I understand what you're saying but its not nearly as difficult as you make it out to be. The exact mechanic we plan on using for inventions like the one in you

I understand what you're saying but its not nearly as difficult as you make it out to be. The exact mechanic we plan on using for inventions like the one in your example is a novel one and I'll have to be vague until I'm farther along in the project. As for balance issues, IMO, that's a silly notion that have evolved from poorly constructed MMOs; MMOs that have been constructed from obsolete mechanics and limitations. There wont be balance issues (of that sort) in this game. Just to step back a bit, I still like playing MMOs of today, they're great fun, but balance issues are a natural issue in their design, not ours. There will certainly be shifts in power as technology breaks a barrier in one place and not the other. But equally, shifts in power can emerge in other ways like, via a well controlled government or army.