Once Human beginner's guide: scenarios, classes and your first territory

Once Human is a free-to-play open-world survival game developed by Starry Studio and published by Starry Studio and NetEase Games. It launched on Steam in July 2024 and now runs on PC, consoles and mobile. You play a Meta, a survivor who can resist Stardust, the alien substance that has warped the world. You gather, craft, build a territory, capture strange creatures called Deviants and chase better guns, alone or with friends.

The game throws a lot of systems at you in the first hours. This guide explains the ones that matter most early: scenarios, classes, your territory, Memetics, Deviants and survival stats.

Your first-week priorities

1. Join a fresh PvE scenario. Learn the game without raids, and start at the same time as everyone else.
2. Pick a class after the tutorial. Chef is the safest choice if you are unsure.
3. Follow the main story. It unlocks key features and leads you across the map.
4. Place your territory near resources and a Rift Anchor. A good spot saves hours of walking.
5. Unlock smelting, tools, cooking and disassembly first. These remove your early bottlenecks.
6. Build a bed and storage. Rest restores health and sanity, and you will run out of space fast.

Scenarios: pick the right server

Once Human is organized into scenarios: themed servers with their own map, rules and story. Most run as a season of a few weeks, split into phases that unlock new content step by step. When the season ends, the server closes and you move on, while permanent servers keep a scenario running for players who don't want resets.

Two rules help a lot. First, start in PvE. PvP and raid servers punish players who don't yet know the systems. Second, join a new server if you can. Entering a scenario several weeks in means competing for Deviants and resources with players far ahead of you.

Timing is good right now. The next PvE scenario, Isles of Abyss, opens after maintenance on October 21 on all platforms. According to the official dev blog, its core cycle lasts about 21 days in two phases, and a permanent server is expected to open on November 12. You sign up from the scenario selection screen once you have finished the new player experience.

Classes: what each one changes

After the tutorial, you choose a class. Classes don't lock you into a combat role. Each one adds a core ability, talents and a set of crafting perks that change how you gather, cook, farm or fight.

Class	Core focus	Good for
Chef	Food and drink buffs	First-time players and group support
Gardener	Farming and plant-based combat	Production and long-term resource play
Beastmaster	Taming, summoning and riding animals	Solo players who want a companion
Free Person	No core ability	Delaying the choice

The Beastmaster changed a lot in the September 16 update, which added Beast Riding. Beastmasters can now summon animals from their inventory, mount saddled deer, boars, bears and wild buffalo, and command partners with a Beast Whistle. Other classes can ride saddled animals too, but can't use their special abilities.

If you change your mind later, a one-time Class Fragment lets an existing character switch. Note that classes are disabled on raid servers.

Your territory: location beats looks

Your base grows from a Territory Core, and you can move it later. Still, a smart first spot pays off for weeks. Look for:

• Water nearby, for farming, cooking and purified drinks.
• Trees, copper and sulfur within a short walk.
• A Rift Anchor close by, so fast travel drops you near home.
• Flat ground with room to expand, because crafting stations take space.

Inside, build a bed early. Resting there heals both health and sanity for free. Then add storage, a furnace, a supplies workbench and a disassembly bench. Plan your power before you add many machines: every station draws electricity, and production stops when you run short.

Placing a new structure with a blueprint. Screenshot: Starry Studio / NetEase Games via Steam

Memetics: unlock what removes your bottleneck

Memetics is the tech tree, opened with the O key on PC. You earn Memetic points as you progress and spend them on recipes and facilities. Popular guides agree on the same early picks:

• Smelting Essentials, for furnaces and metal.
• Essential Tools, for the supplies workbench.
• Stoves, to start cooking real food.
• Disassembly Techniques, to turn junk into materials.

Disassembly is the one new players skip and regret. Almost every piece of junk you loot breaks down into something useful. After these four, spend points on whatever slows you down today: storage, power, healing or your next weapon tier. You can reset Memetics, but not everything you invested comes back, so avoid spending on nodes "for later".

Deviants: workers, fighters and helpers

Deviants are anomalous creatures and objects you capture and carry in a special container. Some fight beside you, some boost crafting, and some live in your territory and produce resources on their own.

Early territory workers make the biggest difference. The Digby Boy gathers stone and ore, and the Logging Beaver collects wood while you play elsewhere. Placing your base near the right resources makes them more useful. Combat Deviants help in fights, and crafting Deviants such as the Space Turner unlock special items.

Deviants appear at set spots and respawn on a timer, and other players can claim them first. On a busy server, check back later or try a different world rather than waiting in place.

Survival and gear basics

Watch health, hunger, thirst and sanity. Sanity drops when you fight monsters or enter polluted zones, and low sanity cuts your maximum health. Carry food, water and sanity-restoring items, don't linger in pollution, and sleep in your bed between trips.

Gear works like a looter-shooter. Weapons and armor carry effects that combine into builds, such as burning, frost or shock. Pick one damage style and invest in it instead of upgrading every drop. Also, loot you find can't be repaired, while gear you craft can. Use drops early, but plan to craft the pieces you want to keep.

Mistakes to avoid

• Starting on a PvP or raid server before you understand building and gear.
• Joining an old scenario when a fresh one is about to open.
• Building far from water, resources and a Rift Anchor.
• Adding machines without enough power to run them.
• Skipping the disassembly bench and hoarding junk you can't use.
• Upgrading every weapon instead of committing to one build.

What to do next

Once your territory runs on its own and you have a build you like, start group events and bosses, then sign up for Isles of Abyss on October 21. Read our Once Human news for the latest scenario details, and our setup guide for the best PC settings.

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