Tale of Diep:Illumina Crystals

Illumina Crystals are a new game mechanic introduced in. Illumina Crystals are scattered throughout all portions of. They act as a collectible not just from finding them throughout the world, but acting as boss drops as well. They're used for trading at an NPC in Imperium, the Epitome Mystic, being exchangeable for, s, special reward chests, and more.

Lore
Illumina Crystals are powerful gemstones that appear all across The Realm. Not much is known about why they do, or who or what put them there, what created them... but what is known is their cryptic and sealed potential. Illumina Crystals are valued by many for the magic locked within them, certain mystics able to tap into this potential and use their magic for something else, at the expense of the crystal itself. So is how the Epitome Mystic converts their power into treasures for adventurers brave enough to retrieve them, using the rest of the magic to better empower him and his own studies.

Illumina Crystals impact this world far greater than could have been imagined. They symbolize the life of the magic in the land, in a similar way to Tanks and Polygons, and all other creatures representing life of sentience in the land. When Illumina Crystals are used, part of the world slowly fades, and so it must be replenished over time itself through the formation of more crystals. This takes time, and unfortunately, many heroes and soldiers of the Tank Empire do not have patience...

Mechanics
Illumina Crystals can be found all over. Every single area of the world has them, yet some locations have higher densities than others. Their spawn locations are entirely random, and as stated, based on area, but when they do appear they on first glance seem lodged in the earth, half buried and ready to be pulled out. The crystals themselves vary in size upon summon, but when broken and collected become just simple Illumina Crystals. Since Illumina Crystals take up an inventory slot, they are lost upon death. Illumina Crystals can stack up to 99 before a new stack begins. They are one of the few stackable items placed in the inventory. Since they are kept in the inventory, Illumina Crystals currently on hand will be lost with the rest of the should the player die.

There are three ways of finding Illumina Crystals, one of which is exclusive to :
 * Finding them stuck in the ground. The most common way of finding Illumina Crystals. They can rarely be found wedged within the earth, sometimes in clusters, just scattered throughout The Realm. They can be collected by shooting at them enough, where the Crystal will drop to the ground in collection. Toil Ridge and Neverest Mountains have the highest concentration of Illumina Crystals. Melancholy Forest and Shattered Coast have the least.
 * Killing enemies or bosses. Very rare, as the enemy must actively seek and have collected Illumina Crystals to drop them. Some enemies in The Realm do hunt after Illumina Crystals as well, mainly the Cult for their own nefarious purposes. Each enemy that DOES seek Illumina Crystals can collect up to 5, and there is a 50% chance divided by crystals collected that they will all be dropped at death.
 * The floating crystals. exclusive. The area of Somber Falls is already plagued with enough magical mysteries that rock comes to life, water flows upward, and masses of land float. So too do the Illumina Crystals at times. Only found at high altitudes such as atop the cliffs and grassy hills of southern Somber Falls where the Freshwater Grovelers reside can floating Illumina Crystals be found. Most of the time they float above open air off the edge of a cliff and will only be collectible if they float over the land to be shot down first. Otherwise, they are the same as ground crystals.

Trivia

 * For a long time have appeared scattered across Realm Area images, but only now have they finally served a purpose as explanation for their appearance everywhere.
 * Somber Falls is a strange enough place to get its own crystal unique to it.
 * An indirect currency type, as Illumina Crystals are not used at a shop, but instead can be used on one of three one-time offers per day at a special NPC in Imperium.