Within the game, many inventions and sciences are "hidden" in the game, waiting to be unlocked. These are also added invisibly through patches to keep things changing. Unlocking these inventions and sciences affects the inventor’s entire race, and usually involves a large monetary reward from NPC kings of that race. Players can spend time tinkering and inventing. This involves combining different resources from the world in various crafting locations to see if they can unlock a new invention. For example, a player might take tree sap, wood, and liquid iron ore and try to combine it in a tailor’s loom. If this was one of the secret combinations, it would unlock a piece of a new invention. Otherwise, the ingredients would be lost. Once that player had found three similar pieces, they could combine them to create a new technology or invention.
If one race unlocks a certain skill or item, only their race can use it for the next 20 days. At the end of this time, other races are assumed to have successfully copied and integrated it, and can then use it. Invention recipes will differ from server to server, so unlocking the trebuchet on one server will not teach the other servers how to unlock it. This will differentiate races for a short period of time, and help players feel like they are ultimately affecting the world. Some of the inventions include: Greek fire, trebuchets, battering rams, covered battering rams, ballista, advanced farming tools, advanced harvesting tools, advanced carts for carrying harvested items, and advanced foods.