Curiosities & Discoveries

Navigate Humankind's highest difficulty! Learn AI bonuses, early game strategies, and how to leverage cultures and trade for victory. Your guide to conquering Humankind.

Hey there! So, you're diving into Humankind and want to tackle it on the highest difficulty, huh? That's ambitious! This guide is all about helping you get through the game on 'Humankind' difficulty, sharing what I've learned from beating it a few times. Keep in mind, the game's still pretty new when this was written, so some things might change with updates.

Understanding the 'Humankind' Difficulty

On this setting, the AI gets some pretty sweet bonuses, but you don't get any penalties yourself. Here's what the AI gets:

• +3 Food per Farmer in all Cities
• +3 Industry per Worker in all Cities
• +3 Money per Trader in all Cities
• +3 Science per Researcher in all Cities
• +60 Stability on all Cities
• +2 Combat Strength on all Units

Those FIMS (Food, Industry, Money, Science) bonuses are flat, which means they're super strong early on when your cities are small. For example, an early bonus of +9 Industry in a city with 3 workers is a big deal, potentially requiring multiple Industry Districts to match. But later in the game, when AI cities are huge with many workers, that same +9 bonus becomes less impactful compared to a well-placed district. The combat strength bonus is also no joke – it's like giving their units a special ability right from the start. This means you'll want to avoid fighting in the early eras (Neolithic and Ancient) if at all possible. The stability bonus is a bit harder to pin down, but it likely decreases in importance as you get more ways to manage stability later on.

Your Winning Strategy: Play the Long Game

So, how do you overcome these AI advantages? It's all about smart planning and playing to your strengths:

1. Avoid Early Wars: Seriously, don't pick fights until at least the Classical era, and usually, it's better to wait until the Medieval era. Let the AI burn itself out.
2. Master Trade: Focus on trading for luxury resources. These are key to keeping your people happy and your stability high, especially when the AI has that massive stability bonus.
3. Culture is Key: Grab Agrarian and Builder cultures early. These help you grow and develop your infrastructure. Your goal is to scale into the late game where those AI FIMS bonuses become less significant. To do this effectively, it's generally better to build wide (more cities) rather than tall (fewer, larger cities).
4. Aim for Stars: The ultimate goal is to rack up as many stars (Fame) as possible. The game is won by the player with the most stars at the end.

Stick to this plan, and you'll be well on your way to victory!