Learn how to play Illuvium, the world's first triple AAA blockchain Game

Starting Your Intergalactic Adventure

After downloading the game, you would need to customize your character and choose your drone sidekick. Once you are set to go, you can embark on your intergalactic adventure with your drone partner. Using the free tools for beginner players, you can capture some weak Illuvials to kickstart your collection. The game has a Tier 0 which serves as a free-to-play platform for new players to try out the game and learn the ropes. As you engage in battles using your Illuvials, they will grow from strength to strength and become more powerful especially if their attributes are upgraded using special items.

Gameplay Battle Modes

Illuvium Arena, Overworld and Zero are components of Illuvium's IBG network which are connected to each other through common elements in the form of shared NFTs and in-game currencies, or both. The IBG concept of Illuvium ecosystem is such that Illuvium Zero is a base building game whereby the extracted resources can be used to capture Illuvials in Illuvium Overworld. Subsequently, the Illuvials captured in Illuivium Overworld can then be used in battles in Illuvium Arena.

Moving forward, the developer of Illuvium plans to build another six games to complement the existing three in the Illuvium IBG ecosystem. As of February 2023, Illuvuim offers three gameplay battle modes all of which are in testing phases:-

(1) Illuvium Arena

This game mode which as of February 2023 is in the second phase of private beta testing, offers three different sub-game modes namely, Survival Arena, Ascendant Arena, and Leviathan Arena. As of February 2023, only the Survival Arena is available under the private beta testing phase. The gameplay mode of Survival Arena involves players trying to survive endless waves of attacks by increasingly powerful Illuvials.

In time to come, both the Ascendant Arena and Leviathan Arena will be available. In the Ascendant Arena, players will be on equal footing, and experience levels will be normalized, with each Illuvial costing a certain number of points. This makes combat more reliant on skill rather than pure strength. In contrast, the Leviathan Arena has no such restrictions. True to the gladiator spirit which imbued the Colosseum in times gone by, spectators can place bets on the outcomes of matches in the Leviathan Arena. This provides even more motivation and impetus for players to showcase their skills and dominance.

Illuvium Arena (Source: Illuvium.io)

(2) Illuvium Overworld

This game mode which as of February 2023 is in the first phase of private beta testing, allows players to travel across the vast landscape in search of rare and powerful Illuvials. These creatures can be difficult to capture, but the rewards for doing so can be substantial.

As more and more Illuvials are discovered and captured, the challenge of capturing them will increase, as the capture rate is directly tied to the number of Illuvials that have been caught. As you progress through the Overworld, your team and character will grow in power and strength.

Illuvium Overworld (Source: Illuvium.io)

(3) Illuvium Zero

This game mode which as of February 2023 is in the first phase of private alpha testing, allows players to develop and manage their own Land plots, building and upgrading structures and facilities to extract valuable resources and generate rare blueprints for new skins. These blueprints can be used for crafting or sold on the IlluviDex for $ETH. Players can also extract Fuel from their Land and sell it to other players across all Illuvium games, earning revenue in the process. By carefully managing their Land and making strategic decisions, players can maximize their profits and build a successful digital industrial complex.

How it works is that the Fuel produced in Illuvium Zero can be used to power players in Illuvium Overworld. Additionally, the resources extracted and blueprint generated from Illuvium Zero can be used to create NFT skins in both Illuvium Overworld and Illuvium Arena.

Illuvium Zero (Source: Illuvium.io)

Gameplay Mechanics Elements

The two key gameplay elements underlying the mechanics of Illuvium Arena are Affinity and Class:

(1) Affinity and Class

(a) Affinities

These are elemental types that determine the damage dealt and received by Illuvials. The game has five base Affinities: Water, Earth, Fire, Nature, and Air. Each Affinity has strengths and weaknesses against other Affinities, much like traditional collectible card games. The synergistic relationships between the different elements are as follows:

• Water – Strong against Earth and Fire / Weak against Nature and Air
• Earth – Strong against Nature and Fire / Weak against Water and Air
• Fire – Strong against Nature and Air / Weak against Earth and Water
• Nature – Strong against Air and Water / Weak against Fire and Earth
• Air – Strong against Water and Earth / Weak against Fire and Nature

Affinities' Interlinkages (Source: Illuvium.fandom.com)

The Fusion mechanism allows players to merge multiple Illuvials of same or different elements to become more powerful beasts, albeit with different attributes. The general rule for Fusion is to merge two Illuvials to develop a more formidable Illuvial with a new set of attributes. The three combinations referred to in Illuvium’s whitepaper are:-

• Frost = Air + Water
• Inferno = Fire + Fire
• Overgrowth = Nature + Nature

(b) Classes

There are five base Classes for Illuvials i.e. Fighter, Guardian, Rogue, Psion, and Empath. Each Class has its own unique synergy, meaning a team of Guardians will have strong defensive abilities, while a team of Rogues might excel at quick, precise attacks.

The symbiotic relationships between common affinities or classes are managed through the game’s Hybrid Synergy System which allows the Illuvials of different team members to become stronger if they have synergies between them. These synergies boost the raw power of Illuvials, thereby helping players to outperform their opponents.

In a departure from the typical evolution process found in role-playing games (where characters or creatures evolve into stronger or more advanced forms as they progress through the game), Illuvials can also undergo Fusion in order to reach higher levels of power. The resulting fused Illuvial in Ascended form will be stronger and more advanced than its previous form.

This Fusion process serves as a unique mechanic within the game, offering players the opportunity to further strengthen their team and progress through the story. Similar to the affinities of Illuvials, the classes of players’ characters can also undergo Fusion.

Classes Fusion Evolution Tree (Source: Infoluvial.io)

2. Gameplay Synthetic NFTs

In order to capture Illuvials in the Illuvial Overworld game mode, players must use a Shard (an NFT) of sufficient capturing power. In Illuvium, players can mine Shards from deposits in the game world. The capturing power of a Shard is determined by its tier, with higher tiers being more effective at capturing stronger Illuvials. However, it's important to note that the quality of the Shards that players mine is random, with the most powerful ones being the rarest.

The mining and harvesting process requires a Polymorphic Subordinate Drone which forge the raw elements into Shard NFTs as well as other types of in-game NFTs such as Weapons, Armor, and Imbues. The functions of these other NFTs are as follows:-

(a) Weapons NFTs: Determines your class and attacking powers

(b) Armor NFTs: Determines your defensive abilities against the beasts that you fight

(c) Imbues NFTs: Modular components which add cosmetic changes to items in your collection such as Weapons, Armor or even Polymorphic Subordinate Drones.

All these NFTs can be bought or sold via IlluviDEX. The DEX is the backbone of Illuvium's IBG ecosystem as it serves as the marketplace for the NFT assets of games in the ecosystem.