Developer Starry Studio has revealed some of the details of a balance update forOnce Human, scheduled to release on December 19. The free-to-play open-world survival game launched in July 2024 and immediately experienced a surge of popularity, thanks to its engaging gameplay, appealing story, and post-apocalyptic setting filled with mutated monsters. And the developer ofOnce Humankeeps the community engaged with regular updates, often spawned directly from player feedback.
One of the appeals ofOnce Humanare the various buildsavailable to players, each of which provides a unique combat experience. The Shrapnel build, for example, deals incredible amounts of damage without needing to reload and even auto healing in some cases. Players can instead choose to take out enemies with Blaze damage over time with the game’s Burn build, stacking the debuff to mete out the pain. The Bounce build, on the other hand, gives each bullet a chance to ricochet to another foe and can lead to satisfying chain reactions that fell even large groups with ease.
Understandably, the Bounce build is one of the more popular inOnce Human, and Starry Studio will be tweaking it a bit in the balance update slated to launch on December 19. Not only will the rework increase the build’s AOE damage, but the experience when attacking a single target should be improved as well. Bounce now has a chance to proc off of the environment or an enemy within 15 meters of the initial target, rather than the current 10 meters. The bounced bullet will deal weapon damage equal to 40% of the player’s Attack, as opposed to the current 60%.
Once Human’s December Balance Update Focuses on Bounce
Additionally, a few Bounce build weapons will be receiving updated passive effects. One ofOnce Human’s best sniper rifles, the HAMR Brahminy, now has a 60% chance to trigger Bounce and will deal 50% Bounce damage to players, along with a few other adjustsments. Currently, the Brahminy has an 80% chance to trigger Bounce when hitting an enemy Weakspot. The Squidward LMG and Roaring Bear weapons will also have their Bounce-related effects tweaked, and three pieces of Bounce gear — Prickly Dance Pants, Hot Dog Shorts, and Sharp Blade Pant— will get some updated passives. Several mods are going to see changes to their Bounce effects as well.
After seeing to the Bounce updates, Starry Studio turned its sights on a variety of other changes, including adjusting the random algorithm that could repeatedly cause random effects onOnce Humangearto not trigger. The tweaks to the algorithm will make it so that, when a random effect doesn’t trigger, its chance to proc will increase. While some players will of course be unpleased with the changes, Starry Studio emphasizes that it has worked hard to avoid nerfs in the upcoming balance update. Instead, the developer leaned on buffs and environmental changes.
Once Human
WHERE TO PLAY
The apocalypse changed everything. Human, animal, plant… all are infested by an alien creature – Stardust. As a Meta-Human, you may survive the contamination and use the power of Stardust. Play alone or join others to fight, build and explore. When the world is in chaos, you are our last hope.You wake up in the middle of nowhere. You’ll have to brace yourself for the cruelty of nature (from monsters to lack of food); however, Stardust’s influence does not restrict to living things, it also affects the soil and water. Eating polluted food and drinking dirty water will reduce your Sanity. When your Sanity drops, your max HP would drop accordingly. To eat or not to eat, it’s a question.Battle numerous enemies that are once human, and challenge bosses from another dimension to gain powerful items and ease Stardust pollution. You are not only fighting for yourself, but also fighting for the survivors.