvials, weapons, armors, skins, and other unique stuff. Because IlluviDEX is completely secure and has flawless security cores, you won’t need to be concerned about becoming a victim of a cyberattack or a scam. Every transaction incurs a fee of 5%, of which 0.5% is paid to Immutable X and the remaining funds are distributed among the reward pools. You can trade Illuvium NFTs on a variety of different platforms, just like you can trade any other blockchain-based NFT.
What distinguishing characteristics do Illuvials have?
1. Classes
The entirety of the illuvials have been sorted into five distinct categories from which players can select. You need to keep these classes in mind while choosing an Illuvial so that you can mix them in a variety of different ways. The following are the five base classes that are available to you:
• Fighter
• Psion
• Guardian
• Rogue
• Empath
2. Similarities and Affinities
Illuvium is home to a total of five different affinities, which are as follows:
• Air
• Fire
• Water
• Earth
• Nature
In spite of the fact that most illuvials will only have a single affinity, players have the ability to combine different illuviums in order to create stronger illuviums with multiple affinities.
Illuvium’s Mining and Gathering Industries
Illuvium is home to a wide variety of valuable artifacts and artifacts from other planets and environments. You will need to make use of your drone in order to extract valuable resources from the surface of a planet. These minerals can be fashioned into brand-new weapons and armor, or they can be used to hone and enhance the ones you already own. Gemstones are the most precious treasures that can be found in the game. These precious stones are extremely uncommon, yet by affixing them to your arsenal, you can give yourself a competitive advantage in combat. You can also provide your Illuvials with organics that you have harvested from trees in order to provide them with a temporary bonus while you are engaged in combat.
1. Fragments
If Illuvials are the native Pokémon of Illuvium, then shards are comparable to pokeballs in that they allow you to catch and train Illuvials. It is essential to have a number of shards in your arsenal before venturing out to explore planets with other players before you do so. In most cases, shards are extracted from the ground in their uncured state, and the more durable shards are far more difficult to locate. In the event that you go on an expedition and come across a powerful Illuvial, you will require a powerful shard in order to properly capture it.
Every planet in Illuvium contains a large number of powerful Illuvials, and you can use shards to assist you in capturing them. As is the case with shards, the power of an Illuvial is exactly proportional to its level of rarity. However, discovering powerful Illuvials can be extremely challenging due to the fact that the treasure hunt is entirely at random. If you don’t want to pass up the opportunity to acquire a potent illuvial, you need always make sure to have some powerful shards with you. There is no assurance that you will be able to mine powerful shards; rather, you can purchase them from other players on the IlluviDEX marketplace.
2. Arms and armor
In Illuvium, the outcome of the battle is determined by how you and your fellow Illuvials perform in combat. Because the weapons that your character wields play such an important part in determining the result of battles, you should look for weapons that are appropriate with the play style of your character. As was just discussed, the power of a weapon can be increased through the use of gemstones in order to make it more effective in combat.
3. Armor
For protection against harm, the in-game character you control has to wear armor. If the armor on your character has been damaged, you must wait for it to regenerate before you may continue the combat. When purchasing an armor NFT, you should look for suits that have universal protection mechanisms so that you can be protected on any planet. You can construct your own armor using the materials that you mine, and the IlluviDEX is also a marketplace where you can purchase and trade armor.
4. Imbues
The creators of the game implemented Imbues so players would have the ability to greatly increase the rarity of the objects they had in their collections. You can also personalize both your character and your weapons by using imbues.
The gameplay of the Illuvium
Illuvium has marketed itself as a triple-A open-world role-playing game (RPG), placing it in the same category as games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and The Elder Scrolls. The early gameplay videos show a 3D environment with a vast number of biomes that can be explored and have a high level of detail. The color scheme is very reminiscent of Fortnite and is typical of Unreal Engine 4, which both serve as inspirations for the game. Although the Illuvium development team has assured its users that the game would feature a variety of landscapes that may be explored, all we have seen so far is concept art for the game. Players have the ability to explore the world of Illuvium by eating food or using obelisks that may be located all over the place. You can also find Towns close to the Obelisks, where you can stay safe from the wild Illuvials while crafting gear with the resources you have acquired.
During your travels across Illuvium, you will have the opportunity to meet Illuvials, creatures that can phase in and out of this realm. The gameplay is dated and resembles that of older versions of Final Fantasy and Pokemon, in which you were unable to follow the animals you were battling. If you are successful in defeating an Illuvial, you will have the opportunity to capture the Illuvial in a Shard. The power of both the Shard and the Illuvial being targeted has a considerable impact on the likelihood of successfully capturing it. Once the Illuvial has been caught, it will be added to your collection, at which point you will have the option to either sell it or use it in subsequent battles.
Illuvium Game Modes
1. Adventure Mode
The Illuvium development team has decided that the only option that will be available at launch is the Adventure mode. The vast majority of gameplay that has been shown off up until this point takes place in the Adventure mode. The experience of adventuring in Illuvium is a highly thrilling one because it gives you the opportunity to discover new worlds, prevail over illuvials, amass jewels and other important objects, and do a great deal more. The graphic styles and backgrounds of each individual world in Illuvium are unique to that particular universe. When you embark on an adventure, your primary objective should be to come back having grown as a result of the experience. The adventures and journeys are designed in such a way that you will have to use your wits to overcome obstacles on the path to achieving your goals.
2. Arena Mode
Following the original introduction of the game, the developers have promised to release two distinct fighting arena modes, namely Ranked and Leviathan. Because you will meet an opponent that possesses the same abilities as you do in the graded arenas, the competition will be reasonably fair. If you are in the mood for an adventure, you can select Leviathan, which features an arena that is open to anybody and everyone, regardless of the skills they possess. Other players will be able to spectate and place bets either on you or against you if the developers follow through with their plans to enable in-game betting on the battle arena types.
Developers Behind Illuvium
More than seventy-five people with expertise in a wide variety of specialized areas make up the Illuvium development team. Kieran Warwick and his brother Aaron Warwick, who helped start the company, are two of the most well-known members of the squad. The DeFi protocol Synthetix was established by their brother, Kian Warwick, who is also the name of the company. Kieran is an entrepreneur, and Aaron has been engaged in coding as a pastime for a significant amount of time. Illuvium’s game producer, Nate Wells, has previously worked on critically acclaimed games including Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Last of Us. Illuvium is set to be released later this year. The well-known Unreal Engine 4 middleware is being utilized by the programmers in order to construct the game, and the tokenomics are being developed in accordance with the ERC-20 standard on the Ethereum network. Illuvium has formed a partnership with Immutable X to manage the NFT trading in order to provide gamers with the ability to conduct transactions more quickly and without incurring any gas fees.
Mechanisms for Playing to Win Money
Illuvium is an NFT game on the blockchain, and its primary focus is the play-to-earn concept, which allows players to make money (ILV token) by collecting and exchanging high-value Illuvials. This concept is common to the majority of NFT games on the blockchain. However, acquiring such Illuvials is not a simple task because one needs to delve deeply into the game in order to even have a chance of coming across one. You are required to mine Shards from the Land in addition to mining gemstones and other resources from the Land so that you can create and improve your equipment before you can capture any Illuvial.
Players are able to sell their acquired materials, crafting gears, weapons, and Illuvials that they have captured to other players through the use of the IlluviDEX. The ILV token is used in every transaction that is enabled by Immutable X on the IlluviDEX exchange. You should also keep in mind that there is a finite amount of illuvials inhabiting the Illuvium ecosystem at any given time. Because of this, it gets increasingly difficult to find a certain form of Illuvium as more of that type is detected. It will be difficult to add additional Illuviums without causing the value of the ones that are already in circulation to decrease, but the Illuvium team has plans to increase the number of regions in Illuvium. When the game is finally made available to the public, we will have additional information regarding the fight mode wagering and Land.
Illuvium Zero
Illuvium: Zero, a mobile spin-off title of Illuvium that is scheduled to arrive in 2022, will be available at the same time as the main Illuvium game. The primary focus of the game will be on a city-building mode, in which players will be able to acquire land and construct a civilization on it in order to mine resources that can be used in the main Illuvial game. In the same way as The Sandbox and Decentraland did, Illuvium: Zero introduces the idea of real estate in the metaverse to the world of Illuvium. If you purchase Illuvium: Zero, you will get the ability to move the materials you mined into the main game, which will speed up the progression of your character. The ability to transfer resources is not supported in the version of the game that is playable for free. You are able to manufacture marketable skin NFTs in Illuvial: Zero by scanning the illuvials that wander on your Land. These marketable skin NFTs can then be sold for a profit.
When Will Illuvium Be Available For Purchase?
You won’t be able to play the game just yet, but the private beta is expected to be live in the first quarter of 2022, so the wait might not be too lengthy. The release of the game had been scheduled for the third quarter of 2021, however due to unforeseen circumstances, it was pushed back. Late in the year 2022 is when the mobile, free-to-play version of Illuvium Zero is expected to be released. You should join the Illuvium Discord channel in order to stay up to date with their most recent announcements and keep track of any modifications that may occur to the release dates that have been provided.
Final Say
Illuvium is a fantastic illustration of how much progress has been made in the blockchain gaming space over the past few years. [Citation needed] Although non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) have been an essential component of the cryptocurrency industry for some years at this point, gaming finance (GameFi) is a relatively novel concept that has had a significant influence on the community. Illuvium is every gamer’s fantasy thanks to the inclusion of both NFTs and DeFi, in addition to gameplay that is on par with that of triple-A titles. Following the success of Axie Infinity, numerous new games have entered the play-to-earn market; yet, none of the games that are currently available are able to maintain a player’s attention for an extended period of time. In the meanwhile, Illuvium is an intriguing new project that has the potential to overcome all of the issues that are currently plaguing play-to-earn games, one of which being a lack of quality entertaining gameplay. The Illuvium community is going to continue to expand in the years to come, since there are many goals to accomplish and an aggressive plan to follow.
