Once Human Guides
Practical walkthroughs for the systems Starry Studio barely explains on the first night.
This hub is the map of every Once Human guide on the wiki. Use it when you know the problem (“my Sanity is a death spiral,” “I wasted 20k Starchrom”) but not the page name. New Metas should read in order: getting started, survival, base building, then Deviants. Veterans jumping in after the console launch can skip to scenarios, the Wish Machine, or the PS5 / Xbox notes.
Once Human looks like a looter shooter and plays like a seasonal survival MMO. The pain is not aim — it is picking the wrong scenario, parking a Territory Core on a dead node, feeding polluted water to a Sanity bar, and scattering blueprint XP across seven gun families. These guides exist to stop that first-week tax.
Start here if you just installed
- Getting started — server type, Manibus, first-hour crafts, and what to ignore.
- Claim everything on the codes hub using the redeem steps.
- Survival — hunger, thirst, Sanity, temperature, and why max HP keeps shrinking.
- Plant a Territory Core near water and ore, then slot Digby Boy.
Console players should add the console launch guide so first-person toggle, DualSense, Game Pass, and cross-save do not surprise them mid-fight.
Systems that decide your season
Deviants are the game’s identity. Combat pets keep you standing in silos; territory workers print ore, wood, and meals while you are offline. Capture rules, Isolated Securement Units, and the pets worth a securement slot are in the Deviants guide. Rankings live on the Deviant tier list.
Scenarios rotate the ruleset. Manibus is the vanilla PvE campaign with Prime War. Way of Winter adds lethal temperature. Endless Dream densifies enemies. Deviation: SCP turns pets into your damage. Evolution’s Call and Prismverse’s Clash are PvP. Read the scenario comparison before you lock a character you cannot cheaply move.
Wish Machine and Starchrom are the only progression that survives a season reset in a meaningful way. Monthly caps, Echoes of the Rift, and why you buy the gun you already rolled are in the Wish Machine guide. Pair it with a Shrapnel or Bounce build so the stars land on a weapon you will actually fire.
How-to intents this wiki covers
- How to play the first day without a wipe — getting started and survival.
- How to find and secure Deviants — Deviants guide.
- How to protect Sanity and HP — survival.
- How to complete Prime War and silos — Prime War guide plus a build.
- How to beat temperature and winter — Way of Winter and the map.
- How to keep a base after a reset — Eternaland.
- How to fuse surplus Deviants after 24 September 2026 — Deviation Fusion.
- How to spend Starchrom — Wish Machine.
Related hubs
When a guide tells you to “gear up,” it means a concrete build and a tier list, not a vibe. When it mentions a patch, check updates. Keyboard, DualSense, and Xbox layouts sit under controls. Official Discord, Reddit, and support links are on links.
Read one guide, follow its internal links, and you should not need a second wiki tab for the same night’s session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common Once Human questions.
Which guide should a brand-new Meta open first?
Getting started, then codes, then survival. Base building is fourth — a pretty house with 20 Sanity is still a corpse.
Are these guides for PC only?
No. Systems are shared across PC, mobile, PS5, and Xbox. Console-specific menus and packs are called out in the console guide.
Do I need every guide before I play?
No. Use getting started plus codes on night one. Pull the others when a system blocks you.
Where are weapon rankings?
The weapon tier list and the Builds hub. Guides explain systems; tier lists and builds tell you what to craft.