Influence is an important resource in almost any 4X Games and Humankind is certainly no different. Want to build new cities? Put pressure on other territories? Then you’re going to need a healthy amount of influence.
What is Influence in Humankind?
Much like food and industry, Influence is its own resource; it’s a type of currency that you can spend in Humankind that can enable multiple benefits. Every Empire produces its own influence which is dependent on the territories that you own.
Increase Your Influence
Generating influence is an easy task. There are two ways to do it and they depend on the era you are currently on.
During the Neolithic Era
In the very early stages of the game, increasing Influence is dependent upon exploration. Your control of nomadic tribes will encourage you to move around the map for unexplored areas. Take control of “curiosities” which are collectible resources that can yield resources such as Science or Food. Occasionally, these will contain Influence if what you’ve found is an Ancient Encampment.
Another way to gain Influence in this era is by hunting. If you see animals on the map, you can send a unit towards them. Certain animals are more dangerous than others so do pick your targets carefully as you’re putting your own units at risk. The more dangerous the game, the higher the influence generated.
If you need a guide to heal your damaged units, we have you covered.
After Neolithic Era
After the Neolithic Era has passed, you’ll no longer be able to gain Influence with the above methods. Welcome to the Ancient Era where you’ll be building Cities to garner the resource.
This is where your Influence will be dependent upon your Population. The higher the Population of your Cities, the more Influence generated per turn. Here’s where it can get a wee complicated: you need to keep watch of your Stability as it’s an important factor of keeping Population in your territory.
Low Stability results in Population desertion or even revolutions. Depending on where your stability lies, you’ll generate a certain amount of Influence. At 90% and above, you’ll get about 2 Influence per Population point. Below that and you’ll receive only 1 Influence per Population point. Below 30% and you won’t generate any at all.
You can also boost your Influence per turn generation by modifying your Districts. Start by building theatres, holy sites, or nature reserves. Holy sites, in particular, can boost Influence through tenets, such as the “Steal Not” or “Be Charitable.”
While this might encourage you to build as many Cities as possible to gain Influence, be warned that there is a City cap in Humankind. It actually costs Influence to build extra Cities which can detract you from your goal of making Influence in the first place. It’s only advised to spend Influence on extra Cities should you need to generate other resources such as Food and Industry.