Wondering how to cross the ocean in Humankind? Humankind is a 4X game, so naturally, as you set out to conquer the land, you’re eventually going to need to set sail and make your mark on distant shores – unless you’re playing on a map without any water, of course, which can be done via the game settings.
As you progress through the ages, you will unlock technologies that allow you to venture ever further from land. When you first set sail, after acquiring the Sailing tech in the first era, your ships will be destroyed if they spend more than one consecutive turn in the deep ocean, so you’ll have to stick to the shallow coastal waters as you explore. You’ll receive a warning notification the turn before this happens, so you can make sure you turn back to safety.
Eventually, you unlock the ability to remain in deep water for consecutive turns, though you take damage with each turn spent in the ocean. In later eras, your people will discover how to build ships that can sail through the deep without a care in the world. However, if you’re wondering why the ships you’ve built can venture into deep water, but the soldiers traveling with them perish, we’ve got the answers – here’s everything you need to know about crossing the ocean in Humankind.
When land units move onto a water tile, they are automatically transformed into the best naval transport unit you have unlocked, and gain the status ‘embarked’.
You must manually construct these vessels and launch them from harbours in your territories. The first of these vessels, the Pentekonter, can be built after researching Sailing in the Ancient Era. This ship is a Boarding Vessel, which means it can ‘board’ enemy ships and apply debuffs to it. It’s a coastal ship, meaning it cannot spend more than one turn in deep water. However, the Phoenicians unlock the Bireme as their first vessel, which takes damage from consecutive turns in deep water.
