Once Human is an open-world survival shooter set in a post-apocalyptic reality where cosmic distortions twist the world, mutate creatures, and challenge human sanity. Mastering the game requires balancing exploration, crafting, combat, base-building, and progression through increasingly dangerous zones. Because the world evolves dynamically and threats scale with your experience, learning how to manage your resources, enhance your Metamorph powers, and cooperate with other players becomes the key to long-term success.

This guide delivers a complete, time-structured roadmap—from your first minutes as a beginner to advanced late-game mastery—organized into ten bold H2 sections, each with clear strategies and deep practical explanations.

1. Understanding the World of Once Human

The core of Once Human lies in its corrupted open world, where Stardust energy warps environments and transforms creatures into terrifying biomechanical monstrosities. Before you master anything, you must understand that this world works against you: weather, distortion zones, and mutated wildlife all create constant risk.

The game’s progression is zone-based. Early areas contain weaker enemies but fewer resources, while higher-tier regions offer valuable loot at the cost of environmental hazards and brutal foes. Recognizing this progression helps you plan your journey without wandering into lethal territory too early.

Once Human’s world also features dynamic events and anomalies that break routine exploration. These events provide rare materials and powerful rewards, so learning how to handle them safely will accelerate your advancement significantly.

2. How to Start Strong as a Beginner

Your first hours are critical. The difference between a struggling beginner and a confident survivor is preparation. Start by gathering basic materials—wood, stone, fiber—and crafting early tools. Focus on weapons that give you mobility and reliability such as the basic pistol or melee blade.

Prioritize unlocking essential survival items: storage crates, a simple shelter, and early armor. Even low-tier gear massively improves survivability. Don’t rush into combat-heavy zones before you have a functional loadout and enough ammunition.

Most importantly, learn the tutorial systems thoroughly. Once Human explains crafting, Metamorph powers, and resource gathering in subtle ways that many players overlook. Understanding these mechanics early makes every future milestone easier.

3. How to Choose the Right Weapons and Combat Style

Combat variety is one of the game’s biggest strengths. Guns, melee weapons, elemental tools, and powerful Metamorph abilities all combine to shape your fighting style. Choosing the right setup determines how efficiently you can survive escalating threats.

Ranged weapons are safer for beginners because many mutated enemies deal heavy melee damage. Pistols and SMGs provide good early mobility, while rifles and shotguns scale better into mid-game. Try multiple weapon types until you find your preferred feel.

As you progress, your Metamorph powers become a core part of combat. Some abilities enhance crowd control, others increase burst damage, and some provide defensive utility. Build your combat identity around synergy between firearms and abilities rather than relying on one or the other.

4. How to Use Metamorph Powers Effectively

Metamorph abilities are powerful supernatural skills that can turn the tide against monstrous enemies. However, inexperienced players often misuse them or use them too frequently, wasting energy in easy fights and struggling in harder encounters.

Start by mastering one offensive and one defensive ability. This balance ensures you’re prepared for both close-range combat and emergency escapes. Study each ability’s cooldowns and energy cost so you use them strategically.

In late-game zones, chaining abilities with weapon combos becomes essential. For example, slowing an enemy with a Metamorph skill before unleashing a shotgun blast is far more effective than using both separately. With practice, these combos form your strongest playstyle.

5. How to Build a Strong Base

A strong base is your anchor in Once Human. It provides safety, storage, crafting stations, and long-term upgrades. The mistake many players make is placing their base in visually appealing locations rather than strategically advantageous ones.

Choose a location near essential resources such as wood, ore, and water. Ensure the terrain is defensible—elevated ground or natural barriers help prevent creature attacks. Avoid placing your home in active distortion zones unless you’re prepared for constant danger.

As you progress, upgrade your base with reinforced walls, turrets, advanced crafting benches, and energy generators. A functional and fortified base makes every future expedition more manageable and significantly increases your survival odds.

6. How to Farm Resources Efficiently

Resource farming is the backbone of crafting and upgrading. Once Human features dozens of material types, from basic fibers to rare Stardust components found only in anomaly zones. Efficient farming lets you stay ahead of difficulty spikes.

Start by mapping out resource-rich areas near your base. Rotate between them regularly to maintain a steady supply. When possible, craft better gathering tools to increase yield per node. Upgrades dramatically reduce farming time over the course of your journey.

Advanced players create farming routes—planned loops through zones with guaranteed resource clusters. These routes minimize travel time and maximize profit, allowing you to quickly gather what you need for weapons, armor, and Metamorph enhancements.

7. How to Explore Safely and Effectively

Exploration is both rewarding and dangerous. The world hides rare loot, secret dungeons, and powerful enemies that can wipe unprepared players instantly. Mastering exploration requires patience, awareness, and good preparation.

Always bring enough ammunition, healing items, and crafting components for repairs. Check your durability before entering new zones. Many players underestimate how quickly weapons degrade in extended expeditions.

Use high ground and cautious movement to scout areas before entering them. Enemies in Once Human often patrol in groups, and knowing their positions beforehand reduces risk. When exploring late-game zones, move slowly—enemy variants hit harder, detect faster, and use unexpected attack patterns.

8. How to Complete Missions and Events Efficiently

Once Human offers missions, contracts, anomaly events, and world challenges that reward rare materials and major progression boosts. Completing these events effectively is key to scaling your power.

Study the mission type before accepting it. Some missions require heavy combat, while others involve stealth, escorting, or puzzle solving. Equip your loadout accordingly instead of running a single all-purpose build.

Events often spawn waves of enemies. Position yourself near cover, maintain choke points, and utilize area-of-effect powers to maintain control. High-level events demand teamwork and communication—especially anomaly rifts that spawn elite mutated monsters.

9. How to Play Well in Co-op and Team Activities

Co-op is where Once Human shines. The world becomes more dangerous, but teamwork multiplies your effectiveness. Mastering co-op requires role distribution, communication, and synchronized fighting.

Assign informal roles—such as tank, sniper, healer, or crowd-control specialist—to maximize efficiency. Shared Metamorph combinations can create devastating synergy, like freezing enemies then using explosive abilities to shatter them instantly.

Team exploration is also safer and faster. While solo players must retreat often to heal or repair gear, teams can support each other, cover blind spots, and revive fallen members before encounters escalate.

10. How to Achieve Long-Term Mastery

True mastery of Once Human emerges from advanced understanding of the game’s systems and the ability to improvise in unpredictable situations. High-tier zones, cosmic anomalies, and world bosses demand precision, strong gear, and refined instincts.

Learn to manage risk: sometimes retreating is wiser than fighting. Understand enemy weaknesses and study their attack animations to dodge effectively. Optimize your crafting path to minimize wasted resources. Regularly refine your base, gear, and ability loadouts as new threats appear.

Most importantly, stay adaptable. The world of Once Human evolves—with new zones, events, and corrupted creatures constantly challenging your strategy. By combining strong fundamentals with flexible decision-making, you become a formidable survivor in a collapsing reality.

Conclusion

Mastering Once Human takes patience, game knowledge, and strategic thinking across combat, exploration, crafting, and base building. Understanding the world’s dangers, using Metamorph abilities wisely, upgrading gear efficiently, and cooperating with teammates allow you to thrive in an otherwise hostile reality. With time and practice, you will conquer the distortion-ridden world and turn its cosmic power into your greatest strength.