Illuvium Guide: How to Play, Features, Pros and Cons

Illuvium is an upcoming role-playing game (RPG) blockchain game where players can explore different alien worlds and hunt down Illuvials.

Quick facts

  • Illuvium is a blockchain-based game that employs a play-to-earn (P2E) mechanism.
  • It is created on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and can be accessed by both Mac and PC.
  • The game enables players to explore an open world, collect NFTs, and participate in an auto battler.

Illuvium Review

What is Illuvium?

Illuvium is a role-playing game (RPG) that incorporates non-fungible tokens (NFTs), blockchain technology, and scaling solution Immutable X to offer a next-level gameplay experience to users with zero gas fees.

The game allows players to explore the digital world of Illuvium and look for native creatures (Illuvials), in-game items, and other collectibles which are in the form of NFTs. These in-game items, which can be used for participating in battles and quests, offer holders an edge against other players, thus making them a valuable part of the game.

Moreover, since all in-game items are in the form of NFTs, they can be put for sale across NFT marketplaces. Players also have the option to trade or acquire these NFTs on IlluvDEX, the game’s decentralized marketplace.

In total, the game features seven different landscapes and over 100 Illuvials broken up into five affinities (Water, Earth, Fire, Nature, and Air) and five classes (Fighter, Guardian, Rogue, Psion, and Empath), each having unique powers and hybrid synergies.

Players are encouraged to train and upgrade their Illuvials into powerful evolutions in order to unlock their full power and create the perfect Illuvial team.

Gaming pioneer and Blockchain advocate Kieran Warwick and game designer Aaron Warwick are co-founders of Illuvium. The game also boasts a number of other notable figures inside the gaming world as team members, including Nate Wells, Basil Gorin, and John Avery.

History of Illuvium

Illuvium is an upcoming NFT game that aims to be the first Triple-A (AAA) game in blockchain gaming history. The game was initially expected to launch in the last quarter of 2021, but it hasn’t been released yet.

The team has not yet confirmed a solid launch date for the game but said it would be available on PC and Mac by the end of the year. Given the recent crypto market crash and meltdown, the game is likely to launch in the last quarter of the year or even early in 2023.

Notably, Illuvium released a Private Beta earlier this year, allowing a select number of players to participate in the auto battler mode and test the game. The game aims to offer everyone access to beta games in the near future.

In early June, Illuvium successfully finished its virtual land sale. The game sold 19,969 land plots via dutch auctions, a popular auction method where the price is determined via bids rather than the seller. The game raised more than $72 million from the virtual land sale.

How does Illuvium work?

Illuvium has three modes, including Arena, Zero, and Overworld. Illuvium Overworld, which is currently under construction, is where players would be able to explore the seven alien worlds, gather all sorts of resources, and hunt down Illuvials.

Illuvium Zero is another mode currently under construction and comparable to Farmville, Clash of Clans, Lords, and other city-building games. This mode enables players to use their land plots and produce resources that are essential in the Overworld mode, like fuel and cosmetic blueprints for skins.

Finally, there is Illuvium Arena, the only mode currently available for playing. This game has another three modes, which include Survival, Ascendant, and Leviathan. The survival mode allows players to build a team and survive the encounter of infinite waves of increasingly powerful Illuvials. Ascendant and Leviathan modes, which are yet-to-be-launched, act like premium eSport modes suitable for heavy hitters.

Illuvium NFTs

Illuvium aims to set itself apart from a wide range of games by incorporating NFTs. Therefore, all in-game items in this crypto game, from Illuvial beasts to weapons and even blueprints for skins, are in the form of NFTs, allowing players to exchange or trade them across marketplaces.

Clearly, the game’s most valuable NFTs would be Illuvials, which are Pokemon-like creatures essential to the game. Since the game hasn’t launched yet and players haven’t been able to explore the world and unlock Illuvials, these NFTs are currently not available.

However, the Illuvium decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), the decentralized developers of the game, have minted a collection of promotional and decorative NFTs. These NFTs can be accessed via marketplaces like OpenSea.

Illuvium cryptocurrency and tokens explained

Illuvium’s native token is ILV, an ERC20 token that can be used for governance, meaning that holders can vote on proposals involving the game. There is also escrowed ILV, or sILV, which is basically a substitute to ILV that can be gained as yield when staking the coin.

In early January, a flaw in Illuvium’s staking platform allowed bad actors to deposit an amount of ILV and then withdraw a greater amount of sILV in rewards that would have been normally permitted. Following the incident, the team replaced sILV with sILV2, which has the same utility as the former.

The ILV token is currently trading around the $115 mark. The coin is down by more than 93% compared to its all-time high of $1,911 recorded in late November 2021. ILV’s knock-off token, sILV, is trading at $0.014, down by 100% from its ATH of $616.

In terms of tokenomics, the ILV token has a maximum supply of 10,000,000 and a circulating supply of around 650,000. Illuvium DAO started distributing tokens in mid-2021, selling 20% of ILV’s supply in seed rounds.

The DAO has also allocated 15% of ILV’s supply to developers, another 15% to the treasury, 10% to a launchpad for incoming investors, and the remaining 40% to yield farming and in-game rewards.

Players can acquire ILV tokens by purchasing them across both centralized and decentralized exchanges. Aside from governance, the ILV tokens also allow owners to partake in staking and yield farming. Players can then claim their staking rewards in either ILV or sILV.

If a staker chooses to receive rewards in the form of ILV, the rewards will have a lock-up period of one year. On the other hand, stakers can have immediate access to their rewards if they claim them in sILV.

Illuvium price

Players won’t need an upfront investment in order to start the game in the Tier 0 regions. However, land plots in this free region do not produce resources and thus can’t be used to earn money.

On the other hand, lands in Tier 1 to 5 regions will offer players the opportunity to produce resources like fuel and cosmetic blueprints for skins. These lands are not free, and their price can range from $600 to millions of dollars.

How to play Illuvium

As noted above, Illuvium has three modes. At the start of Illuvium Overworld, players are taken through a scene where a spaceship hits an alien world with extreme weather conditions, diverse environments, and peculiar beasts.

Subsequently, they can begin playing the game by taking the role of a Hunter, who goes on an adventure in this strange world. They would need to fight, defeat, and capture beasts, which they can then train and use to win battles in other modes. As the adventure continues, players will be able to unlock rarer, more powerful beasts with various powers.

Illuvium Zero is more of a city-building game, where players can use their land to produce resources that are essential to the game. It is worth noting that only lands in Tier 1 to 5 regions, which are not free, can produce resources.

And players can use their captured Illuvials to play in the Illuvium Arena. This mode enables players to build a team and fight with other Illuvials, either in a survival mode or in premium eSport modes against other players.

The game world

The game features seven different alien worlds, each with unique and extraordinary environmental conditions.

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The game characters

Illuvium’s main characters are Illuvials, which are Pokemon-like creatures that possess different powers and traits.

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Game mechanics

The game’s fundamental mechanics is hunting, training, and upgrading Illuvials.

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How to get ahead in the game

Players can get ahead in the game by acquiring rarer land plots, which can be used to produce fuel, cosmetic blueprints for skins, and other resources.

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Game economics

Illuvium intends to transfer the ownership and governance of the project to the DAO in order to create a financially self-sustainable game. It also aims to generate revenue from in-game fees.

Tools used in the game

The game enables players to upgrade their Illuvials and equip them with different types of weapons, armors, and other accessories.

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How to win

Having powerful Illuvials as well as land to generate necessary resources like fuel are key to winning the game.

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How to install Illuvium

The game has not been launched yet, but the team has revealed that it will be accessible via both PC and Mac. Interested users can visit their website and join the waitlist in order to get informed when the game is released.

How to earn money on Illuvium

There are several ways to earn money with Illuvium. The most straightforward way is to hunt Illuvials and sell them for a profit on marketplaces. Moreover, being a top player and ranking on the game’s leaderboard could earn players some rewards.

As mentioned, Illuvium Zero is like a city-building game, and players have the option to put their land to work and earn resources, which can range from skins and weapons to fuel. While players can use these resources to their own benefit, they can also put them on sale and earn some money.

It is worth noting that Illuvium has allocated a huge amount of tokens to be used as a prize for esports tournaments. The game intends to create the largest prize pool in the entire esports market.

There are also passive ways to earn money with this game. Players can purchase the game’s native token and stake it on the Illuvium platform. They can then claim their staking rewards either in ILV or sILV.

To exchange ILV and other in-game items for other cryptocurrencies, players can use IlluvDEX, the game’s decentralized marketplace. They can also withdraw their ILV tokens to major centralized exchanges and cash out.

Pros and cons of Illuvium

Pros

Enjoyable and entertaining gameplay
Different modes with room for more expansion
A limited number of lands

Cons

Several launch delays
Not a professional development team
Not many Illuvials at launch

Pros

Enjoyable and entertaining gameplay

Illuvium intends to become the first AAA blockchain game in the market. To achieve this goal, the developers have tried their best to offer a deep and enjoyable gameplay experience with immersive graphics.

Different modes with room for more expansion

The game already has three different modes, each of which is seemingly quite interesting. In addition, the developers have designed Illuvium to be able to host different game types with room for more expansion.

A limited number of lands

There will be a total of 100,000 land plots in Illuvium, making the virtual lands more scarce and valuable. This can also benefit the value of fuel and other in-game resources that are obtained from the lands.

Cons

Several launch delays

The game has postponed its release date several times, and it still doesn’t have a specific launch date.

Not a professional development team

Illuvium’s team is largely composed of novice developers, which increases concern around the game’s security and long-term prosperity.

Not many Illuvials at launch

According to the game, there will be around 100 Illuvial NFTs. In comparison, games of this category launched with a higher number of collectible NFTs.

Getting started

Illuvium has not launched yet. However, to prepare for the game, it is important to set up your Immutable X wallet with Metamask. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you do this.

Step 1: First, open the Immutable X marketplace. In the upper left corner, click on “Connect.”

how to play Illuvium

Step 2: After that, choose the ETH wallet that you want to connect to Immutable X. Choose MetaMask and click on “Get Started.” To connect, you would need to give Immutable X access. Click “Next” and then “Connect.”

how to play Illuvium

Step 3: After connecting MetaMask, Immutable X will send a signature request to authorize your wallet. Click on “Sign.”

how to play Illuvium

Step 4: A MetaMask pop-up will appear. Click “Sign.”

how to play Illuvium

Step 5: Now, the last step would be to set up a key for your Immutable X wallet. Click on “Set up key” and sign the transaction via MetaMask.

how to play Illuvium

Whenever the game opens to the public, all you need to do is connect your wallet and start playing.

FAQs

How much is Illuvium worth?

As of now, Illuvium is trading around the $115 mark.

Is Illuvium playable?

Illuvium will be playable as soon as the game opens to the public.

How do I get Illuvium crypto?

You can purchase ILV across some major crypto exchanges like Binance.

When is the Illuvium release date?

The game is expected to release in the last quarter of 2022.

Illuvium Game Info

  • Genre: RPG
  • Free to Play: Yes
  • Platform(s): Mac, PC
  • Blockchain(s): Ethereum
  • Token(s): ILV
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Ruholamin Haqshanas is an accomplished crypto and finance journalist with over two years of experience writing in the field. He has a solid grasp of various segments of the FinTech space, including the decentralized iteration of financial systems (DeFi) and the emerging market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).