Humankind: How to Conquer the Ancient & Medieval Eras

Like many 4X historical strategy games, Humankind can be daunting for new players to learn, especially the first eras of the game. Amplitude Studio's new title plays very differently from Sid Meier's Civilization and other 4X games; in particular, much of the game hinges on early-game acquisition of territories and resources. Many of the best strategies for Humankind aren't found in any tutorials or tips in the game's interface, creating a challenging learning curve for the game's first few eras.

While players can certainly brush up on general tips and strategies for how to play Humankind, this guide will focus on key elements in the Ancient and Classical eras, which build the foundation of a successful empire. While Humankind's core feature revolves around players adapting their strategies with each new era and culture, some aspects of the early game are essential regardless of what win condition a player decides to pursue. Here are some core strategies for Humankind's first two eras.

Related: Humankind: War Guide (Setup, Tips, & Strategies)

Naturally, getting out of the Neolithic era as quickly as possible is the first thing players need to prioritize. After reaching the Ancient era, the obvious next step is to found a capital city in a bountiful territory with many resource deposits in or around it; however, that's precisely when the game's progression gets complicated. Suddenly, the player has to contend with production queues, city management, and FIMS (Food, Industry, Money, and Science).

Build a Pottery Workshop Immediately

Influence, the metric represented by a purple star, is the early game's most important resource in Humankind. How much influence an empire generates per turn determines how quickly outposts can be attached to the capital city, or how many outposts can be turned into cities themselves. Consequently, players should build the Pottery Workshop as soon as their capital is founded. The long-term gains to Influence-per-turn are crucial to expanding and grabbing the best territory in the Ancient era.

Don't Rush Out of the Ancient Era

An exciting notification plays as soon as players acquire the seven Era Stars necessary to progress from the Ancient era to the Classical era. It may seem that the best thing to do is to jump eras quickly to have access to as many strategic Humankind culture combinations as possible.

Counterintuitively, jumping eras this quickly is actually a mistake. Hanging around in an era ensures that none of the possible stars are missed. If a player progresses into the Medieval era when they were only five turns away from another Science or Agrarian star, they rob themselves of the Fame necessary to win the game. It's essential to keep an eye on stars that only need a bit more progress before switching eras; doing so allows players to exceed 1,000 Fame before they leave the Ancient era.

Put Some Population into Science

Since Food and Industry are such important stats for a player's first city, it's easy to think that those should be the primary focus, while Science and Money should come later. After all, more Food means more population, eventually requiring an increase in city capacity, which means more citizens to place in the FIMS slots. However, players who don't put one or two citizens into their capital's Science slots will notice their technology research slow to a crawl as the Science-per-turn requirements quickly become steeper, even in the Ancient era. Later technologies in the Ancient era help with Food production, city Stability, and more, so players should show their Science slots some love as early as possible.

Steal a City From Independent People

The maximum number of cities a player can have without penalty at the start of Humankind's Ancient era is two; however, because of how steep the Influence cost is for turning an outpost into a city, doing so might not be affordable until well into the Classical era. Luckily, when the first independent cities pop up, they are comically undefended. Oftentimes, players will be able to easily walk in and add a new city to their empire. This is a great way to jumpstart empire growth, adding a second new production queue and territory with little effort.

Humankind is not a simple game, and fans of the 4X genre wouldn't want it that way. With adaptive gameplay and no two games being the same, how players earn fame and claim victory is complex and variable. But, by laying a strong foundation in the first two eras after the Neolithic period, rulers of each empire can decide how they want to claim victory and leave their mark on history.

Next: Humankind: The Best Emblematic Districts (& How to Build Them)

Humankind is available on PC, Mac, and Google Stadia.

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October 09, 2021 at 12:11AM