In The Silk Road, players engage in a dynamic trading system where valuable resources like spices, silk, and tea flow from Asia to Europe. To succeed, players must secure control over trade routes, fend off enemies, and safely transport goods to markets.
Asia produces these sought-after resources, while (not yet implemented) Europe buys them at highest prices, allowing players to earn high profits by mastering the flow of goods across the old world.
Coinage
In The Silk Road mod, the coinage system features three denominations: 10, 90, and 180 coins. Players can break coins into smaller values by placing them in their crafting GUI, making it easy to manage transactions.
To upgrade two 90 coins into a 180 coin, simply place them in the crafting GUI.
However, converting (9) 10 coins into a 90 coin requires a full crafting table.
This system allows for flexible currency management as players trade across the Silk Road.
Trading
In The Silk Road mod, markets are key trading hubs found in various nations where players can exchange goods for cash, sell items, or take on jobs.
Each region’s market offers unique items—from food, tools, clothes, and armor to rare goods like astrolabes and coffee. Chinese merchants are especially important, as they exclusively sell essential resources for production, like tea plants and silkworms.
Advanced weaponry, including naphtha bombs and thunder crash bombs, can also be purchased, alongside everyday necessities, making markets essential for both trade and survival across the world.
Recruiting Soldiers
In The Silk Road, you can recruit friendly soldiers by using a 90-coin payment. Simply right-click on the soldier to recruit them, and toggle between having them follow you or stay in place. These loyal soldiers can assist you in your adventures, offering protection and support as you explore the vast trade routes and dangerous lands.
Ores
Cobalt
Cobalt Ore in The Silk Road mod is a rare resource found only in Middle Eastern regions, such as the Abbasid Caliphate. When mined, it drops cobalt powder, a valuable material used to craft cobalt blue porcelain. This vibrant, prized porcelain can be sold to Islamic countries for a significant profit, making cobalt a highly sought-after resource for players involved in trade across the Silk Road.
Pyrite
Pyrite Ore in The Silk Road mod is a crucial resource for advanced crafting. When mined, it drops pyrite powder, an essential ingredient in the production of gunpowder for explosives and weapons. Additionally, pyrite powder can be easily converted into blaze powder on a crafting table, making it invaluable for activating brewing stands and other essential recipes. Its versatility makes pyrite a key component for both warfare and trade.
Silver
Silver in The Silk Road mod is a precious metal with promising potential for crafting and trade, though it currently has no specific use. In future updates, players will be able to craft silver into exquisite jewelry, which can be given as gifts to earn favor from officials.
Pottery Clay
Pottery Clay in The Silk Road mod is a valuable resource found exclusively underground in East Asian biomes, particularly within the territories of the Chinese Song Dynasty. This rich, malleable clay is essential for crafting exquisite porcelain, a highly sought-after trade good known for its beauty and durability. Players will need to venture into the depths of these biomes to gather pottery clay, unlocking the potential to create fine porcelain items that can be sold or used for various purposes in their trading ventures.
Resource Production
Silk
In The Silk Road mod, silk production begins with purchasing rare and expensive silkworm eggs from Chinese merchants, with prices reaching into the thousands.
Once hatched, silkworms produce silk cocoons every 2 minutes.
These cocoons must be cleaned in a furnace, and when you gather 9 of them, you can craft raw silk in a crafting table.
Raw silk can be taken to a seamstress to create clothing or accessories, but to maximize profits, dyeing is key. Combine dyes in a crafting table to make mixed dye, then use a brewing stand with blaze powder (crafted from pyrite) to dye the silk.
Once dyed, your silk is ready to be sold to merchants for a high price.
Tea
Tea production in The Silk Road mod begins with purchasing a tea plant from a Chinese merchant. Once planted, the tea plant will periodically drop leaves, which are essential for crafting tea. To prepare the tea, players must dry the leaves by placing them in a furnace.
Once dried, the tea powder can be packaged by combining the leaves with paper at a crafting table.
Players can sell the packaged tea for profit or brew it in a brewing stand for personal consumption. Additionally, players can brew tea for customers in markets to make a profit.
With 9 tea leaves, players can also create new tea plants.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder production in The Silk Road mod is a vital process for crafting powerful weapons like early bombs and fire lances.
To create gunpowder, players must first collect poop from pigs, which drops every 2-3 minutes. This organic material is then placed in a furnace to produce hardened poop.
Next, players need to mine sulfur from Pyrite Ore. Once both ingredients are gathered, combine the hardened poop with pyrite and charcoal or coal to create Chinese gunpowder.
This explosive substance is essential for manufacturing bombs, which require gunpowder for use, and fire lances, which need bullets to function. Mastering gunpowder production is key to advancing in warfare and trade within the game.
Porcelain
In The Silk Road mod, making porcelain begins with mining pottery clay found underground in East Asian biomes. Once gathered, players can use the clay at a crafting table to create raw vases, plates, or cups. These raw products must then be placed in a furnace to harden into beautiful porcelain items.
To enhance the value of their porcelain, players can mine cobalt ore in the Abbasid Caliphate or purchase cobalt blue from Arab merchants. By combining cobalt blue with the hardened porcelain at a crafting table, players can create exquisite cobalt blue porcelain, which is especially sought after by Islamic countries, significantly increasing its market value and making it a lucrative trade item.