The second version of the Illuvium Overworld

Overworld

The overworld will be expanded from having the main hub and a single region to explore, to having three separate regions. While the regions each have a similar size, their feeling will vastly differ from one another. The Crimson waste that we’ve previously explored was always going to be the destroyed wasteland that retained little to no life. The heat and harmful substances were never meant to house any living beings. The fact that there are growing and living shocking luminescent hazelnuts is astonishing on its own.

The two newly discovered regions on the other hand create a much more habitable environment for plants and other organisms. The Abyssal Basin, that lies on the south of the second continent of Illuvium, makes up a dense rainforest with a humid and tropical atmosphere. A dense mangrove forest grows in the north side of the basin, while to the south, large mushrooms rise up from the boggy floor carrying the sediments on their caps. The toxic fumes that come from decomposing biomaterial make the atmosphere not at all pleasant which is in stark contrast to the most pleasing region: The Brightland Steppes.

As the name suggests, the brightland steppes will have a much more lively surrounding and look similar to brightly lit grasslands. Additionally, bubble-producing plants fill the skies with the pleasant noise of popping bubbles and rainbow-colored sceneries.  Now you may complain that the game should be challenging to keep you interested. This will be taken care of in a future update. This second overworld version won't have plants that can harm you yet, nor challenges that have to be overcome with witts and skills. The only threat in the Brightland Steppes is the abyss. The Brightland Steppes are held up by tentacles that have an unknown origin. The only thing we know is that whatever is down there likes to eat...  Anything. Even rocks.

New features

These new regions obviously aren’t the only new features for the overworld. Players will be able to glide, slide and see a bunch of other improvements to the character movements. While the Crimson waste doesn’t seem to have a unique movement mechanic implemented, the Brightland Steppes will allow you to be transported by particularly powerful bubbles, while the Abyssal Basin features lilly pads that allow you to travel downstream. Luckily, movement is not the only area where improvements will be visible.

Battling gameplay

The encounter gameplay where you battle other Illuvials before you can capture them will also gain a new dimension to it. The previous Illuvial count of 151 will likely be raised to the full 205 that we will see for the full release of the game. This means, more diversity, more difficulties and more collectability! 

One of the more difficult mechanics may be found in Geyyser, as he is a tank that does absolutely nothing in the beginning of a fight. It just sits there until it charges up enough energy to launch its Omega Ability. What will happen when it unleashes its ability? What has been leaked is that it will most definitely be showy, powerful and impactful! There have been some shared clips of Geyyser summoning an entire rainbow, with water pouring down on all the units of the battleboard. Will the water deal damage? Heal your team or both?

So how far are we away from this new Overworld? Let’s speculate!

Obviously we are all excited to get in on the fun. We wish we could give you a specific time for this to happen, but sadly we don’t have the authority to do so. The only thing we know is that it is coming soon. To give you an estimate of what “soon” means we can tell you that: The team has stated that they almost finished all of the Illuvials back in March, and that they only needed to finish less than 10 to finish the entirety of the first Set. 

The team has shown with this statement that the final product is getting there and that they are in the final dreggs to finish up all the Illuvials. In previous showcases since January, the Abyssal Basin seems to only have been getting some small improvements, such as sparkles falling from the trees or some set-dressing. This gets our hopes up that the new region will likely be opened up to the public relatively fast!

The Brightland Steppes is the only region that has been shown to lack in luster. None of the plants were added to the region and the bubble trails will require quite some work to show off their uniqueness. If the team decides to work on this region as extensively as the Abyssal Basin, we think it may take another 3 months before it is as close to the other two regions…

What and when exactly the new version will come out will therefore remain to be seen. But we are convinced that we are in the perfect season for it. It’s not winter that is coming, but summer… And its speedy arrival may surprise you.