City Capacity in Humankind determines how many Cities a player can have without incurring any Influence penalties, and starts at 2 when they first enter the Ancient Era. While some fans may expect that number to increase automatically when they enter the Classical Era and beyond, that's not actually the case. There are ways to increase City Cap in Humankind however, though they can be a little difficult to find.
Before getting into the specifics of how to raise City Cap in Humankind, it is worth mentioning that Humankind players can build more Cities than their Cap indicates. Empires that go beyond the Cap will see their Influence gains negatively impacted, though, and the penalties become harsher as more Cities are built. That said, if a player is earning a reasonable amount of Influence, they may want to sacrifice a bit of it in order to expand past their current City Capacity.
Updated April 01, 2022 by John Higgs: Humankind's first DLC pack, the Cultures of Africa, released earlier this year. The pack added six new Cultures for players to choose from, one for each of the game's Eras. Many of the new African Cultures are focused on expansion, and players will need to manage their City Capacity effectively to spread their Empire far and wide. In particular, the Bantu will need to raise their City Cap as quickly as possible as they use their Mupíà Fields Emblematic Quarter to convert Outposts into Cities. The Garamantes will also benefit from an increased City Cap, as their Desert in Bloom Trait buffs the Main Plaza in each City with additional Influence.
How to Increase City Capacity in Humankind
Technologies
The most basic way to raise the Humankind City Cap in this 4x game is to research certain Technologies from the Tech Tree. More specifically, there are a total of five Technologies that grant bonus City Capacity when researched, one for each of the game's Eras past the Ancient. For players who are looking to expand their Empire, here is a list of all the Technologies that award City Cap:
- Philosophy (Classical Era) +1: Philosophy is one of the first Techs in Humankind's Classical Era, but requires players to have already completed Calendar and Writing in Ancient. As well as increasing City Cap, Philosophy also unlocks the School and all-important Research District.
- Theology (Medieval Era) +1: Theology can be found only two Techs on from Philosophy, also on the top-line of the Technology Tree. As well as increasing City Cap, Theology also unlocks the Manuscript Atelier Infrastructure and Festival Project.
- Supply Lines (Early Modern Era) +1: Supply Lines breaks the trend of City Cap increases in the Science-themed section of the Tech Tree, and can be found after Centralized Power instead. As well as increasing City Cap, Supply Lines will automatically create roads between Outposts, and unlock the Grain Silo Infrastructure.
- Urban Planning (Industrial Era) +1: Urban Planning can be found right at the end of Industrial Era, after the Electricity Tech. As well as increasing City Cap, Urban Planning reduces the Production cost of Common Quarters and unlocks the Police Force Infrastructure.
- Space Orbital (Contemporary Era) +3: The Space Orbital Tech will probably be too late in the Tech tree to be useful for most players, coming right after Fighter Jets. As well as increasing City Cap by 3, the Space Orbital Tech also grants a large amount of Fame and Humankind's Space Station project.
Civics
Players can also earn +1 City Capacity by selecting the Small Council option when addressing the Leadership Civic. However, strategy game fans should spend some time considering if that option promotes the ideology that they are envisioning for their Empire before they pick it, as it will push them away from Authority and toward Liberty. Additionally, selecting Small Council will put players on the path to the Political Entitlement Civic, which will require them to choose between a Tradition and Liberty option.
Alternative Ways to Increase City Capacity in Humankind
Legacy Trait
An alternative way to increase City Cap is to adopt the culture of the Achaemenid Persians in order to earn their Legacy Trait. The Persians’ Trait grants +2 City Capacity, and players can select their culture when entering the Classical Era in Humankind. Adopting an entire culture is certainly a bigger commitment than simply researching a technology, though, and players may want to let this bonus pass them by if there is another option that they are more interested in.
Combine Event
The final way to increase City Cap in Humankind is through the Combine event, which has a chance to occur at any point after the Industrial Era. The event will ask players of any Humankind culture whether they'd like to allow or prohibit the citizens of one of their Cities to form a governmental committee. Choosing the prohibit option will increase the City Cap by 1, as well as moving the Empire toward Authority.
Humankind is available on PC and Stadia.