Once Human Master Guide: Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Dominate

Introduction: Welcome to the Starfall

Once Human emerges as a complex and compelling entry in the crowded survival genre, blending a multitude of popular mechanics into a uniquely bizarre and engaging experience. At its core, it is a free-to-play, open-world survival crafting game, but this simple label belies its true depth. The game seamlessly integrates the persistent progression of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), the satisfying gear grind of a looter-shooter, and the creative freedom of a base-building simulation. Set in a strange, post-apocalyptic future, the world has been irrevocably altered by an alien substance known as Stardust. This is not a world of zombies or nuclear fallout; instead, players face a grotesque and surreal alien infestation that has mutated all life—and even inanimate objects—into monstrous threats, from spider-like creatures with lightbulbs for heads to colossal, multi-legged buses that patrol the ruined highways.

To thrive in this hostile world, players must understand the fundamental principle that governs all long-term progress: the seasonal gameplay loop. Unlike persistent-world MMOs, servers in Once Human undergo a “wipe” every six weeks. However, this is not a complete reset. While temporary assets like a player’s physical base and gathered resources are cleared, crucial elements of meta-progression carry over. These permanent assets include unlocked weapon and gear blueprints, story quest progress, and vital currencies like Starchrom.

This dual-progression system is the most critical concept for any aspiring survivor to master. The game is not about building a single, permanent empire on one server. Instead, it is about cultivating a powerful, permanent account that grows stronger with each successive six-week season. Every action, from crafting a weapon to completing a quest, should be viewed through the lens of how it contributes to this overarching meta-progression. The ultimate goal is not simply to “win” the current season, but to extract as much permanent value as possible to ensure a more powerful and efficient start in the next. This guide is built upon that core philosophy, providing a comprehensive blueprint for mastering both the temporary challenges of seasonal survival and the long-term art of account domination.

Section 1: The Meta-Human Blueprint – Your First Steps to Mastery

As a Meta-Human, a survivor uniquely enhanced to withstand and even control the alien Stardust, a player’s journey begins with defining their identity. This initial phase of character creation, survival management, and skill allocation sets the foundation for everything that follows. Mastering these fundamental systems is the first and most crucial step toward conquering the challenges of the Starfall.

1.1 Forging Your Survivor: A Deep Dive into Character Creation

The character creator in Once Human is a remarkably thorough and robust system, and for many, it is a significant part of the game’s appeal. Players can choose between male and female models and then dive into a deep suite of customization options. This includes a wide array of presets to serve as a starting point, followed by detailed sliders for body composition, skin tones, hairstyles and colors, and facial structure.

Beyond the basics, the creator allows for intricate personalization through tattoos, body paint, and scars, enabling the creation of truly unique avatars that reflect a player’s desired aesthetic, from a hardened wasteland warrior to an ethereal, otherworldly survivor. However, players should be aware of a commonly reported discrepancy: the in-game character model can sometimes appear as a less detailed or slightly altered version of what was meticulously crafted in the creation menu, particularly concerning lighting and skin textures. Setting this expectation early can prevent minor disappointment when first spawning into the world.

1.2 The Hidden Edge: How Character Shape Affects Your Stats

While much of character creation is cosmetic, Once Human contains a hidden mechanic that the game does not explicitly explain: character shape affects starting stats. This transforms a purely aesthetic choice into a player’s very first strategic decision. Adjusting the various body sliders—such as height, muscularity, and limb proportions—provides small but tangible bonuses to core attributes.

This presents the first opportunity for min-maxing. A player can and should align their character’s physical form with their intended playstyle to gain a slight but meaningful edge from the moment they enter the world. For instance, a more muscular or robust build might grant a small bonus to starting health or melee damage, making it an ideal choice for a player who intends to focus on close-quarters combat. Conversely, a taller, leaner build might offer a minor boost to stamina or movement speed, benefiting explorers. A character with a sturdier frame could receive an increase to their maximum carry weight, a significant advantage for those who plan to focus on resource gathering and base building. Understanding this hidden system empowers players to make an informed choice that complements their long-term strategic goals.

1.3 Surviving the Starfall: Mastering Hunger, Thirst, and Sanity

Like most survival games, Once Human requires players to manage their character’s basic needs for food and water. Keeping the hunger and hydration meters full is not just about avoiding penalties; it provides valuable buffs to health regeneration and damage output. The system is generally streamlined and not overly punishing, allowing players to focus on exploration and combat without constant interruption.

The truly unique and critical survival mechanic is Sanity. This meter represents a player’s mental fortitude against the horrors of the Stardust-infested world. Sanity decreases when a player is exposed to supernatural phenomena, explores corrupted areas, or consumes polluted food and water. As the Sanity meter drops, a character’s maximum health pool is reduced proportionally, which can be a devastating disadvantage in a firefight.

This system is more than a simple debuff; it is a core mechanic that dictates the rhythm of the entire game. It actively discourages reckless, indefinite exploration and forces players to engage with the crafting and base-building systems. To reliably restore Sanity, a player must either return to their base to rest in a bed or craft and consume specific items like Fruit Tea. This creates a natural and compelling gameplay loop:

Explore and gather resources -> Drain Sanity and accumulate loot -> Return to the safety of a base to recover -> Use gathered resources to craft and upgrade -> Venture out again, stronger and better prepared. The Sanity meter reinforces the central importance of establishing and maintaining a well-equipped territory.

1.4 The Memetics System: Your Skill Progression Roadmap

The Memetics system is the primary skill tree in Once Human, serving as the roadmap for a character’s progression and specialization. Unlocking nodes in this extensive tree grants access to new crafting recipes, powerful passive abilities, and game-changing specializations. Progressing through the Memetics tree requires two main resources: Ciphers, which are often found through exploration and completing objectives, and Energy Links, the game’s primary seasonal currency.

A significant portion of the Memetic points needed for advancement is awarded for completing weekly season goals. This introduces a time-gated element to progression, making each choice within the tree impactful. A poorly planned path can set a player back considerably, as they may have to wait for the next week’s goals to unlock enough points to correct their course.

Because of this, players should plan their Memetics path according to their desired playstyle and economic goals. Certain specializations unlock highly profitable crafting recipes, such as Solar Drills or expanded Backpacks, which can be sold to other players for a substantial amount of Energy Links.¹⁷ Other nodes directly improve combat effectiveness or resource-gathering efficiency. This guide will later outline optimized progression paths to help players, especially those playing for free, to maximize their efficiency and avoid wasting precious, time-gated Memetic points.

1.5 Cradle Overrides & Specializations: Defining Your Role from Day One

Working in concert with the Memetics system are Cradle Overrides and Specializations, which form a trinity of character customization that allows for deep and synergistic builds.

Specializations are active choices, categorized into Gathering, Crafting, Management, and Building, that define a player’s primary focus for the season. While players are allowed a limited number of resets per season (five), the initial choices are important for establishing an early-game advantage. For example, selecting “Furnace: Precision Refining” dramatically boosts the efficiency of smelting ore into ingots, while “Backpack Expansion” increases carry weight, allowing for longer and more profitable gathering runs.

Cradle Overrides are passive ability slots that are unlocked by progressing through the main story and defeating major bosses. These provide powerful bonuses that should be tailored to a player’s specific combat build. For example, a melee-focused character would greatly benefit from the “Melee Amplifier” Override, which increases melee damage and restores stamina on kills, while a ranged character might opt for an Override that boosts critical damage or reload speed.

A master player understands how to create synergy between these systems. For instance, a player could choose the “Furnace: Precision Refining” Specialization to process materials more efficiently. This choice synergizes perfectly with the “Electric Drill: Treasure Hunter” Memetic, which gathers more raw ore. If this player is focusing on a ranged build that consumes a lot of ammunition (which requires metal ingots), they would then select Cradle Overrides that enhance their chosen firearm’s damage. This creates a complete and efficient build philosophy: an efficient gathering method (Memetic) feeds an efficient production system (Specialization), which in turn supports an efficient combat application (Cradle Overrides).

Section 2: The Art of War – A Complete Combat Doctrine

Combat in Once Human is a central pillar of the experience, described by players as responsive and engaging. Survival depends on a player’s ability to effectively dispatch the grotesque Deviations and hostile human survivors that populate the world. True mastery of combat, however, is not merely about quick reflexes. It is about tactical preparation, deep knowledge of weapon mechanics, and the creation of synergistic builds where every piece of gear, every mod, and every ability works in concert to achieve a specific, devastating effect.

2.1 Ranged Supremacy: A Guide to Firearms and Ballistics

Ranged combat is the primary method of engagement for most players. The game features nine distinct weapon types, including staples like assault rifles, sniper rifles, shotguns, and SMGs, alongside more unique options like heavy artillery and crossbows. With nearly 100 weapon blueprints to collect and a vast array of attachments, perks, and modifications, the potential for customization is immense.

The key to ranged supremacy lies in understanding that each high-tier weapon is built around a unique mechanical effect, not just raw damage numbers. For example, the “HAMR – Brahminy” sniper rifle features a “Multi-Bounce” effect, where shots that hit an enemy’s weak spot will ricochet to hit nearby targets. The “KV-SBR – Little Jaws” SMG triggers an “Unstable Bomber” explosion after a certain number of hits.

This design philosophy means that the fight is often won in the workshop before it even begins. A player cannot simply equip the weapon with the highest damage stat and expect success. Instead, they must build their entire loadout—including armor set bonuses, gear mods, and Cradle Overrides—around amplifying that weapon’s specific, unique mechanic. This shifts the focus from pure twitch skill to strategic build-crafting, rewarding knowledge and preparation above all else. Stealth is also a highly viable approach, with suppressors and careful, crouched movement allowing players to eliminate targets without alerting nearby enemies.

2.2 Up Close and Personal: The Definitive Melee Combat Guide

While firearms dominate the landscape, melee combat holds a crucial and specialized role. The arsenal of close-quarters weapons is varied, ranging from practical tools of destruction like the Long Axe and the electrified Stun Baton to the utterly bizarre, such as a large, frozen fish.

A pure melee build can be effective for clearing out weaker enemies and conserving ammunition, but it faces significant challenges against many of the game’s formidable bosses, which are often flying, positioned on inaccessible platforms, or possess mechanics that punish close proximity. Consequently, melee is best viewed not as a primary, all-purpose combat style, but as a powerful tactical tool within a hybrid build.

Its true strength lies in its resource efficiency (no ammo cost) and, more importantly, its ability to synergize with and enhance ranged gameplay. Certain melee weapons possess powerful utility effects. The Long Axe, for example, has a heavy attack that triggers “Fortress Warfare,” an effect that increases the critical hit rate of all of the player’s equipped weapons for a short duration. This suggests an optimal combat flow: initiate an engagement with a heavy melee strike to apply a powerful buff or debuff, then immediately switch to a primary firearm to capitalize on this advantage. Effective melee builds rely on specific armor sets, like the Raid and Rustic sets, which provide bonuses to melee damage and stamina management.

2.3 The Unseen Threat: Stealth, Evasion, and Tactical Items

Beyond direct confrontation, players have a suite of tools for controlling the battlefield and avoiding damage. These systems represent a knowledge-based skill gap, allowing resourceful players to overcome significant gear deficits through clever tactics.

Stealth is a robust system. By crouching (default ‘C’ key) and equipping firearms with suppressors, players can significantly reduce their detection radius, allowing for silent takedowns and bypassing entire groups of enemies. Advanced stealth is possible through crafted consumables like the “Spectral Cloak,” which grants temporary invisibility, or whimsical transformation potions that can turn a player into an inanimate object like a chair. Specialized builds can focus on this playstyle, utilizing gear and mods that increase damage dealt while undetected.

Evasion is primarily handled through a stamina-based roll or dodge. This is a fundamental defensive maneuver for avoiding incoming attacks. The stamina cost of rolling can be reduced through specific armor set bonuses, making it a more spammable and effective tool for survival.

Tactical Items are true game-changers and should not be underestimated. These are crafted consumables that act as force multipliers. A “Vortex Generator” can pull a scattered group of enemies into a tight cluster, perfectly setting them up for an area-of-effect attack. Smoke bombs can provide cover for a tactical retreat or repositioning, while deployable “Stardust Barriers” and “Portable MG Turrets” can create defensive strongpoints in the middle of a fight. Crafting these items at an upgraded Synthetic Bench can even grant them additional uses, making it a crucial strategy to stockpile these powerful tools before venturing into dangerous territory.

2.4 Top-Tier Armory: Best Weapons and Gear for Every Playstyle

The “best” gear in Once Human is not a one-size-fits-all concept. The true power of a loadout comes from the synergy created by matching the right weapon with the right armor set to maximize a specific combat mechanic. A player’s goal should be to create a cohesive build where every component serves to amplify the core strength of their chosen playstyle.

Recommended Early-Game Weapon:

Rustic Crossbow: This weapon is an MVP in the early stages of the game. It deals high single-shot damage, and its ammunition (bolts) can often be recovered after a fight, making it incredibly resource-efficient for new players who are still building up their material stockpiles.

Top-Tier Weapon Examples:

Best Assault Rifle (Power Surge): SOCR Outsider. This rifle excels due to its high weakspot damage multiplier and its “Power Surge” ability, which has a chance to trigger on hit, dealing bonus electrical damage.
Best Sniper Rifle (Debuff): AWS.338 – Bullseye. This weapon’s strength lies in its “Bullseye” effect. Hitting an enemy marks them, increasing all damage they take for a short period, making it an excellent weapon for both solo play and group support.
Best Shotgun (Buff Stacking): DB12 Raining Cash. This shotgun triggers the “Fortress Warfare” buff upon reloading, granting temporary armor and increased damage. With a large magazine and careful timing, a player can maintain this powerful buff throughout an entire engagement.

Essential Armor Sets:

Shelterer Set: The go-to set for builds centered around elemental damage (Fire, Frost, Electric). Its bonuses directly amplify the status effects and damage-over-time applied by elemental weapons like the “Boom Boom” LMG or “Silent Anabasis” sniper rifle.
Lone Wolf Set: This set is the cornerstone of builds focused on raw weapon damage and critical hits. It provides significant bonuses to Crit Rate and Crit Damage, making it ideal for kinetic weapons like the “Last Valor” assault rifle.
Renegade Set: This armor is designed for precision players who excel at hitting enemy weak spots. It provides bonuses to weakspot damage, perfectly synergizing with weapons like the “HAMR – Brahminy” sniper rifle, whose core mechanic relies on landing these critical shots.
Raid Set: A versatile set that is particularly effective for melee or hybrid builds. It offers bonuses to melee damage and, crucially, increases maximum carry weight, making it a strong choice for players who prioritize both combat and resource gathering.

2.5 Advanced Combat Builds: Meta Loadouts for Endgame Dominance

For players looking to push into the most challenging endgame content, a fully optimized and synergistic build is essential. The following tables provide examples of top-tier meta loadouts, serving as a clear blueprint for what to farm and craft. These represent a synthesis of weapon mechanics, armor set bonuses, and mod synergies that result in dominant performance.

Table 1: Sample Endgame Build – “Silent Anabasis” (Elemental Crowd Control)

Slot	Item/Selection	Primary Function	Source
Weapon	Silent Anabasis (Sniper Rifle)	Creates an Ice Crystal on hit; shooting the crystal causes an AoE frost explosion.	Wish Machine
Head	Shelterer’s Hood	Part of the 4-piece elemental damage set bonus.	Blueprint
Chest	Covert Walker Shirt (Key Piece)	Provides significant damage reduction, enabling tanking.	Blueprint
Gloves	Shelterer’s Gloves	Part of the 4-piece elemental damage set bonus.	Blueprint
Pants	Shelterer’s Trousers	Part of the 4-piece elemental damage set bonus.	Blueprint
Boots	Lone Wolf Boots	Provides a standalone damage or utility bonus.	Blueprint
Mods	Gun: Frosty Blessing	Enhances the Frost effect and damage of the Ice Crystal.	Silo Farming
	Armor: Deviation Expert, Frost Construct, Status Enhancement	Increases Frost damage, elemental effect duration, and damage via Deviants.	Silo Farming
Calibration	Heavy, 2x Elements	Maximizes the base damage and elemental damage percentage of the weapon.	Crafting
Deviant	Polar Jelly or Snowsprite	A frost-based Deviant that further increases the player’s frost damage output.	Events/Wild

Table 2: Sample Endgame Build – “Brahminy Bounce” (Weakspot AoE)

Slot	Item/Selection	Primary Function	Source
Weapon	HAMR – Brahminy (Sniper Rifle)	Shots hitting a weakspot ricochet to damage multiple nearby enemies.	Wish Machine
Head	Renegade’s Mask	Part of the 3-piece weakspot damage set bonus.	Blueprint
Chest	Bastille Armor	Provides a standalone survivability or utility bonus.	Blueprint
Gloves	Renegade’s Gloves	Part of the 3-piece weakspot damage set bonus.	Blueprint
Pants	Sharp Blade Pants (Key Piece)	Significantly increases damage dealt by ricocheting projectiles.	Blueprint
Boots	Bastille Boots	Provides a standalone survivability or utility bonus.	Blueprint
Mods	Gun: Multi-Bounce	Increases the number of times a bullet can ricochet.	Silo Farming
	Armor: Precise Strike, Precision Bounce, Munitions Amplifier	Increases weakspot damage and the effectiveness of bounces.	Silo Farming
Calibration	Frugal, 2x Weakspot	Chance to not consume ammo on hit, plus maximised weakspot damage bonus.	Crafting
Deviant	Hound	A combat Deviant that increases the player’s overall weapon damage.	Wild

Section 3: Architect of the Apocalypse – Advanced Base Building and Defense

In the desolate world of Once Human, a player’s base—known as their Territory—is their sanctuary. It is the only place to safely recover Sanity, store valuable resources, craft advanced gear, and mount a defense against the horrors of the wasteland. However, the most successful survivors understand that a Territory is not a static, permanent home. It is a mobile operations center, a strategic tool that can and should be redeployed across the vast map to maximize efficiency and control.

3.1 Location, Location, Location: Choosing the Perfect Territory

The first step in establishing a base is to craft and deploy a Territory Core, which claims a plot of land for the player. The choice of location is paramount. An ideal Territory is situated on flat, easily buildable ground, is in close proximity to key resources like water, trees, and ore veins, and is near a fast-travel point or other significant points of interest.

However, the single most important feature related to base location is the “Move Territory” function. With the press of a button and a ten-minute cooldown, a player can instantly pack up their entire base—including all structures, crafting stations, and stored items—and redeploy it anywhere else on the map where there is available land.

This mechanic fundamentally changes the strategic approach to base building. Rather than searching for one perfect, permanent location, the optimal strategy is nomadic. Players should design a compact and efficient base layout that can be easily “copy-pasted” across the map. As a player’s progression demands new, higher-tier resources found in more dangerous regions, they can simply move their entire operation to a new forward operating base directly adjacent to those resources, drastically cutting down on travel time and risk.

Table 3: Best Base Locations by Region and Progression Tier

Region	Recommended Coordinates	Primary Resources	Strategic Advantage	Recommended Level
Dayton Wetlands	(6935, -5830)	Wood, Copper Ore, Water	Excellent starting location. Prime real estate for new players to establish their first base and begin farming materials for Bronze Ingots.	1-15
Broken Delta	(5322, -7309)	Wood, Copper Ore, Tin Ore	A large peninsula ideal for transitioning to intermediate crafting. Abundant Tin allows for mass production of Bronze.	15-30
Iron River	(5615, -3972)	Wood, Iron Ore, Water	The best mid-game location. Numerous iron deposits along the river fast-track the production of Steel Ingots needed for advanced facilities and gear.	30-45
Chalk Peak	(2889, -5354)	Copper, Tin, Iron, Aluminum	Considered a premier endgame location. Provides access to nearly every ore type, including the high-tier Aluminum, and is surrounded by high-level settlements.	45+

3.2 Principles of Efficient Base Design

Whether building a sprawling fortress or a compact outpost, an efficient layout is key. A well-designed base minimizes time spent moving between stations and maximizes defensive capabilities.

Core Zone: The Territory Core, primary workbenches, and main storage should be located in the most central and heavily protected part of the base. The Core is the primary target for enemies during raids.
Crafting Zone: Group related crafting stations together. Forges and smelters should be near ore storage, while the cooking stove should be near the refrigerator and food storage.
Verticality: Building vertically is often more defensible and resource-efficient than building horizontally. A multi-story tower presents a smaller footprint for enemies to attack and provides excellent vantage points for defensive turrets and sniper positions.
Mobile-Ready Design: For players embracing the nomadic strategy, a compact, self-contained design is best. A 3×3 or 4×4 footprint that contains all essential crafting stations, storage, and a bed can be easily relocated without conflicting with terrain obstacles in new locations.

3.3 Crafting, Blueprints, and the Wish Machine

The core gameplay loop revolves around gathering raw resources and processing them into more advanced materials. Wood and stone are used for basic structures, while ores like copper, tin, and iron must be smelted into ingots to craft weapons, armor, and advanced facilities.

To craft high-tier gear, players must first acquire the corresponding Blueprint. Blueprints are the permanent, account-bound recipes that carry over between seasons, making them one of the most valuable assets in the game. They can be found by exploring high-level areas, clearing out enemy strongholds, completing seasonal objectives, or, most commonly, through the Wish Machine.

The Wish Machine is a gacha-like system where players can spend Starchrom—a permanent, premium currency—to “wish” for Blueprint Fragments. It is crucial for new players to understand that they should

not use the gambling “wish” function initially. Instead, they should press the designated key (e.g., ‘G’) to open the direct purchase Blueprint Shop, where they can spend their saved Starchrom to buy the exact weapon or gear blueprint they need for their build. This eliminates the RNG and ensures that this valuable currency is spent efficiently. Once a player has unlocked a complete set of legendary gear, they can then use the wish function to acquire duplicate fragments, which are used to enhance the blueprint and increase the stats of the crafted item.

3.4 Advanced Base Defense Strategies

A player’s Territory will inevitably come under attack. This can happen during a “Territory Purification” event, where activating a Stardust Resonant Filter to craft Starchrom attracts waves of monsters, or during PvP raids on applicable servers. Effective defense is a combination of strong architecture and smart placement of defensive structures.

Structural Integrity: Upgrade from wood to stone and eventually metal walls as quickly as possible. These offer significantly more durability against attacks.
Enemy Pathing (AI Exploitation): Most enemies will attempt to take the most direct path to the Territory Core. Players can exploit this by leaving a single, open path into their base, creating a “kill box” or labyrinth. This funnels all attackers into a narrow corridor lined with traps and turrets, preventing them from spreading out and attacking multiple walls at once.
Turret Placement: Turrets need a clear line of sight to function. Placing them on elevated platforms or at the corners of the base provides them with a superior field of fire. Be aware that using too many turrets (e.g., more than eight) can sometimes cause them to be slow in acquiring targets.
Trap Synergy: Combine different trap types for maximum effect. Gravitational Grippers can slow enemies down, making them easy targets for auto-turrets or spike traps.

3.5 Deviants: Companions and Laborers

Deviants are the mutated creatures of the world, and while most are hostile, players can secure and tame a wide variety of them to serve as companions. These “Deviation Pals” serve a dual purpose: they can be powerful allies in combat, or they can be assigned to a player’s Territory to automate resource gathering and crafting.

Combat Deviants: Creatures like the Festering Gel can create defensive barriers and heal the player, while others provide direct damage support.
Utility Deviants: These are essential for automating a player’s base. The “Digby Boy” will automatically mine ore deposits within the Territory, while the “Logging Beaver” will harvest wood. The “Chefosaurus” can be assigned to a stove to cook meals.
Mood Management: Deviants assigned to a base have a “mood” that must be managed. Interacting with them and providing them with their preferred environment (e.g., some like toys, others like electricity) will keep them happy and working efficiently. A rebellious Deviant is an unproductive one.

Section 4: The Post-Apocalyptic Economy

Even in a world ravaged by the Starfall, commerce endures. Once Human features a robust, player-driven economy where savvy survivors can amass significant wealth. Understanding the different currencies, mastering efficient farming methods, and engaging with the player market are key to funding an endgame arsenal, especially for those playing without spending real money.

4.1 Understanding the Currencies

The economy is primarily driven by two key currencies, each serving a distinct purpose in the game’s dual-progression system.

Energy Links (EL): This is the primary seasonal currency. It is used for a wide range of transactions within a single six-week season, such as purchasing goods from NPC vendors, fast travel, and certain crafting processes. At the end of a season, a player’s accumulated Energy Links are wiped, reinforcing their temporary nature.
Starchrom: This is the game’s premium, permanent meta-currency. It is primarily used at the Wish Machine to acquire and enhance the permanent, account-bound blueprints that are essential for long-term power progression. Starchrom is retained across seasonal wipes, making its acquisition the single most important economic goal for any player focused on meta-progression. It is primarily earned by purifying Cortexes and Echo Stones at a Stardust Resonant Filter in the base.

4.2 Earning Power: A Guide for the F2P Survivor

For players committed to a free-to-play (F2P) path, generating a steady income of Energy Links is crucial for seasonal success. The game is designed to be F2P-friendly, with the cash shop focused on cosmetics rather than pay-to-win advantages. Success hinges on efficiency and market knowledge.

Sell Processed Materials: One of the most reliable early-game income streams is selling smelted ingots. Copper ingots provide a steady, if small, income. However, once a player unlocks the ability to mine and refine silver and gold through the Memetics system, their profit potential skyrockets. Silver ingots can sell to vendors for 6,000 EL each, while gold ingots can fetch up to 12,000 EL.
Become a Chef: Cooked food is an often-overlooked but highly profitable commodity. While raw meat sells for little, high-quality cooked meals sell for thousands of EL. Players can easily gather meat, fruits, and vegetables in low-level areas and sell cooked meals in bulk to NPC vendors.
Craft for the Market: Identify and craft high-demand items needed by other players. Items unlocked through the Memetics tree like expanded Backpacks, Solar Drills, and advanced Weapon Calibration tools are always in demand and can be sold for a significant profit on the player market.
Participate in Public Events: High-level public events, such as “Operation Chiron,” offer massive EL payouts, sometimes up to 22,000 EL for a single successful run. These events are an excellent source of both currency and high-tier loot.

4.3 Navigating the Player-Driven Market

The heart of the Once Human economy is its player-to-player trading system. The developers have implemented dedicated trading zones called Harvesters’ Markets to centralize commerce. In these zones, players can place a special Vending Machine that does not require power to operate. Players can list their crafted goods, farmed resources, or rare items for sale, setting their own prices. This creates a dynamic, supply-and-demand-driven market where knowledgeable players can profit by identifying market needs and filling them. For example, a player with the Memetic for crafting Chipsets can mass-produce them and sell them to other players who need them for advanced crafting but lack the recipe themselves.

Section 5: Social Structures & The Politics of Survival

While it is possible to brave the wasteland alone, Once Human is fundamentally a multiplayer game that encourages—and in some cases, requires—cooperation. From small, tight-knit squads to massive, warring clans, the game’s social systems are integral to the endgame experience, especially on servers that feature Player vs. Player (PvP) combat.

5.1 The Lone Survivor: Tips for Solo Players

Playing solo presents a unique set of challenges, but it is a perfectly viable and rewarding experience. Success for a lone wolf hinges on self-sufficiency, caution, and tactical ingenuity.

Embrace Stealth: Stealth is a solo player’s greatest asset. Using suppressors, the Spectral Cloak, and a cautious, crouched approach can allow a solo player to complete objectives in high-level strongholds without ever being detected, avoiding fights they cannot win alone.
Prioritize Utility: A solo player should heavily invest in tactical items. A well-placed Portable MG Turret can provide the covering fire needed to handle a group of enemies, while a Vortex Generator can neutralize a threat before it becomes overwhelming.
Mobile Base Strategy: The nomadic base strategy is especially crucial for solo players. Being able to move the entire base to a new resource node saves immense time and reduces the risk of long, exposed travel through dangerous territory.
Use the Team Finder: Even solo players can benefit from temporary alliances. The in-game “Team” tab functions as a looking-for-group tool, allowing a player to quickly join a pick-up group for a specific dungeon or world boss without the commitment of joining a clan.

5.2 Forging Alliances: Understanding Hives and Warbands

Once Human features a two-tiered system for player organizations, allowing for both small-group and large-scale cooperation.

Hives: A Hive is the equivalent of a small squad or guild, consisting of up to eight players. Members of a Hive can choose to share territory, allowing them to connect their individual bases to form a larger, communal village. They can also grant permissions to one another to access crafting facilities and storage, enabling resource sharing and collaborative building projects. Hives are ideal for groups of friends who want to play and progress together closely.
Warbands: A Warband is the game’s version of a large-scale clan, accommodating up to 50 players. Warbands are the primary vehicle for endgame, large-scale activities. While a Hive is like a close-knit family, a Warband is like an army. A single Warband can be composed of multiple Hives. The primary function of Warbands is to engage in the high-level territory control gameplay on PvP servers.

5.3 Territory Control and the Politics of War

On PvP-enabled servers, the endgame revolves around a political and military struggle for control of the map’s most valuable resources. Specific locations on the map, which are rich in rare materials, can be captured and controlled by Warbands.

This system creates a dynamic “king of the hill” metagame. A Warband that successfully captures a territory must then build up its defenses, as other rival Warbands can launch organized assaults to try and seize control for themselves. This large-scale PvP is a core component of the endgame loop, requiring coordination, strategic planning, and powerful, well-geared members. Success in these Warband battles grants the victorious clan exclusive access to valuable resources, giving them a significant economic and material advantage for the remainder of the season.

Section 6: The Endgame Loop & The Path to True Mastery

The concept of an “endgame” in Once Human is different from that of a traditional MMO. Due to the seasonal wipe system, the endgame is not a static state but a cyclical process of optimization and preparation. True mastery is achieved not by reaching a final destination, but by perfecting the art of the loop itself, ensuring each new season begins from a position of greater strength than the last.

6.1 Mastering the Seasonal Cycle

The six-week seasonal cycle is the engine of progression. In the final phase of a season, players are given the option to sign up for a new scenario on a fresh server. Upon transitioning, their character is moved to

Eternaland, a permanent, build-only private server that is immune to wipes. All of a player’s temporary assets—gathered materials, crafted gear, tamed Deviants—are transferred into storage in Eternaland.

When starting the new season, players are given a budget of points to “import” a limited selection of these items from their Eternaland storage into the new world. This forces a strategic choice: does a player import their best weapon to get a head start on combat, or their advanced chainsaw and drill to accelerate resource gathering? Meanwhile, all permanent unlocks—blueprints, cosmetics, Starchrom, and mods—are automatically available to the character in the new season, forming the foundation of their power.

6.2 The True Endgame: The Meta-Progression Grind

With the seasonal cycle in mind, the true endgame of Once Human becomes clear. It is the perpetual grind for permanent, account-wide power. The primary activities for a dedicated endgame player are:

Starchrom Farming: Accumulating as much Starchrom as possible is the top priority. This involves actively participating in events that reward Cortexes and Echo Stones and running the Territory Purification event as often as possible.
Blueprint Completion and Enhancement: The goal is to use Starchrom to unlock every valuable weapon and gear blueprint from the Wish Machine shop. Once unlocked, the focus shifts to acquiring duplicate fragments to enhance these blueprints to their maximum star rating, which significantly boosts the stats of the crafted items.
Perfect Mod Hunting: The most challenging dungeons, known as Securement Silos and LEA Research Labs, are the primary source for legendary (gold) weapon and armor mods. The endgame grind involves running these instances repeatedly to find mods with the perfect combination of stats (“double gold stats”) to optimize a specific build.
Deviant and Animal Breeding: Players will hunt for Deviants with perfect 5/5 stats and desirable traits. The endgame also includes a ranching and animal breeding system, where players can crossbreed animals to produce offspring with rare genetic traits that yield unique and valuable crafting materials, such as Golden Wool.

6.3 Advanced Strategies and Hidden Mechanics

Beyond the basics, there are numerous non-obvious mechanics and tricks that veteran players use to maximize their efficiency.

Power Grid Management: Solar panels will generate power even when placed indoors in complete darkness. Players can also daisy-chain generators together and use switches to create separate circuits, allowing them to turn off non-essential, high-power facilities to avoid overloading their grid when activating defenses.
Crafting Efficiency: The electric furnace can process two separate stacks of ore simultaneously. Splitting a large job into two smaller stacks will complete it faster than a single large stack. Additionally, food left on the stove after cooking will not decay, allowing players to prep meals in advance without them spoiling.
Star-Rating Transfer: A powerful, hidden mechanic allows players to transfer the star-rating of an enhanced blueprint to another blueprint of the same type and rarity. This means a player only needs to fully upgrade one legendary weapon blueprint, and they can then transfer that six-star rating to any new legendary weapon they craft, saving an enormous amount of Starchrom and fragments.
Resource Scouting: When outside their own territory, a player can enter build mode and attempt to place a mining facility. The game will display a message indicating which resources are available for mining at that specific location, allowing for easy scouting without needing to deploy any equipment.
Hidden Chest Indicator: A small, round light on the back of the player’s backpack will flash when a hidden chest is nearby. Paying attention to this subtle visual cue can lead to valuable loot that is easily missed.

Conclusion: Embracing the Cycle

Mastering Once Human is a marathon, not a sprint. It demands a fundamental shift in perspective from the traditional survival game mindset. Success is not measured by the grandeur of a single base or the power of a single season’s gear, but by the steady, relentless accumulation of permanent, account-bound power. By focusing on the acquisition of blueprints, Starchrom, and perfect mods, players can transform the six-week seasonal wipe from a frustrating loss of progress into a powerful engine of growth. Each new season becomes an opportunity to leverage the gains of the last, to progress faster, tackle harder content, and delve deeper into the bizarre and captivating mysteries of the Stardust-ravaged world. The ultimate survivor is not the one who builds the strongest fortress, but the one who best understands and embraces the cycle.

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for Once Human belong to the developer Starry Studio.

Find the game here! https://www.oncehuman.game/