“In Nalcott, trading plays a crucial role in fostering social connections,” wrote the studio. “Not only does it help you acquire new items, but it can also spark friendships with people you might never have encountered otherwise.”

The studio has explained that, before the addition of dedicated trading zones, players would place their Vending Machines in zones like Blackfell so that they could be seen and used by the most number of players. This, in turn, caused a host of problems, including lag, as well as obstructions that players had to figure out a way through.

The dedicated trading zone, dubbed the Harvesters’ Market, is now available in Once Human thanks to today’s update. The Harvesters’ Markets will be available in the Manibus, Evolution’s Call, and The Way of Winter scenarios. Prismverse’s Clash, however, will not be getting the market owing to the scenario’s faction-based gameplay.

These specific scenarios were chosen for the Harvesters’ Market thanks to a variety of factors, chief among them being low player density. In these zones, players can put down their own Special Vending Machines that can then be used by other players for trade.

Players affected by the positioning of these new Harvesters’ Market due to the borders of their own territories will have to relocate. These players will get in-game notifications to let them know, however. Players that weren’t able to relocate before the market went live won’t lose anything; their territory will simply be recalled automatically, and can be placed down again in a new area.

To use the new Special Vending Machines, players will have to make sure to unlock the regular Vending Machine through the Memetic system. Players can also customise their Special Vending Machines by using the same skins as the ones used for regular Vending Machines. These Special Vending Machines will also not require a power connection.

As for the potential clutter from unused and inactive Special Vending Machines, the studio has stated that these will be recalled automatically. The player that owns one of these Special Vending Machines will automatically get refunded the building materials for it. Previously-listed items will automatically be for sale once again when the player puts down a new Special Vending Machine.

It is also worth noting that each player will be restricted to only being able to put down a single Special Vending Machine. This decision was made in order for the Harvesters’ Markets to be able to accommodate as many players as possible.

Regular Vending Machines are also getting a new feature in the form of the freezer. This new feature will allow players to list food items for sale for longer stretches of time without the food going bad.

Along with the Harvesters’ Markets, Once Human‘s latest update also brought with it new permanent scenario servers. For more details, check out our coverage of the studio’s update roadmap for the near future.

One of the biggest new features coming to Once Human is the addition of permanent servers. Coming to the game on March 13, the feature will allow players to have, as its name might suggest, permanent servers for their scenarios. Currently, Once Human‘s servers automatically shut down when a player completes a scenario, transferring their player back to Eternaland where they can sign up for the next scenario.

This leads to some players being unable to experience all the content typically available in a scenario. Players that get disconnected also can’t resume their progress since the servers close down automatically. Once the update is live, scenario servers will not shut down automatically. Instead, it will turn into a permanent server after around 2 hours.

It is worth noting that players who have not logged in for the scenario can not load into the new permanent server. This was done to reduce the overall load on Once Human‘s backend. Because of this, characters that haven’t been played for 30 days or more will not transfer to the permanent servers, but the studio plans to ease up on this over time.

Permanent servers for the same scenario type and Visional Wheel will also be merged into a single world. Players can freely switch between Worlds to interact with players on other servers, and worlds with smaller player counts can be merged with higher-population servers for a better player experience.

Another major feature coming to Once Human will be the new Endless Dream PvE scenario. While the studio hasn’t confirmed when this feature will arrive, the scenario will include a fully accessible map that players can explore. The new Endless Dream scenario revolves around the Sleeper’s influence over the surrounding wilderness, turning things into a dreamscape with unpredictable changes.

In gameplay terms, players will feel the effects of the Sleeper’s influence by getting new vulnerabilities, like weakness or becoming flammable. Deviants and resources will also be affected in strange ways by the Sleeper.

On March 27, Once Human will also be introducing a major quality of life feature in allowing players to share their resources between their characters. This means players won’t have to grind up alternate characters to experience Once Human‘s several scenarios. Check out all the resources that can be shared through the Cross-Character Asset Sharing feature below.

The studio has also detailed why some assets, like Stellar Stairway progression, Starchrom, and blueprint data, are shared in this manner rather than being an aggregate progression tracker that applies to the player’s entire account. According to the studio, these assets are tied more to character play time than any other aspect of the game.

“Aggregating these resources would create a significant and insurmountable gap between players who focus on one character and those who play multiple characters,” explains the studio. “Using the data of the character with the highest Blueprint Collection level ensures that all other characters on your account will enjoy an increase in Blueprint Collection level, allowing you to create and use new characters more freely. If you have invested in multiple characters, we will offer Starchrom compensation based on aggregate Blueprint Collection levels of your other characters.”

Along with these new features, Once Human will also get optimizations for its resource allocation, Deviations and construction systems. It includes giving players better control over water and production management and territory relocation.

Once Human is a free-to-play game available on PC. For more details, check out our recent interview with the studio. Also check out our review from back when it launched.

How big of a jump was the seasonal label system for Once Human in terms of development time and planning?

Before addressing this question, it’s important to clarify the difference between our “scenario system” and a traditional season system. In many games, a season requires all players to achieve certain fixed goals within a specific period, with progress reset at the season’s end.

"Before fully committing to the scenario system, our development team conducted research, multiple rounds of testing, and collaborated with players to make the decision."

In contrast, Once Human offers multiple scenarios featuring different themes and storylines that players can choose from. After completing a scenario, all of the players’ resources are stored on Eternaland, and they can carry those items forward based on the resource transfer rules when starting a new scenario.

Before fully committing to the scenario system, our development team conducted research, multiple rounds of testing, and collaborated with players to make the decision. The key reasons were:

• “Unrestricted Gaming Experience”: We found that many survival games tend to focus exclusively on either PvP or PvE, leaving some survival game enthusiasts’ needs unmet. A parallel scenario system provides a richer range of choices.
• “Fairer Gaming Environment”: In both PvE and PvP, as players’ stats inflate over time, the gap between new and veteran players can widen, potentially disrupting the server’s balance. By offering scenarios of different lengths, certain stat-based progressions are renewed after a scenario is completed, while accumulated resources are retained—allowing new players or friends to start the next adventure on a more level playing field.
• “Easier Return Experience”: Our research showed that players who return after a hiatus often feel overwhelmed by the volume of updates and the growing stat disparities, which can discourage them. Our scenario design lets returning players start fresh, reducing the anxiety of trying to catch up.

What can you tell us about plans for future seasonal content?

At our annual streaming event last December, we unveiled the 2025 development plan. This includes the upcoming Visional Wheel S1 version launching in April, along with three additional Visional Wheel themes later in the year:

• Code: Purification: One of the major PVE scenarios for 2025. In this scenario, the pollution ravages Nalcott, Metas must work to decontaminate the wilderness and eliminate Original Entities to restore balance to the world.
• Code: Broken: A PVP-focused scenario where players will experience higher-intensity player-versus-player combat.
• Code: Deviation: Another major PVE scenario for 2025. In this one, players take on the role of experts in deviations, capturing and researching them, as well as fusing them in their territory to create stronger deviations.

"Gameplay details will differ between scenarios, depending on the experience each scenario aims to provide."

Will seasonal content bring sweeping changes to Once Human‘s status quo in terms of gameplay features?

In general, no. The main reason is that Once Human was originally designed with the scenario system, where gameplay includes scenario objectives, achievements, and different endings, so players can experience unique gameplay in different scenarios.

Gameplay details will differ between scenarios, depending on the experience each scenario aims to provide. For example, in The Way of Winter, players need to focus on how temperature affects survival. In some PVP scenarios, we have opened up more raiding permissions and combat modes for competitive players to enjoy.

How important do you believe is balancing between PvE and PvP combat? Does one affect the other?

A fair game environment is one of the most important aspects for both the development team and players. This is why we use the scenario system to avoid unfair mechanics often found in survival games.

Fairness in PVP is self-explanatory—stat balancing, build balancing, and social dynamics all impact the player’s combat experience. Our team continuously optimizes the stats and engages with the community to enhance the fairness of the experience.

In PVE, we focus heavily on “stat overflow,” as we don’t want the game to become a grind. We aim to maintain consistent combat pressure by regularly introducing more difficult content like master-level dungeons for advanced players to challenge.

In Once Human, key currencies, such as Starchorm, carry over across scenarios. We also focus on “currency fairness” to ensure that both PVP and PVE players experience fair time investment and reward outcomes.

"In PVE, we focus heavily on “stat overflow,” as we don’t want the game to become a grind."

Are there any plans to bring Once Human to PS5 and Xbox?

Yes, absolutely! While our current focus is on mobile development, the mobile version will be available in April, so don’t forget to pre-register! We will provide updates on console versions as soon as we have more information.

Now that Once Human is following a seasonal content cycle, are there any plans for major content releases through bigger expansions?

This is an interesting idea. From the developer’s perspective, large expansions or major scenario updates are just different forms of content release. The specific format will depend on the scale and content of the update. What we care most about is the content itself—engaging and fun gameplay is key to attracting players. Of course, I can assure you that all our updates will be available for free!

When the iOS and Android versions of Once Human are released, can we expect to see crossplay?

Definitely! Once Human’s PC and mobile versions will feature cross-platform data synchronization, so your progress will be shared between both platforms. We look forward to more players joining us on the Nalcott continent to meet new friends and embark on fresh adventures!

You can use up to three each season, and they’re also tradeable between players. These Specializations will disappear when the season ends and won’t transfer to the Eternaland Depot either. Other changes and optimizations include a new route for Highway Pursuit in the Chalk Peak region and increased Sproutlets and rewards.

Vehicles have also seen some improvements, including lower-tier motorcycles receiving faster acceleration and a higher maximum speed. This should ensure faster transportation when the player first gets their own. Off-Roaders and Coupes also had their acceleration and max speed increased “slightly.”

Check out some of the patch notes below and full details here. Once Human is available exclusively on PC. You can read our review of the launch version here.

Patch Notes (August 1, 2024)

Optimizations

I. Memetic Optimizations

• Added a new item drop: Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments
  – After using a Memetic Specialization Memory Fragment, you will gain the corresponding Memetic specialization effect.
  – Up to three Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be used per season.
  – When the in-game item Controller is used, there is a certain chance of obtaining a random Memory Fragment.
  – All Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments will be destroyed at the end of the season, and they will not be sent to the Eternaland Depot.
  – Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be traded between players.
• Adjusted some display elements on the Memetic Specialization screen
  – Optimized the stacking of certain metal ingots in the Backpack.
  – Optimized the display of Memetic specializations in the gear details pop-up.
  – Production output of regular Ammunition can be increased by 50%.

II. Gameplay Optimizations

• Enriched the Highway Pursuit game mode
  – Added a new Highway Pursuit route to the Chalk Peak region.
  – The event starting time is now fixed to 9:00 PM, server time.
  – Rosetta trucks now automatically drop Sproutlets even if the player does not attack them.
  – Increased the quantity of Sproutlet and reward drops.
  – Optimized the item storage quantity and subtraction rules of the Cargo Scramble game mode.
• Optimized the ease of checking certain display elements
  – After opening the Map, you can now click on Monolith, Securement Silo, Public Crisis Event, Cargo Conquest, and other icons to open their details screen.
  – Added a combat invitation function to Public Crisis Events. You can now send invitations to other players via chat channels.
  – There is no longer a countdown timer for pressing Ready when entering a Monolith or Securement Silo solo.

III. Vehicle Optimizations

• Increased the acceleration and maximum speed of low-level Motorcycles. Slightly increased the acceleration and maximum speed of Off-Roaders and Coupes.
• Fixed an issue where after boarding a vehicle, the player would need to press a movement key once before being able to operate the vehicle.
• Added a function where if a vehicle is stuck on terrain, you can hold down the accelerate key to free the vehicle.
• Added a setting for auto-centering the vehicle camera. You can now choose to enable or disable auto-centering while operating a vehicle.
• Optimized the vehicle repair and modification procedure. Heavily damaged vehicles must now be repaired before they can be modified.

2024 has been a year of odd hits – heck, even Nexon’s The First Descendant was making waves, crossing 10 million players in a week. When Once Human finally arrived on July 10th, it faced excessive backlash on Steam and other forums. There were complaints about optimization and not being able to make characters in other servers, much less delete or move them, which became especially irritating when playing with friends and getting sorted into different worlds.

However, many negative user reviews focused on the Terms of Service, which cited the need for ID and other personal information. It was quickly clarified that this only applied to countries mandating the same, not North America, Europe or any other places. Otherwise, its Terms of Service and privacy policy are similar to many other online titles. The narrative quickly spread, though, and Once Human seemed destined for Steam’s notorious “Mostly Negative” rating.

Then something crazy happened – more people started trying the game. And liked it.

It started with 4491 positive user reviews and 3324 negative reviews on Steam within the first 24 hours of launch, bringing the overall rating to “Mixed.” The negative reviews continued, but they were quickly overrun by the positive. In a little over two weeks, Once Human now has a “Mostly Positive” rating on the platform, with 70 percent of its 49,104 user reviews positive.

Of course, regardless of the initial backlash, it was putting up some serious numbers, crossing 200,000 peak concurrent players on Steam within the first day. This climbed to 231,668 by July 14th, with Starry Studio confirming over 300,000 concurrent players across all platforms on July 16th (and celebrated by doling out free stuff). Even now, its player numbers continue to hover close to 200,000, going higher whenever the weekend rolls in.

As someone who had mixed feelings about the title, going as far as to give it a 6 out of 10, Once Human’s success has been fascinating to watch. It’s been a year where Palworld blew everything out of the water one month, followed by Helldivers 2 the next. Big blockbuster live service games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Skull and Bones have completely lost the plot, while games like Content Warning come out of nowhere and become surprise hits.

What is it about Once Human that’s earned it so much praise from its player base? You could argue that it’s the free-to-play element, but that only goes so far (ask MultiVersus players how their player counts look). Getting over the initial negative backlash and ToS confusion, what has many players returning, day in and day out? Why are they so keen on the title to the extent of wanting to spend money on it?

It all starts with the very nature of the game itself. A comment on the closed beta trailer from December succinctly said, “Somehow manages to look unique and completely generic at the same time.” Sure, it sounds like a knock against the game, but it’s also fitting. Once Human fuses so many mechanics from different titles, including The Division, Fallout 76, Days Gone and even Pokemon, while adding its own flavor of cosmic horrors. Sometimes you’ll encounter enemies with briefcases and searchlights for heads – defeat them and their craniums become weapons. You may run into a massive wandering boss one second that can be shot in the knees and encounter a bus with legs the next.

The gunplay is also admittedly enjoyable, and even if you’re not keen on building, being able to select presets (or copy other players’ blueprints, with their permission) to create good-looking bases, is a nice option. This brings up another positive thing about the resource collection. While Once Human has survival elements, including Sanity that reduces your max health when venturing into polluted areas, weight gain and loss, and more, on top of ammo, weapon and gear crafting, it’s not trying to bog you down with the resource collection.

They’re readily available, fast-tracking many of the slower elements of the genre while getting you into the action quicker. For all my issues with collecting Blueprint Fragments, having loot drops with limited shelf life (but not that limited), causing you to prioritize crafting gear and weapons, is pretty innovative.

Another aspect the community has brought up is how quickly Starry Studio has addressed various issues. It enabled multiple characters across different servers on launch day itself. Alongside working on server issues and optimization, numerous bugs have been addressed, from buffs not working to disappearing Energy Links and improving the spawn chance of some Deviations.

Perhaps the most notable aspect is the studio sticking to its guns and not implementing pay-to-win mechanics. There’s a gacha machine that requires Starchrom to dole out weapons, gear and Blueprint Fragments, but you can also buy the Blueprints directly. Starchrom is earned entirely in-game by completing various goals, challenges and activities. You can’t even get any from the paid tier of the Battle Pass (which is also as pay-to-win-free as possible).

In a title where PvP is available, it’s pretty refreshing to see a studio stick to this stance. The general handling of microtransactions has also been praised for not being too in your face, to the extent that locating Seasonal Goals can be annoying since it’s in the same section as the Battle Pass. Compare this to a game like Suicide Squad, where the Store and Battle Pass have their tabs when trying to access your inventory. Such is the positive response to Once Human’s handling that some players are spending money to thank the developer.

This isn’t to say there are no problems – it drew some mixed reactions with its approach to seasons, which only last six weeks and resets your level, though several aspects like unlocked Gear Blueprints, Fragments, Starchroms, main and side story progress, etc. carry over. The base building still needs fine-tuning, like when snapping roof panels into place. Nevertheless, Starry Studio is working hard to address various problems while ensuring a smooth experience and developing new content. New PvP and PvE scenarios are coming in September, the latter offering a new region to explore with fresh monsters to fight.

Like The First Descendant, you could call it a flash in the pan – a trending title that will fizzle out when the next shiny thing comes around. However, it’s clear that Once Human is making the right moves to cater to both genre fans and newcomers. The long game is where the challenge begins, but for now, it’s become an endearingly addictive experience for its player base.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Of course, those who want to get to the good stuff faster – and level up to access the more challenging regions – can also farm XP at a quicker rate. Here’s how.

How to Level Up Quickly in Once Human

Journey Tasks

The Journey is a collection of tasks that, once completed, will give XP and Energy Link. Though minor, their requirements are easy, like building a single storage crate, sleeping in a bed or even unlocking certain Memetics. Play through the game as you would, but don’t forget to check the Journey menu frequently and claim the XP and Energy Link.

Smelt Away

The first and most obvious thing you should be doing is smelting things. To do this, unlock the Furnace from Memetics, open the build menu with B, right-click and go to the Production Processing tab. Select the Furnace and place a few down. Start converting wood into Charcoal and then process Copper, Iron and other ores into their respective Ingots.

Since these take time to smelt, you can dip out of your base and do something else while passively accruing XP. Build multiple Furnaces and get some Deviations like The Digby Boy and the Logging Beaver to collect ores and wood to save time gathering them yourself.

Orange Pie

Bananas, Apples and Grapes – on their own, they may seem like fruits to replenish Energy and Hydration. However, they’re used to make Orange Pie, which boosts the XP from killing monsters by 25 percent for 30 minutes. You first need to unlock the Dishes 3 Memetic in the Logistics tree to gain access to the recipe. It requires one Banana, one Apple and one Grape. Go East of Sunbury to gather the Bananas and South of the Brewery Workshop for the Apples and Grapes.

Keep a Logging Chainsaw handy to increase the yield from gathering. The entire process is ideal for farming Logs for your passive smelting purposes. Fruits and pies will spoil in 24 hours, but if you have the Portable Fridge Specialization, you can slow the spoilage rate by 70 to 90 percent. After crafting the Orange Pie, eat it, go to an area (or the easiest Rift Entity) around your level and start slaying.

Weekly Commissions

Speak to V, or the vendors in Meyer’s Market and Deadsville to access Commissions. Available every week, these are simple objectives like building structures, gathering ores, crafting ammo, etc. to complete for materials, Energy Links, and XP. Completing five nets bonus XP, Energy Link and resources. However, you have to wait for them to refresh the following week.

Once Human is available for PC. Check out our review here.

Doombringer (Double Barrel Shotgun)

Obtained from the Wish Machine for 8000 Starchrom. Double barrel shotgun with a 65 percent chance to trigger The Bull’s Eye on hit, granting a five percent damage reduction for eight seconds (max four stacks). When shooting marked enemies, your critical hit rate increases by 30 percent; defeating them grants +6 Attack for 60 seconds, maxing out at five stacks.

Icy Rain (SMG)

Obtained from Mystical Crates while exploring Chalk Peak. Critical hits have a 40 percent chance to trigger Frost Vortex (which also gets a +1 bonus). After triggering Frost Vortex, refill 15 percent of your magazine.

SOCR The Last Valor (Assault Rifle)

Obtained from the Wish Machine for 8000 Starchrom. Critical hits count as two hits with this weapon and increase the chance of triggering Shrapnel by +1 for one second. It also has a base four percent chance to activate Shrapnel on hit, with crit damage from the same increased by 30 percent.

Compound Bow

Drops from Weapon Crates in the wild and the Wish Machine for 8000 Starchrom. After hitting a target, increase Reload Speed by +6 and Critical Hit Rate by 10 percent, stacking up to three times (max stacks also gained from slaying enemies). You can also trigger Unstable Bomber when hitting an enemy at max stacks.

KVD Boom! Boom! (Light Machine Gun)

Obtained from the Wish Machine for 8000 Starchrom. This LMG has an 18 percent chance to trigger Burn on hit; burning enemies explode for 300 percent Blaze damage (while afflicting one stack of Burn on them). Increases Blaze damage by 30 percent.

AWS.338 Bingo (Sniper Rifle)

Obtained from the Wish Machine for 8000 Starchrom. Hitting a weak spot has a 70 percent chance to grant The Bull’s Eye (though it also triggers on the first hit after switching to this weapon). Weakspot damage increases by 15 percent for 10 seconds, stacking up to three times. Slaying enemies by hitting their weak spots also grants a +15 percent Attack for 20 seconds.

Frozen Northern Pike (Melee Weapon)

Heavy attacks freeze enemies and generate Frost Vortex every four seconds. The latter costs two additional Stamina but recovers five percent of lost HP. It’s unlocked from Fishing Trader Margerie.

Renegade Set

Obtained from Wish Machine, each piece costing 3000 Starchrom. It grants a 15 percent increase in reload speed and a 10 percent increase in weak spot damage with one and two pieces. The three-piece bonus grants Archer’s Focus with continuous hits on the same enemy, which increases weak spot damage by four percent (stacking up to 10 times). The four-piece bonus returns 0.6 percent bullets up to 30 percent based on every one percent weak spot hits from the previous magazine.

Bastille Set

Obtained from the Wish Machine, each piece costing 3000 Starchrom. Gain 10 percent weapon damage when health is above 70 percent with one piece. The two-piece bonus grants 20 percent reload speed. The three-piece bonus increases weapon damage by 40 percent when crouching and not moving for 0.5 seconds as part of the Bastille state. Sprint is disabled for three seconds, and Stamina consumption increases by 100 percent when exiting the same state.

Four-piece bonus grants one armor stack after the Bastille state ends, stacking up to 60. Entering the Bastille state provides a shield equal to one percent of maximum health based on the number of armor stacks. Gain 30 percent vulnerability when the shield breaks.

How to Farm Starchrom

Starchrom is used to pull Blueprints from the Wish Machine or buy them directly from the Blueprint shop. Journey milestones will provide small increments of Starchrom so instead, focus on the Seasonal Goals. These take a little longer to complete but grant Mitsuko’s Marks. Upon reaching one, two and three stars in a category, you’ll receive Starchrom. Best of all, with each subsequent stage that opens during a season, the Starchrom rewards increase.

You can also get Starchrom from Prime War activities, trading 100 Stellar Planula to Severin in Deadsville, Greywater and Meyer’s Market (which can be done eight times per season) and purifying certain items and purifying Eclipse Cortex with a Stardust Resonant Filter. The latter requires fighting waves of enemies, so consider its level – a higher level Cortex means much more challenging enemies.

How to Farm Stardust Source

Stardust Source is required to calibrate weapons, upgrading and improving them in the process. You can get them by activating Rift Anchors on the map, opening Mystical Crates, and clearing Securement Silos. A vendor, Nisa, in Deadsville, Meyer’s Market and Greywater also sells them in exchange for Sproutlets. You can purchase up to 10,000 in a season.

It’s also worth noting that Startrace ore can be discovered and converted into either Starchrom or Stardust Source. You rarely find it in the wild, and mining requires a Steel Pickaxe or Drill. It can then be converted into Starchrom using a Stardust Resonant Filter or a Stardust Source with an Electric Furnace.

How to Farm Acid

You’ll need Acid to refine materials like Tungsten Ingots and thus craft Tier 4 and 5 gear. It drops from slaying high-level Deviant enemies, but ensure you cook and eat Preserved Deviated Chops beforehand, since these increase the Acid gained from defeating enemies by 50 percent. It requires any meat, Salt and Peppercorn to cook. Another method is to have the Sulfur Chemist Specialization and use Sulfur and Energy Link on the Advanced Synthesis Bench to make Acid.

It’s also farmed passively by building a Water Pump in a polluted zone. Osmosis Water Purifiers and Brewing Barrels are also required, alongside electricity for the entire set-up to produce Acid. Though it takes work to set up, it’s something to have in the background while slaying enemies.

Here are several things you should know to maximize your survival experience.

Weight Watching

Several aspects come into play for survival, from becoming fully hydrated and stuffed for 20 minutes of no reductions to maintaining your Sanity. However, one of the more underrated is weight. Depending on your character’s weight, your carrying capacity, melee attack speed and damage, stamina recovery and more are affected. Though you can customize this from the character creation screen at the start, it’s also possible to gain weight by eating specific foods (like French Fries). Alternatively, you can consume Fat-Burning Juice to lose weight or drink dirty water and eat spoiled food to cause Gastric Discomfort.

Using Presets in Building

If you’re not into the whole base-building aspect and want a quick solution, the Presets tab in the Build menu can help. Hit B, right-click to open the menu, and navigate to House Blueprints. There will be two options – Drafts and Presets – the latter containing options like a Plain Villa, Survival Cottage, Small Tower and even an Exquisite Villa. You can even have a Travel Trailer for a house on the go. Best of all, these can all be constructed in addition to whatever current base you’ve made within your territory, allowing for easier expansion. Just make sure you have the specified materials.

Moving Your Base

If you need to relocate your base for whatever reason, whether it’s moving towards other essential resources or simply because you hate your neighbors, there’s an easy way. Go to the new location in question, enter the Build menu and press Z. This will allow you to position your entire base to the new spot. It’s ideal if you need to farm a specific material and don’t want to keep traveling back and forth to your base.

Copying Other Players’ Bases

If there’s a player’s base that you really like, it can be copied wholesale for your use. Enter their territory and bring up the Build menu with B. Navigate to Blueprints, and under Drafts, select Save Blueprint (with the option to add notes and such). Of course, there’s a catch – you need sufficient permissions to save someone else’s base design.

Upgrading Mods

Mods are very useful in providing additional benefits to gear and weapons, whether it’s more damage or reduced damage from status effects, but you can also upgrade. You’ll need Energy Link and materials from dismantling other mods, yet they can go a ways towards min-maxing your build.

Recommended Deviations

Deviants may seem the most beneficial in combat, but they’re arguably the most valuable for resource-gathering. The Digby Boy has a chance to drop from any ore source (Silver being the most likely) and will mine ore while you’re out and about. Logging Beaver, who has a chance to drop south of the Mayor’s Market, will do the same for wood. Both are ideal and if you satisfy the conditions of their Securement Environment, their power and Mood recover quicker, thus ensuring you can use them more often. You can also have more than one of the same Deviant, maximizing resource gains even more.

Memetic Specialization

As you reach certain level milestones, Memetic Specializations become available. They’re accessed from the same menu that you unlock Memetics and Cradle upgrades in the upper right, and randomized. Once you’ve chosen a Specialization, it’s locked in till the end of the season (with only a maximum of five resets available). Choose the best ones based on your circumstances. However, for the most part, Portable Rainwater Collection, Backpack Expansion, Stardust Regulator, Supplies Workbench: Ammo Factory and Portable Fridge are some of the best options.

Easy Sanity Restoration

It’s also worth looking into the Compost Bin since this Specialization will convert spoiled food in your inventory to mushrooms. Why is this important? You can then use them to cook Roasted Mushrooms, which are a great way to restore Energy and Sanity. Mushrooms are out in the wild as well, but this ensures a steady supply while you’re busy doing something else. Otherwise, keep a healthy amount of Beets for Sugar to craft Sanity Gummies.

Changing Appearance

If you’re looking to change your appearance or even modify weight without putting your character through awful diets, then it’s worth using the Floor Mirror. It’s unlocked from the start under Furnishing Items in the Build menu and once placed, it allows for modifying all aspects of your character. The only problem is that it requires a Renaming Card, which is only available for premium currency. There currently isn’t a way to get one for free, unfortunately.

Buying Blueprints

Aside from looting Mystical Chests for Blueprint Fragments, you can also get them to drop from the Wish Machine. The only problem is that the latter is essentially gacha, where you gamble Starchrom away for a chance at hitting the jackpot. However, it’s possible to buy the Blueprints directly by hitting G at the Wish Machine. They cost quite a bit, but it’s a worthwhile addition, especially if you’re looking for specific Blueprints and don’t want to waste currency on gacha RNG.

Farming Starchrom

Starchrom is pretty valuable, but it’s thankfully not too challenging to obtain. You can get them from Prime War activities on the world map (though beware of their difficulty), completing Season Goals and even as rewards from the free tier of the Battle Pass. Starchrom can also be earned by clearing objectives in the Journey menu, and while they’re not as hefty, every little bit counts.

Repairing Random Weapons

You may wonder, like I did, what the point of crafting weapons and armor is when you can just find some great loot in the world. However, there are major reasons to do so. Your world drops will deteriorate with use and must be repaired, which can’t be done since they’re technically not yours (such is the scavenging life). Use whatever you find but keep working on crafted weapons and armor for the long run.

Farming Acid

Another material that will become essential later in the game is Acid. It’s required to make Tier 4 and 5 gear, and though it drops from higher-level enemies pretty consistently (Silos are a good source), you’ll still need a lot. Opinions are mixed on how sufficient a Water Pump in polluted areas can be for gaining more, but if you have the means, it’s not the worst thing to have in the background.

V’s Commissions

Don’t forget to talk to your companion V when the opportunity arises, because he has Commissions. These provide separate rewards, from XP to materials, and are relatively easy to complete. He has five each week and you’ll get a final reward for completing them all. However, if the menu doesn’t show up when talking to V, head to Deadsville or Meyer’s Market and look for the relevant vendor to access the Commissions.

Once Human launched with mixed player impressions, with 59 percent of its 8,959 user reviews positive on Steam. However, it’s since garnered 26,886 user reviews, with 67 percent being positive (though the overall rating is still “Mixed”). Whatever the reasons, it’s performing very well for Singularity Studio Group and its parent company, NetEase.

Set in a post-apocalyptic setting, Once Human sees players as Meta-Humans fighting against the infestation of Stardust. There’s base-building, crafting, loot, survival mechanics, vehicles and more for players to engage with. Check out our review – we gave it a six out of ten.