As the saying goes, “zero is where everything starts”, and so your journey in Illuvium starts off with Illuvium Zero, the base building game of the Illuvium ecosystem. Illuvium Zero is the foundation of Illuvium’s Interoperable Blockchain Game (IBG) system. The concept of IBG is such that assets can be used across the different games in the Illuvium ecosystem. For example, resources farmed from Illuvium Zero can be used to craft Blueprints and other items in other Illuvium games such as Overworld and Arena.

According to Illuvium’s developers, the Public Alpha testing for Illuvium Zero would be split into two seasons. The first phase of the testing (Season 0) opened on 6 January 2023 and is expected to last for six to eight weeks. This will be followed by Season 1 and then, subsequently, the Public Beta Phase.

Building on the lore of the game, Illuvium Zero players find themselves ejected from the main ship after it had crashed. Their objective is to build an industrial complex that serves as a base for their operations. As Illuvium Zero is playable on both mobile and PC, players can build their base in the game using either of these platforms. Regardless of their choice of preferred platform, the first step to start playing Illuvium Zero is to obtain a Land NFT.

The full-release version of Illuvium Zero will be free-to-play with Tier 0 Land given freely to new players. However, to access core gameplay experiences like earning Fuel, players must purchase Land NFTs. There are five Tiers of Land NFTs in Illuvium Zero that can be purchased using Ether (ETH) from either Illuvidex or the Immutable X marketplace. Higher Tier Lands have better element harvesting potentials and fuel production capabilities than lower Tier Lands. These advantages also mean High Tier Lands are rarer and more valuable. Tier 5 Land is the rarest and has the unique function of hosting esports matches and player-versus-player (PvP) tournaments.

Once players have selected their preferred Tier and the specific parcel of Land to be purchased, they would need deposit some ETH into their wallet. The ETH deposit process requires players to link their Metamask wallet with the Immutable X marketplace through the steps below.

Step 1

Firstly you need to link your wallet to the Immutable X Marketplace. For our example, we used the Metamask wallet to connect with Immutable X. Once you have connected your wallet, you will be prompted to set up an Immutable X key. The process does not require the recording of any seed phrases. Signing the transaction will complete the setup of the Immutable X key.

Immutable X Key Setup Interface (Source: Avocado DAO)

Step 2

The next step is to deposit some ETH into the Immutable X wallet. Click on your wallet on the top navigation bar of the marketplace and then select 'Deposit'. Enter the amount of ETH you want to deposit to the Immutable X wallet. This amount should equal the cost of the land you would like to purchase.

ETH Deposit Interface (Source: Avocado DAO)

Step 3

Once the ETH deposit process is complete, proceed to purchase the selected Land parcel by clicking "Buy Now".

Land Purchase Confirmation Notification (Source: Avocado DAO)

Step 4

Congratulations, you are now a proud owner of your very own Illuvium Land! Proceed to go to the official Illuvium Zero Website and link your wallet to your illuvium account.

Wallet Link Confirmation Notification (Source: Avocado DAO)

After linking your wallet to your Illuvium account, the download option will be available, and players can choose the Windows or Mac option if they are downloading to their PC. For the mobile options, you must select Android.

Upon loading the game client, select which Land you want to start the game with. Most players can choose the Free-To-Play (F2P) Land or the Land you just purchased from following the steps above.

Land Selection Interface (Source: Avocado DAO)

This course will focus on the Land NFTs from Tier 1 to Tier 5. Please note that, you cannot generate fuel earnings during Seasons 0 and 1 of Illuvium Zero Alpha Testing. The Land NFTs will only generate earnings when the game's earning economy is released after the two seasons of Public Alpha testing phases are complete.

Nexus and Engineering Workshop in the Tier 2 Land of Plot 95981 in the Halcyon Sea (Source: Avocado DAO)

Now you have your very own Illuvium Land, the first two structures you should build are the Nexus and Engineering Workshop. With these structures built, your next goal should be to harvest your very first resources from your Land. There are three types of Fuel and three types of Elements that you can harvest.

Specifications of Fuels and Elements (IlluvialMaster.com)

Elements

Elements are used to construct advanced structures and other activities such as research and Energy production. For example, you can use structures such as Singularity Scanner to scan for Illuvial biodata. The scanned biodata can then be used in the Material Labs for further research to generate Blueprints. The Blueprints are where the interoperability benefits of Web 3 games shine through. You can use the blueprints generated from your Land to create ranger suit skins, drone configurations, and weapons for other Illuvium game modes like Illuvium Arena.

Blueprints Generation and NFT Skins Display Structures (IlluvialMaster.com)

You should note that Blueprints generated in Season 0 cannot be carried forward to future seasons. Blueprints generated in Season 1 can be carried forward and used in future phases in Illuvium. What will be carried forward to the future is the knowledge you gain from Season 0. A few examples are insights on what to build and where to best farm for resources.

In order to get these benefits, you must construct specific structures to harvest the Elements.

• Harvesting of Hydrogen requires a Hydrogen Pump
• Harvesting of Carbon requires a Sediment Excavator.
• Harvesting of Silicon requires a Mine.

Elements Harvesting Structures (IlluvialMaster.com)

Fuel

Fuel is another core component of the interoperable benefit of the Illuvium Ecosystem. You can use Fuel extracted from Illuvium Zero to power your adventures in Illuvium Overworld. For example, you can use Hyperion harvested from your Land to assist in capturing Illuvials. Want to upgrade weapons and armor in your Overworld adventure? Then you want to make sure to harvest some Solon Fuel. The last fuel type Crypton, is used to travel to different regions in Illuvium Overworld.

You can also trade Fuel for ETH on the IlluviDEX. However, before Fuel can be used or traded, it must first be harvested. In this regard, harvesting Crypton, Hyperion, and Solon would require the construction of a Crypto Gate, Hyperion Extractor, and Solon Dredge respectively.

Fuel Production Structures (IlluvialMaster.com)

Illuvium has plans to introduce a Land rental mechanism that would allow Landowners to lease out their Land to players based on a time-based fee or profit-sharing arrangement. The Land rental option is unavailable in Season 0 of Illuvium Zero, and no further details are available as of February 2023.

Illuvium has plans to introduce a mechanism that would allow adjacent plots of Land, which are 2x2 or 3x3 square in size, to be combined to form megacities. The Land constituting these megacities would be able to share landmark bonuses and resources such as buildings and structures. Megacities are unavailable under Season 0 of Illuvium Zero, and as of February 2023, Illuvium has yet to announce any specific timeline for its implementation.

Now that you have learned the ropes for harvesting resources in Illuvium Zero, its time to start your adventure in the world of Illuvium through our next course, Explore the Great Big World of Illuvium with Illuvium World.