The new HUMANKIND™ Update arrives soon and brings with it new opportunities to rule the waves, get rich trading (or stealing), and meet new cultures. With big changes to naval combat and trade, the Caribbean Pirates, and a DLC with six new cultures from in and around the Pacific, there’s a lot to discover, so let’s dive right in!
Cultures of Oceania DLC
It’s time to expand your selection of cultures and wonders in Humankind once more, with the new Cultures of Oceania DLC. This DLC includes:
- Six new Cultures (Pama-Nyungan, Polynesians, Rapa Nui, Maori, Hawaiians, and New Zealanders)
- 6 new Wonders (Aitutaki Lagoon, Bungle Bungle Range, Uluru, Whakaari Volcano, Royal Palace of Pape'ete, Mauna Kea Observatory)
- 15 new narrative events
The Cultures of Oceania DLC will be available on Steam, Epic Game Store, and Microsoft Store for PC on September 11th, and you can pre-order it now with a 10% discount.
The Caribbean Pirates
There’s a seventh culture to join the game on the 11th for free for all players, thanks to the diligent efforts ruthless plundering during the anniversary community challenge: The Caribbean Pirates.
The first culture in the game to forego their Emblematic Quarter for a second Emblematic Unit, they can use their agile Sloops to raid unprotected sea trade nodes yet put up a fight if they get caught, and their Buccaneers’ accurate fire to deprive enemies of their defensive positions. Not to mention that their ill-gotten gains from Poaching will have additional benefits for their economy.
The Bonny Update
While the Caribbean Pirates are a fun addition to the game, the core of the update are the changes to naval combat, resources, and trade. Let’s take a look at what that entails:
- Rebalanced ships: Most ships in the mid to late game will now be faster or stronger but also more expensive
- Rebalanced Air Units and Missiles: To keep pace with the increased bombardment and anti-air power of naval units, Air Units and Missiles have been buffed
- New Ship Classes: Early Modern and later ships are now classed as Capital Ships, Escort Ships, or Torpedo Vessels, each with their own abilities
- Three new generic Ship Types: Diesel Submarines, Destroyers, and Frigates
- Naval ranged retaliation: Naval units will now return fire against other naval units attacking them
- Enlarged naval battlefields: To account for increased speeds and ranges, naval battle areas are now larger but do not feature a flag for the defender (This does not affect land battles.)
- Enlarged deployment zones: Deployment zones now extend to the edges of the battlefield (This does affect land battles.)
- Retreats: Starting in the second round of a naval battle, the losing side may declare a retreat and withdraw their units to the edge of the battlefield to escape at the end of the turn
- Expanded Resources: Resource deposits can now provide more than one copy per deposit, which may be further increased by some infrastructures
- Reworked resource requirements: Units and infrastructures can now be built when not meeting all resource requirements, at increased cost, as long as at least one copy of each resource is available
- Domestic Trade Routes: Strategic and Luxury Resources are now transported to your capital by internal trade routes; these do not cost upkeep or generate income, but can be disrupted
- Reworked international trade: All trade between empires now flows between their capitals to create readable, high-value trade routes
- New Trade Screen: This screen can be used to buy resources or view the global trade network
- Poaching: Armies can now steal Luxury and Strategic Resources while standing on a trade node
If you want to learn about these changes in detail, you can find more information in the posts about naval combat, resources, and trade.
Bonny Beta Playable Now
We’ve got one final surprise for you: The Bonny Update (including the Caribbean Pirates) is available as an opt-in beta for PCs on Steam right now! Just go to the properties window of the game and select the Update_preview beta on the Betas tab.
Give it a try and let us know what you think!