Quick Links
- Best Cultures In The Ancient Era
- Best Cultures In The Classical Era
- Best Cultures In The Medieval Era
- Best Early Modern Cultures
- Best Industrial Cultures
- Best Contemporary Cultures
There are dozens of different cultures in Humankind, covering the Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Early Modern, Industrial, and Contemporary eras. Each culture has its own unique strengths and benefits.
RELATED: Humankind: Beginner Tips
Because of the potentially hundreds of thousands of different iterations as you mix cultures, listing off the "best" cultures for each part of the game is pretty tricky. The benefits of each culture will impact you in completely different ways. To try and keep this guide somewhat succinct, we'll just cover some of the standouts from each era. So, starting with Ancient…
Best Cultures In The Ancient Era
The Ancient era comes with the first big decision you have to make in Humankind: which Culture should you choose first? Here are some of the best in the game's current meta.
The Zhou
The Zhou is a strong culture that relies heavily on its Stability bonuses. Stability has an impact on how happy your cities are, and each District you build reduces Stability. This makes the Zhou very strong at developing cities in the early game without a penalty.
- Bonus – +2 Stability per District
- Confucian School – The Zhou's unique building is a science building that gets a massive science boost from adjacent mountains. If you see mountains in your starting lands, go Zhou if you can.
- Zhanche – This fast-moving cavalry unit gets bonus combat strength when stability is high in your cities.
The Egyptians
The Egyptians are a Production and Industry powerhouse. If you've opted for a city settle with 10+ production, go for the Egyptians. Their Pyramids are brilliant throughout the game, and their Markabata unique unit is solid.
- Bonus – +1 Industry on tiles that produce industry (your Maker's Quarters), and a 10 percent reduction on industry district costs.
- The Pyramids are one of the best Emblematic buildings in the Ancient Era (those are the unique buildings to each culture.) It grants you extra Influence, Industry, as well as +3 Industry for each industrial district nearby.
- A ranged chariot, the Markabata can sweep the battlefield. Handily upgrades into some Classical units, too, like the Noble Javelineers from the Maya.
Other powerful options include the Harrapans and Nubians, depending on what sort of start you have. Humankind is quite flexible with its options.
Best Cultures In The Classical Era
This is where things start to get even more flexible. There are thousands of different ways to play Humankind, mixing and matching cultures as you progress. Here are some top choices for the Classical era.
The Maya
A transition from Egyptians into Maya is super strong if you're going for an Industry game. Their Noble Javelineers are also very strong for turtling up and building your cities.
- Bonus – A +2 Industry boost for each worker in a city or outpost.
- The K'uh Nah is the Mayan's unique building, focused on Industry again. Grants a boost of +3 Industry for each attached territory, and +4 for each Maker's Quarter. A big boost to your Industry.
- The Noble Javelineers throw poison spears that reduce movement damage and attack damage, which makes them formidable defensive units.
Achaemenid Persians
It's super important that you get your territory established early, so the +2 City Cap from the Persians is a huge boost in the early game.
- Bonus – +2 City Cap and 10 Stability on each city and outpost. Let's you expand quickly if you have enough influence, or capture enemy cities right away.
- The Satrap Palace Emblematic building provides a good balance of money for your production, with a bonus of Influence and +5 money. It also acts as a market quarter for bonus stacking later on.
- The Immortals are an upgrade on the spearmen with a bonus for high ground or a fortified position.
Other top picks include the Mauryans for Influence and the Huns for fast-paced pushes with cavalry units.
Best Cultures In The Medieval Era
Moving into the Medieval Era, you want to start looking closely at the synergies within your civilization. Pick accordingly. Here are some solid options regardless of where you stand. You don't always get the pick you want.
The Khmer
Riding on that Industry train (honestly, Industry is so strong in Humankind) we carry on with the Khmer. Their bonus just straight up gives you extra Industry for your Maker's Quarters. Simple, but effective.
- Bonus – +3 Industry on Maker's Quarters.
- The Baray unique building works well in a city with a high population and plenty of production, granting five food and industry per pop. Also grants extra industry if it's placed next to a river.
- The Dhanvi-gaja are mounted Ballista elephants. Yep. They're very strong and can move after taking a shot.
The English
If you've opted for a food-based or expansionist civilization, then the English are a great choice. Their boost provides a massive amount of food for attached territories.
- Bonus – +7 Food for each attached Territory. Stacks quickly on a large empire.
- Turtle up with the English Emblematic building, the Stronghold. It acts like a Stronghold (with bonus stability) but can also provide boosts to nearby Farmer's Quarters.
- The classic English Longbowmen can attack units even if they can't see them clearly. Extremely strong, especially for sieges and battles in uneven terrain.
There are a couple of other top-tier options, too, like the Franks for a full Influence build, or the Byzantines for Gold with Alliances — diplomacy is actually pretty good in Humankind.
Best Early Modern Cultures
Moving swiftly into the Early Modern era, the cultures here are very strong for setting your civ up for a late-game push.
Joseon
It's time to start thinking more aggressively about science, particularly if you're on a higher difficulty. Joseon is a strong option to boost your tech.
- Bonus – +3 Science to any tile producing Science, so Research Quarters or Emblematic buildings from previous cultures.
- Joseon's bonus building, the Seowon, provides Influence and Science, with a boost for each adjacent Research Quarter. This is a big swing in the favor of science.
- It's also at this point that exploring the ocean can be important, so the Geobukseon unique ship for Joseon is great for getting some early dominance.
The Early Modern cultures are very specific to their uses, like the Mughals for more Industry, or the Dutch for extra gold and trading bonuses. Make your decision based on what your civ is already doing well.
Best Industrial Cultures
Factories, smog, and coal… welcome to the Industrial era. These are the best cultures to pick from during the Industrial era (if you're quick enough.)
Mexicans
Whether you're struggling for food or not, the Mexican's massive boost to food in all cities accelerates your growth rate to prepare for purchasing Industrial troops. This is a solid culture regardless of what has come beforehand.
- Bonus – +10 percent food in all cities. Just a straightforward increase.
- The Hacienda Emblematic building acts as a Farmer's Quarter and provides boosts for adjacent farms. You can place these down around your existing farms and get a quick, flat upgrade.
- The Soldaderas are Stealth ranged units that stay in stealth even when they attack. Definitely strong.
The French
For a big science spike in the Industrial era, it has to be the French. Their bonus just gives you a flat 10 percent boost to science in every city, very strong if you lead in the earlier eras with a science-based culture. On higher difficulties, you'll likely be playing catch-up with the AI, so science
- Bonus – +10 percent to science in every city.
- The Emblematic building for the French is the Exhibition Hall, this grants both Science for Pop and Influence for each adjacent district.
- The Cuirassiers are a heavy cavalry unit that receives an extra 9 combat strength when charging. That's a huge boost. Makes them a pain to deal with on open battlefields.
For naval warfare, it has to be the Germans for their +3 naval strength bonus, and for stacking Influence, try the Austro-Hungarians.
Best Contemporary Cultures
You've reached the end of the game, and the Contemporary cultures provide some of the largest flat boosts out of the lot. Whether it's the Australians or back the modern Egyptians, there's a lot to choose from. Here's what we've had success with so far.
The Australians
Industry! If you've spent all game stacking Maker's Quarters, the Australians are incredibly powerful, with a flat +20 percent industry boost to all cities.
- Bonus – 20 percent boost to industry in every city.
- The Strip Mining Complex provides massive production with adjacent production tiles and districts but will cost you some pollution.
- The All Terrain PMV is an armored vehicle that ignores all terrain and movement penalties, basically a quick response unit for clearing landmasses with ease.
The Soviets
This is a strong culture, especially if you're opting for a military victory. Massive reductions for unit industry and +3 combat strength can you give that extra edge you need to win the game…or the AI.
- Bonus: -20 percent Unit Industry Cost and +3 Combat Strength to all Units.
- The Emblematic building, the Arms Factory, creates an entirely new resource, "Weapons", that reduces city stability but increases combat strength for all units. A really strong and interesting mechanic.
- The Red Army Tank is the unit you need to sweep across massive continents in one go. It regens after every battle, even if you're not in your own territory.
NEXT: Video Games Launching This Week: Humankind, Madden, And The Vale