Illuvium Opens Epoch 12 Governance Elections

Illuvium is giving its community another opportunity to influence the future of its web3 gaming ecosystem. Nominations for the project's Epoch 12 governance elections opened on October 17, with five seats on the Illuvium Main Council (IMC) available. The nomination period runs until October 27 at 05:00 UTC, followed by voting from October 27 to October 31.

Only ILV stakers can nominate candidates and participate in the election. This round also introduces an important change to the voting process, as voting power is now calculated across both Ethereum and Base following the integration of Staking V3.

With governance changes underway and new competitive content arriving in Illuvium: Arena, Epoch 12 is an important moment for the community. Here's how the election works and what players should know about the latest developments across the Illuvium ecosystem.

Five Seats Are Open in the Epoch 12 Election

Illuvium officially opened nominations for the Illuvium Main Council on October 17 at 05:00 UTC. Community members have until October 27 at 05:00 UTC to nominate candidates for the five available positions.

Voting begins immediately after nominations close and continues through October 31, when the winners will be determined.

The IMC is currently the only elected council within the Illuvium decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Consequently, this election represents the community's main opportunity to choose representatives responsible for overseeing governance and related responsibilities.

For ILV holders who participate in staking, the election offers a direct way to influence who helps guide the project's development and community decisions.

How Illuvium Governance Voting Works

Illuvium uses staked ILV to determine governance voting power. Participants must stake their tokens to gain voting rights, a mechanism designed partly to make it harder for individuals to manipulate elections through multiple identities, commonly known as Sybil attacks.

Eligible stakers can nominate candidates and delegate their voting power to the nominees they support. The final voting process takes place through Snapshot, a platform commonly used by decentralized projects to conduct governance votes.

The Epoch 12 election also marks the first governance vote following the integration of Staking V3 voting.

Under the updated system, a user's voting power is calculated separately for their eligible vILV balance on Ethereum and Base. These amounts are then combined to establish their total voting power.

This change connects Illuvium's governance process with its newer staking infrastructure, allowing eligible participants to have their voting power recognized across both networks.

Staking V3 Brings ILV Staking to Base

Illuvium launched Staking V3 in November 2025, moving its staking system from Ethereum to Base. Users can bridge ILV through the project's official ILV Bridge, which is powered by LayerZero.

The updated staking system includes several features designed to reward participation over time.

Stakers can lock their ILV for periods ranging from 30 to 365 days, with lock multipliers between 1x and 2x. Longer commitments can therefore increase the weight of eligible staked positions under the system's rules.

Rewards come in two forms:

• ILV revenue distributions: The RevDis protocol distributes ILV after every 150 ETH in revenue generated.

• Daily Shards: These function as seasonal loyalty points for stakers.

The system also includes an OG Boost, which rewards eligible early stakers based on their historical activity on Ethereum. The OG Boost can combine with lock multipliers, subject to a maximum combined multiplier of 3x.

For Epoch 12, the integration means eligible voting power is no longer calculated solely from the staking position on one network. Instead, the system accounts for qualifying balances across Ethereum and Base.

How Illuvium Governance Has Changed

The previous IMC election took place during Epoch 11. Nominations opened on April 30, 2025, and voting closed on May 13. The elected members were Kieran Warwick, @JoshwaaaDixon, @illuvination, @jaganite, and @X_Filow.

Following the election, the council appointed committee members, including those serving on the Esports Committee.

Since then, Illuvium has continued adjusting its governance structure. Governance V3 extended each epoch from six months to nine months, reducing how frequently the DAO needs to onboard new council members.

The update also replaced the older sub-council structure with advisory committees appointed by the IMC.

Another significant change came in April 2025, when proposal GCCP-4 reduced council salaries and returned the IMC to full decentralization, with voting power coming from token stakers.

The Illuvium Community Council was also paused earlier in 2026. The Community Sub Council supported the pause on February 27, and the IMC approved it on March 2. Since then, the IMC has assumed the Community Council's governance, review, and community responsibilities. Restoring the Community Council would require a new governance proposal.

These changes help explain why the Epoch 12 election matters beyond simply filling five positions: the elected council now operates within a governance structure that has evolved considerably over the past year.

Illuvium: Arena Keeps Its Seasonal Content Coming

While governance takes center stage, Illuvium's gaming ecosystem continues to receive new content.

Illuvium is a collection of interconnected web3 games built around Illuvials, collectible creatures that players capture, develop, and bring into battles. One of its competitive experiences, Illuvium: Arena, is an auto battler in which Rangers assemble teams of Illuvials and compete in Ranked Gauntlet matches.

On October 7, 2026, Arena version 1.18.8 launched alongside the Abyssal Chasm Event Pass. The pass runs for 19 days, ending on October 27 at 00:00 UTC.

Players earn Arena Points through Ranked Gauntlet matches to unlock rewards at milestones ranging from 3 to 750 points.

The Free Track includes Illuvials such as Earth Doka, Water Fliish, Earth Volante, Water Volante, Greater Monkier, Loulura, and Malura. It also offers 50 Fuel across its reward drops.

Players who want additional rewards can purchase the Premium Track for 800 Fuel. It includes creatures such as Exalted Monkier, Aapon, Grilla, Phorus, and Goliant, alongside 200 Fuel in drops, an emote, the Abyssal Chasm Challenger title, and XP boosts of up to 160%.

The event gives players a progression system to work through while providing additional rewards for those who choose the premium option.

Illuvium Challengers Series Returns for Its Second Event

The Abyssal Chasm Event Pass also supports the Illuvium Challengers Series #2, a competitive tournament tied to the current Arena season.

Registration is restricted to Premium Event Pass owners, making the pass a requirement for players who want to participate.

The first stage took place on October 18 at 19:00 UTC, reducing a field of 32 players to eight finalists. Those finalists are scheduled to return on October 25 at 19:00 UTC for a best-of-three points-format final.

The tournament features a $500 prize pool paid in ILV, with $200 allocated to the winner.

This follows the previous Taiga Boreal Event Pass, which ran from September 16 to October 1. Its Challengers Series #1 finals took place on October 4.

Arena also received a balance update in patch 1.18.7 on October 1. The patch reduced the Max Health damage of Rypter, Rypterus, and Ryplance while increasing their Energy Cost from 80 to 90.

These adjustments reflect the ongoing balance work that accompanies Illuvium's seasonal competitive content.

What Happens Next for Illuvium?

The next major milestone is the conclusion of the Epoch 12 election. Nominations close on October 27 at 05:00 UTC, voting runs from October 27 through October 31, and the results will determine who fills the five open IMC seats.

For ILV stakers, the election provides an opportunity to participate directly in the DAO's decision-making process. The updated voting integration also makes understanding staking positions across Ethereum and Base particularly relevant this time around.

Meanwhile, Illuvium: Arena continues to combine seasonal rewards, balance updates, and competitive events to keep its player community engaged.

For anyone following blockchain games, Illuvium offers an example of how gaming content and token-based governance can develop alongside one another. Its latest election will help determine the people overseeing community decisions, while its ongoing Arena updates provide players with new reasons to compete.

With five council seats at stake and the voting window approaching, the coming days will be an important period for both Illuvium's governance participants and its wider gaming community.