War can be a complicated mechanic in Humankind for those that are new to this 4X strategy game. Since a significant part of it revolves around war support to make a difference, there are limitations when you’re low. Fortunately, a neat way to still leave a permanent impact is to destroy a city or outpost.
With that said, there are still plenty of other reasons you may want to raze a city even if it’s yours. Continue reading my guide below for how it all works and even how to siege islands too.
How to Destroy a City in Humankind
First Common Method
The most common way to destroy cities and outposts in Humankind is by ransacking them with units.
While there are three methods to destroy cities, one is much more common than the others. First, you’ll need to get a unit even though it helps to have several. This is because you’ll need to ransack the city or outpost that you want to destroy. Regardless of whether it’s yours or an enemy one, it will take several turns.
The amount of time it takes for the ransack mechanic is based on how well-fortified the area is and your combat strength. The fortification value is based on certain districts and infrastructure like walls. You can check the fortification of an area by zooming out and looking at the outpost or city for that region. It appears right below the city name, to the right of the population.
Ransacking provides a gold reward regardless of if it’s an enemy territory or yours. You may also get population depending on your civic choices.
Once you’ve successfully ransacked the outpost or city, it will no longer exist. Keep in mind, if you’re destroying an enemy territory they may gain grievances from it. And since you’re likely already at war doing this, they may also gain war support from your actions. This is the case when destroying an Administrative Center. These are made when you attach an outpost to a city.
For those of you that haven’t used the ransack mechanic yet, this is how it works. First, click a unit group/regiment. The window on the right side has a few buttons above your unit composition. The first one is for creating an outpost and the second is for ransacking. Once you’re near a resource or city you want to ransack, click this button and then where you want to destroy.
Bombard a City With Artillery
Islands can be frustrating to siege if you don’t have a good way onto them.
This is where we start to get into using more explosive measures for decimating an area. Certain units in Humankind have a Bombard trait where they can bomb an area without entering combat. Both the Siege Artillery and Battleship unit have this trait. You can use this mechanic to aid active battles or hit an area from afar.
This will likely take several hits/turns to destroy a city if that’s your goal. So while it may not be the best method, it’s a nice alternative to ransacking up close and personal. Also, you may not be able to ransack a city if it’s on a small island with walls. This is when you can take advantage of a Battleship or Siege Artillery nearby.
Third Less Common Method
When all else fails, there’s always one explosive method that works.
Another trick for destroying cities in Humankind is much heavier but definitely effective. Once you reach the late game, you can nuke a city. This will completely destroy it on impact and any adjacent districts. Just be careful that someone doesn’t hit you back with the same response as there’s a turn to react before it hits.
While this method is extremely effective, it can also be tough to get the resources necessary. This has been a common complaint in the Humankind community about strategic resources being a little too rare. With that said, you can pre-emptively adjust your game settings when starting a custom game.
Reasons to Destroy a City in Humankind
Destroying a city or outpost only has so many reasons, but there are a few good ones.
The main time you’re destroying a city is when you’re at war since you’re trying to get rid of enemy territory. This works well for leaving an impact when you don’t care about claiming the territory. However, if you’re doing extremely well in your war and have high war support, you can claim it afterward instead.
I like to destroy outposts and replace them with my own so I can healing units far from home. That aside, destroying a major city instead of claiming it can work well to hurt an opponent. Especially if it’s one with a large population and a lot of districts.
Other than that, you may want to destroy/raze your own cities too. This may sound silly, but it can help with getting rid of a bad city or lowering your city cap. Fortunately, penalties for going past the city cap are low but they can be rough in the early game. This is why it’s important to keep your city cap high.
If you have any other Humankind questions for me, feel free to comment below the article for help. I’d love to share some tips and tricks if I’m able to. Otherwise, be sure to visit more guides below for commonly asked questions in the community.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.