Humankind is the latest game from Amplitude, the same company behind the Endless series of games. A historical 4X strategy game, Humankind takes place over seven eras of human technological and ideological evolution, and there are many roads to victory.
One of the most popular methods in a game like Humankind is, of course, war. Raising armies and sweeping across the map is a tried and true method of establishing superiority and, in the case of Humankind, earning Fame. However, there's a Forced Surrender mechanic in Humankind that will often stop a war before it really gets where players want it to. Here's a quick guide to understanding Forced Surrender in Humankind.
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War Support and Forced Surrender
While the name implies that the victor of a war can impose a Forced Surrender on its opponent, the Surrender actually happens independent of the victor's desire. In Humankind, there's a mechanic called War Support, where support for a war against another nation builds from several factors. This increases as battles are won, and territory is taken (especially the last one) and lessens by losing.
Once it reaches 0, the Forced Surrender occurs, and the winner can make demands of the loser by spending its accrued War Support. These demands include gaining ownership of cities, a great way to take advantage of Humankind's mechanics for raising the City Cap.
This poses a problem for players who want to simply roll over their opponents. A war will end due to Forced Surrender long before all territory of an enemy is conquered. On top of that, unless the conquering player has a grievance against a conquered city, that city will not remain conquered at war's end. It will have to be purchased with War Support in the Forced Surrender screen. Further, the Outposts attached to the City will not be included if the city is purchased, so they must also be purchased with War Support.
Workarounds for Forced Surrender
While definitely a roadblock for those who wish to conquer unopposed, Forced Surrender does allow for more precision conquest than all-out war. Still, to keep a war going longer and take more territory, it is recommended that a Humankind player Raze a City rather than conquer it. This way, the enemy will gain more War Support, keeping the war going.
Furthermore, after Razing a City, a Humankind player can simply build a City in the same territory, effectively conquering it for good. Plus, Razing and Ransacking give substantial monetary rewards with the right investments in Tech and Culture. Finally, the less War Support a player needs to spend on territory, the more they can conserve for the big swing: making a conquered foe into a Vassal.
Humankind is out now for PC and Stadia.
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