🔔 Introduction:

Last year, I wrote an article about @Illuvium as a leader in the new era of GameFi. At that time, it was indeed very conceptual, with gameplay that was not rich enough and an economic system that leaned towards finance, making it easy to associate with NFT investment products rather than a genuinely fun game.

Now, a year later, I can feel that there have been considerable changes in this project, especially some updates that have occurred in recent weeks that make me feel it is finally trying to move forward earnestly.

1️⃣ Project status:

Illuvium is a GameFi project built on Ethereum, integrating four types of gameplay: open-world exploration + auto-battle + construction simulation + NFT trading, which can be simply understood as:

The exploration and capturing mechanics of (Pokémon) → Corresponds to Overworld;

The combat system of (Auto Chess) → Corresponds to Arena;

Management gameplay similar to (SimCity) → Corresponds to Zero;

In addition to a real-value tradable NFT market and governance token mechanism.

2️⃣ Currently, the entire ecosystem consists of 4 products:

➤ Illuvium: Overworld: Open-world exploration, capturing Illuvials, and resource gathering, the gameplay has matured significantly compared to last year.

➤ Illuvium: Arena: An auto-battle game that can be PvE or PvP, currently the most active combat entry.

➤ Illuvium: Zero: Simulation management gameplay, building industrial bases, gathering resources, leaning towards strategy.

➤ Illuvium: Beyond: Collection gameplay, linked with avatar NFTs, more of an auxiliary/derivative product.

Compared to before, Illuvium is no longer just a concept; you can truly feel that the system is getting closer to the logic of a real AAA online game.

3️⃣ Recent update highlights:

🔸 Automatic resource gathering system launched (ADR): An automatic resource gatherer (Auto Deployable Resource Unit) has been introduced in the Overworld. Simply put, you no longer need to manually mine or gather resources; after deployment, it will automatically do it for you.

It allows you to skip tedious, repetitive steps and focus on exploration and strategy. This change is actually quite crucial, meaning that the Illuvium experience is no longer so time-consuming and is more friendly to casual players.

🔸 Leviathan Pro League launched, with a prize pool of $250,000: The Arena module has opened up high-intensity competitive matches, with a prize pool of $250,000, attracting many OG players and streamers to participate.

These types of competitions are essentially aimed at pushing Arena towards the development of esports. The spectacle and competitiveness have increased significantly compared to last year. Personally, I feel that if a regular league can be established, Illuvium would truly have a game lifecycle.

🔸 The $ILV token has recently seen a slight increase: At the end of July, $ILV was fluctuating around $13, and by the date of writing, it had reached $21+, with trading volume and community activity experiencing a rebound.

Of course, this is just a reminder that $ILV is also gradually becoming the lifeblood of the entire economic system, participating in staking, governance, ecological returns, etc.

If you hold sILV (i.e., the product of staking), you can also use it directly in the game to pay for certain items and functions, reducing the awkward path of buying and selling ETH in-game.

🎯 In conclusion:

Of course, Illuvium still has its issues. For example, the overall learning curve is still relatively high for newcomers; although it is easier to get started now, it still lacks a satisfying experience. The city-building aspect of the Zero module feels somewhat simplistic, and simulation management players may find it repetitive after some time. Additionally, the entire ecosystem hasn't yet made significant connections with external IPs, and the lack of crossover remains a bottleneck.

I feel that 2025 will be the year when blockchain games start to compete on who can truly last, but I believe that as long as Illuvium continues to update and maintain its current receptive state, its time in the spotlight won't be short.

This article does not constitute any investment advice! Investors need to carefully assess risks #DYOR

🤝 Thank you everyone!