Illuvium: Arena Beginners Guide

Welcome to the Illuvium Arena! This guide gives you a quick rundown of high-level gameplay to ensure you have a good time.

Battling in the Arena

Illuvium: Arena is just one of three titles that Illuvium currently offers. Many say the Arena is a key feature that sets Illuvium apart from other games. While the Arena might initially seem daunting, this beginner's guide aims to give you a solid start for your first games.

You may be new to the Autobattler or Autochess genre of games. In an Autobattler, you build a team and send them into automated fights. Your skill comes into play through team composition, positioning, and strategy rather than real-time action. 

Illuvium takes the Autobattler genre and spices it up with its unique twists, like affinities, classes, augments and bonding, which add more depth to team building. Plus, it's part of a larger Illuvium universe, so it's not just about the battles but the whole experience.

Alright, let's get into your first match! 

Choose a Mode:

Survival: Survival mode is a PvE (Player vs. Environment) experience with two types: Competitive and Casual. In Competitive mode, you team up to face endless, ever-harder waves that change daily. You also have a shot at making the leaderboard. Casual mode lets you play yesterday's wave without worrying about timers or leaderboards. 

Ascendant: Ascendant mode offers three options: Ranked, Casual, and Custom Matches. In Ranked, an Elo system matches you with players near your level. Elo ranks players in zero-sum games, where each match has equal winners and losers. Casual pairs you with the next person in the queue with no rank changes. Custom Matches lets you team up with a friend to test your squads or get some practice in. For a more comprehensive guide on Ascendant mode, check out our blog!

Leviathan: Coming Soon.

Playing your first game

First, understand your user interface's primary and essential components [Pictured Above]. Understanding your HUD will help you know how the games work at the highest level.

Illuvials: These are the critters you bring into battle alongside your Ranger. They've got a variety of lines, affinities, classes, tiers, and stages. You can go ahead and drag them onto the battle board to begin assembling your team. Our art team hand-draws every Illuvial concept art and renders it in 4K, making them the best-looking in-game assets you'll see.

Omega Ability: Each Illuvial has a unique ability that kicks in when it has enough Energy. Think of it as a power move that can shake up the battle.

Hyper Bonus: Your Illuvials can get a considerable boost from their class or affinity. There's a "Hyper View" mode you can check out. It shows a counter table for these bonuses and updates live during the battle. So you can always see what boosts you're getting.

Understanding Synergies

Affinities: Start by looking at affinities to build your team. If you pick Earth Illuvials, for example, you'll get extra perks as you scale from 3 to 5 to 7 Earth units. Hover over the affinity to see how the bonus increases.

Composite Affinities: These are just regular affinities mixed; they can be the same affinity or different ones. So, Water and Fire together make a Steam affinity. Unlike basic affinities, composites only stack bonuses for the new composite type, not the basic. Their stacking goes 2, 3, 4. Hover to see how it scales.

Classes: Like affinities, classes stack in sets of 3, 5, and 7. They use Illuvial classes like Rogue or Fighter. Stack multiple Fighters, and you'll get a bonus, which you can see by hovering over the class.

Composite Classes: These are a mix of two classes, either the same or different. For example, Rogue and Bulwark make a Vanguard class. These only stack with other composites, so you'll only get bonuses for Vanguard, not Rogue or Bulwark.

Dominant Affinity & Class: Each Illuvial that can form composite synergies will have a dominant affinity or class. You can easily pick these dominant traits in the team builder right now. Like, a Steam Illuvial could be dominant in either water or fire affinity, adding another layer to how you build your team. Once we hit Open Beta, these dominant traits will be random when you catch an Illuvial. So, get ready for an extra layer of strategy and unpredictability!

Bonding Ranger: Bonding your Ranger is critical to boosting your team's synergy. To bond, hit the "+" button and pick an Illuvial to bond with. Once bonded, your Ranger takes on that Illuvial's dominant affinity and class. Want to switch it up? Sell the Illuvial you're bonded with and are free to bond again.

Bonding and Weapons: If your Ranger is bonded and you equip a weapon, you'll get a composite affinity and class. For example, if you have Water (Rogue) Daggers and bond with a Fire Dominant, Bulwark Dominant Illuvial, your Ranger will become a Steam Vanguard Composite.

Filter by Weapons and Suits: Use the filter for weapons and suits to equip items easily. Drag and drop a weapon onto your Ranger to give it its affinity and class. You'll see these above your Ranger and any suit you've equipped.

Augments: Using these boosts right can seriously level up your team. Depending on the boost type, they can help attack or defend.

Mastery point: You kick off each game mode with a set number of mastery points. These increase as you play more rounds. Every item's got a mastery point price tag. In Survival mode, there's a twist: you earn interest on the mastery points you save. So, if an item's greyed out because you're short on points, hold off and let that interest roll in. Manage your points wisely to gear up!

Placement: Unit Positioning - How you place your units on the board is a game-changer. Even the best team can flop if you mess this up. Here's the lowdown:

• Hyper Ranges: Placing your units right can also help you rack up Hyper points, mainly when you use affinities to your advantage (like Fire against Water). When you max out and hit 100%, you get a one-time bonus based on your unit's class. So, be strategic and make those Hyper bonuses work for you!

• Frontline vs Backline: The basic rule is tanks are in the front and damage dealers are in the back. But watch out for units like rogues who can mess with this setup.

General Tips:

• Frontline Units: These are your meat shields. Units with traits like Bulwark and Fighter are great here. They take the hits while your backline does the work.

• Backline Units: These are typically glass cannon units that deal significant damage but must be protected to do their job. 

• Flanker Units: These units are hard to lock down, and Rogues can even start the fight from the opponent's side of the board. Use these well to remove high-priority targets before they can take over the battle. 

Teams can stick to this front-and-back setup, but you can get creative. Some strategies might have you bunch up, spread out, or even lean to one side of the board. Just keep tweaking until you find what works for you!

How to Win a Match

Survival Mode: The aim here is to survive; you must survive the longest to win. Keep taking on waves of Enemies until you can't win anymore and run out of checkpoints. So, how far will you get?

Ascendant: To win in PVP mode, each player starts with a set amount of HP, shown at the top of the screen as a health bar. If you lose a round, you take damage based on the total cost of the winning player's remaining units. The game keeps going like this until someone's HP hits zero. That player loses, and the other one wins. Simple as that!

Conclusion

This guide is your starter pack for understanding the Arena and the auto battler genre. But trust us, there's way more to learn. What is the best way to get better? Dive in and play. Join our community, ask questions, and check out excellent content from our creators. So go ahead, level up your game and have a blast! Want more details on different modes and gameplay? Check out our other blogs for all the info you'll need.