Humankind throws many mechanics your way when you first step into its global arena and Sphere of Influence counts among the more obscure ones. If you don’t go out of your way to explore all the UI options, you can easily get lost in war or city management and overlook how territory takeover works.
Every empire in Humankind has its own Sphere of Influence. Each empire also generates Influence at a territory level, its cities, districts, infrastructures, and certain religious tenets playing into the amount you ultimately produce per turn. In order to take over adjacent territories belonging to other cultures, your Influence production needs to be higher than theirs.
The takeover process is a mostly passive one. Multiple empires can ‘fight’ over any given territory but it can only belong to one empire’s Sphere of Influence. Clicking the society button brings up a breakdown of how things look at a territory level.
Extending your Sphere of Influence to other empires doesn’t mean you’ll control their territories but does come with certain bonuses. On the one hand, the empire whose territories you’re influencing might be keener on negotiating diplomatic treaties.
If they declare war on you, they’ll lose war support slightly quicker. Having your territories in another empire’s Sphere of Influence triggers Osmosis events that come in two varieties.
Civic ones will often see the population in a city demanding that you revoke existing Civics. The Science variety lets you either instantly unlock a technology in exchange for gold or gain a Science boost.
For more help with Humankind, also drop by our articles covering merging cities and forced surrender.
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