Illuvium Preview: Everything You Need to Know About the NFT Games and Airdrop

Illuvium is a sci-fi fantasy NFT gaming IP with 4 video games in growth: Illuvium Area, Overworld, Zero, and Past. Whereas every of those titles are separate video games, they do provide some interoperability and cross-game rewards.

The Illuvium staff has additionally launched its personal Ethereum ERC-20 token, ILV, and its personal market, the Illuvidex. There’s additionally a community-based voting system in place with the Illuvium DAO, which suggests new initiatives for the Illuvium ecosystem.

After years of growth, Illuvium seems to be nearing a correct launch—with some sort of airdrop coming too. Right here’s what you might want to know concerning the vast world of Illuvium.

What are Illuvium’s NFTs?

There are over 150 completely different alien-like fictional creatures referred to as Illuvials that populate the world of Illuvium. Illuvials are collectible NFTs, and every creature has completely different “synergies,” or affinities, that give them strengths and weaknesses towards sure characters, like Pokémon. Illuvials can be utilized in Area and Overworld.

However not each Illuvium NFT is an Illuvial—the staff has additionally launched emote NFTs, drone skins, and recreation badges, to call just a few. The Illuvium staff can be promoting digital land NFTs by its market, the Illuvidex, to play Zero.

Followers may purchase Illuvitar D1sks, packs that comprise an assortment of Illuvitars and equipment, to play Illuvium Past. Illuvitars are collectible profile-picture type NFTs impressed by the Illuvials.

What’s the ILV token?

The Illuvium token, or ERC-20 ILV token, is Illuvium’s cryptocurrency and governance token. ILV is used to reward gamers in Illuvium’s varied video games, and it’s additionally a token utilized by the Illuvium DAO as a voting chip. ILV will also be staked for rewards.

The worth of ILV peaked at $1,911 in November 2021, and has been down considerably since then. Nevertheless, it is proven indicators of life in current months (as of this writing), climbing again close to $150 in March 2024. It is up 130% since one yr in the past, and is likely one of the largest gaming tokens by market cap.

How does the Illuvium DAO work?

Illuvium has a token-based decentralized on-line group, or DAO, referred to as the Illuvinati Governance, with roughly 4,400 members in accordance with the DAO’s web site. Inside the Illuvium DAO, there’s additionally a group sub-council. Members can vote on varied proposals to assist enhance the Illuvium ecosystem, from technical modifications to sale proposals to PVP tournaments.

Why does Illuvium use Immutable X?

Immutable X is a layer-2 Ethereum scaling blockchain from crypto startup Immutable. In keeping with a 2022 weblog publish, Illuvium makes use of Immutable X as a result of Immutable’s blockchain permits for “off-chain” NFT minting, and Immutable’s IMX token is just not required for transactions. Immutable X additionally provides Illuvium the power to supply extra “gasless” or transaction-free actions, which means that gamers gained’t be pressured to “signal” with their crypto wallets for each change made to their NFT collections.

What’s Illuvium Area?

Illuvium Area is a player-vs-player (PVP), turn-based creature battle enviornment recreation the place gamers should place down playing cards of their magic creatures, often called Illuvials, which develop into characters that robotically battle on a small, sq. recreation board. 

Illuvial NFTs may be bought and traded, however some recreation variations and modes will enable gamers to entry a small collection of Illuvials totally free. Within the turn-based 1v1 video games of Area, gamers should use character data and technique to defeat their opponents whereas additionally managing their card spend assets.

Area’s Survival mode is a player-vs-environment (PVE) battle enviornment expertise, by which gamers should struggle the pc because it deploys waves of Illuvials onto the board. In Area’s Ascendant mode, gamers can have interaction in PVP battles to climb the sport’s leaderboard. In Area’s Leviathan mode, gamers will have the ability to struggle one another in a PVP-style “no-holds-barred” mode with the “most epic groups conceivable,” in accordance with Illuvium’s web site, which doesn’t reveal additional particulars about this mode.

At time of writing, Illuvium Area is at present accepting registrations for its open beta, and is on the market on PC and Mac.

What’s Illuvium Overworld?

Illuvium Overworld is the open-world role-playing recreation (RPG) within the Illuvium ecosystem. In Overworld, gamers can fly round, discover seven numerous and colourful areas, forge gear, harvest and mine assets, and catch Illuvials through mini Area-like PVE recreation experiences. 

In Overworld, as soon as a participant approaches an Illuvial’s aura, they’ll be transported to an Area battle setup the place they’ll have to make use of their Illuvials to try to catch the brand new challenger.

Illuvium Overworld is at present taking open beta registrations and is on the market for PC and Mac players. 

What’s Illuvium Zero?

Illuvium Zero is a real-time technique (RTS) recreation by which players get to construct and handle their very own “digital industrial complicated.” Zero is a useful resource extraction simulation recreation, permitting gamers to make use of the gas they extract in Illuvium Overworld or promote it on the Illuvidex for crypto. Illuvium calls Zero a companion recreation, and its alpha model is at present accessible for land NFT house owners solely. Illuvium Zero will launch for Android gadgets, Mac, and PCs.

What’s Illuvium Past?

Illuvium Past is a fully-released NFT-based browser expertise the place gamers can use their Illuvitar NFTs to climb a leaderboard. Every Illuvitar can have completely different equipment and traits that decide their “energy score.” The purpose of Past is to get every Illuvitar’s energy score as excessive as potential through equipment and accumulating Album Factors.

In a way, Illuvium Past is a aggressive artwork modification and assortment recreation, the place the artwork is a set of user-acquired animal playing cards. Past will provide a six-tier ranked system, the place gamers might be assigned a rank from “unranked” by bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond—much like many aggressive video games.

The long run

Illuvium’s Overworld and Area video games had been added to the Epic Video games Retailer through a 2-for-1 itemizing final November. The itemizing mentions plans to transition from the present early entry part into a correct open beta.

That is at present deliberate to occur throughout Q2 2024, as Illuvium Labs lately introduced that launch goal alongside a $12 million funding spherical in March. And there is one other fascinating wrinkle right here: plans for a group airdrop, valued at greater than $25 million price of tokens in accordance with a press announcement.

Illuvium has since shared extra particulars through a Twitter (aka X) thread, noting that gamers will have the ability to earn “airdrop factors” by a play-to-airdrop marketing campaign spanning Non-public Beta 4 from April 30 to Might 28, after which into the open beta on testnet from Might 28 till an as-yet-unannounced date. Anybody will have the ability to play throughout the testnet beta earlier than the sport in the end launches in open beta on mainnet after that part.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

Editor’s notice: This story was initially printed on November 26, 2023 and final up to date with new data on March 31, 2024.