Base building is an essential aspect of Once Human as it acts like your safe space in game. But creating an effective and aesthetic base is a complex process. This is because there are so many aspects of base building.
In this guide, we will show you how you can build the best base possible in Once Human. We’ll go through how you can build and optimize each aspect. Let’s dive into the tips and tricks!
Best Base Building Guide
We’ll be going through all the aspects of base building, which includes aesthetics and functionality. Additionally, we’ll also show you how you can build a great base quickly, or from the ground up – depending on how much effort you want to put in.
Feel free to use the Table of Contents if you’re interested in a specific aspect of base building in Once Human.
House Blueprint Presets
Quite a few players do not want to go through the detailed process of building houses and other structures for their base. There is a handy feature available for these players in the form of Presets.
You can access Presets from your Build Menu. Press B and then right click to access the build menu. Over here, select the House Blueprint tab at the top followed by the Presets sub tab.
Here, you’ll find ready made Presets that will allow you to skip the designing process in Once Human.
Click on a Preset that you like and you’ll be able to see the details for it. Here, you should be able to see all the Structures involved and all the Resources you need to build it.
Additionally, you can also change the material that you want your house to use. Doing so will change the resources you need.
Keep in mind you’ll also need to have unlocked the material if you’re changing it. For example, to use Reinforced Building Materials you’ll need to have unlocked Enhanced Support in your Memetics menu.
After that, you can just place the Preset and the blueprint will appear there. After that, you can place all the resources into it. The house will be built after you’ve completed the resource requirements.
There is a Deviant that can help you out when you’re trying to gather resources. Our How To Get H37 Deviant Guide will show you exactly how you can take advantage of it!
Saving Blueprints
If you’re experimenting with base building, you might come up with designs that you really like. In cases like these, you can actually save them in Once Human.
To do this, go into the House Blueprint tab in your Build Menu. Here, you want to select the Draft sub tab.
Over here, select the Add Blueprint option. Doing so will allow you to save an entire base, or just a single building. Keep in mind that if you have multiple buildings sharing the same foundation, it will still count as a single building.
You can actually even save your friends’ blueprints in Once Human, provided they have given you permissions. To do this, simply go to your friends base and select the Add Blueprint option.
Doing so will allow you to save their design if you like it a lot.
Of course, you can opt out of this feature by managing permissions. To do this, go into the Pause or Menu options in Once Human.
Here, you want to go into either the Friends or Hive menu. When you do so, you will be able to see your friends here.
Select a friend and then click on the Friends Permissions option. Here, you will be able to enable or disable permissions such as access to your facilities and buildings.
In this way, you can allow your friends to save your blueprints or not.
Base Skin and Furniture Tips
As you play through the game, you can get access to certain furniture items and skins in Once Human. You can also get some of these skins from the Store.
The game actually allows you to share these with a limited number of friends. To share these skins, start by going into your Build Menu. You can do this by pressing B and then hitting right click.
Here, go to the Prints tab at the top. After that, you’ll be able to see the Manage Share option in the bottom left corner. Select this option.
Here, you can manage what items you can share with your Friends. You can only share the skins and furniture with a maximum of 4 friends.
If you’re having trouble unlocking Furniture, we have you covered. Here are all the ways in which you can unlock Furniture in Once Human:
- Bundles in the Territory Section of the Shop
- Tiers from the Battle Pass
- Purchase from different NPC Vendors in the game
- Randomly obtained from looting Crates.
If you’re looking for some more Crates, we have you covered. Check out our All Alternate Reality Research Crates Location Guide so you can get your hands on a lot of them!
You can also modify your Base Skin by using Wallpapers and similar Prints. But you’ll need to keep in mind that Wallpapers apply to your base depending on the orientation of the structure.
For example, consider the foundations we have built below. Some of these foundations have the wood planks facing vertically while others horizontally. So, the wallpaper will apply differently on each of them.
If you want the wallpaper to be applied consistently, you’ll need to make sure that all the structures are oriented in the same way.
Water Management
Next, we’ll be looking at a crucial aspect of your base’s functionality, which is water management. Starting off, there is a key component you’ll need to use, which is the Water Pump.
You can find this Water Pump in the Facilities tab of the Build Menu. After that, select the Production Processing sub tab, where you’ll find the Water Pump.
This Water Pump allows you to pump water up from beneath the ground in Once Human. This can be clean water, dirty water or crude oil depending on the location. It is a crucial component of producing water in your base.
It should not be confused with the other Water Pump in the Function Facility sub tab. We’ll be going into how you can use this component later.
The Water Pump requires the following resources in Once Human:
- x25 Steel Ingots
- x20 Carbon Fiber Fabric
- x20 Refined Parts
- x20 Standard Parts
- x20 Electronic Parts.
You can also actually place this Water Pump in an elevated position instead of placing it on the ground. This can help your base look more aesthetically pleasing.
You can raise it up by using the Alt button and then scrolling up and down to manage its height.
Once you have the Water Pump set up, it’s time to distribute the water all around your base. Your goal will be to store this water in Water Tanks.
You can transfer your water to Water Tanks and other areas using the other Water Pump and Pipes. You can find this Water Pump in the Function Facility sub tab.
However, there is a way in which you can avoid using these Water Pumps. This is by using gravity, which plays an important part in Once Human.
By setting up pipes from roofs and having them go down to the water tank, you won’t have to use Water Pumps to transfer water. Below is a set up that shows how pipes go down to a Water Tank from some rain collectors.
Additionally, you can also distribute water from a Water Tank. There is a second pipe that goes from the bottom of the Water Tank. You can connect a pipe here and then distribute it elsewhere in your base on Once Human.
It can be a bit annoying to connect this pipe as you’ll need to aim very precisely when connecting it. But after a few tries you should be able to get it right.
Flight Mode
Another great tip which can help you during base building in Once Human is by enabling Flight Mode. You can do this by going into Build Mode using the B button.
After you do so, you can find the Flight Mode option on the left. In our case, we activated it using the ~ button. This might be different for you, depending on the keyboard you’re using.
In Flight Mode, you can move the camera around in all directions without being restricted to your player model. As a result, you’ll be able to manage your base building more efficiently!
Power Management
Another crucial aspect of base building is managing Power in Once Human. There are some great Circuit Modules that can make power management much more manageable. However, you’ll need to unlock them.
You can do this by going into your Memetics menu. Here, select the Logistics tab at the top. After that, unlock the Electrical Kit option.
After that, you’ll find that the Circuit Modules are available to you in the Build Menu. Specifically, you can find them in the Power Facility sub tab in the Facility menu.
These Circuit Modules can allow you to divert power and make your power more efficient. For example, you’ll find that various facilities in your base use your power.
By using Pylons and Switches, you can isolate power to that specific Facility.
For example, look at the Stove we have built below. By turning power on and off to the switch, we can select whether we want it to consume power or not.
This is a very useful feature if you want a more efficient base or have a base that consumes too much power. In this way, you can turn on the power for Facilities that you need. After that, you can turn them off and turn others on, ensuring better power management.
Be sure to keep an eye on your Power Sources like Solar Panels when you are managing your power in Once Human.
After you’ve set up power, you’ll see there are a lot of wires around that will make your base look ugly. You can actually hide them so that your base looks more aesthetic.
To do this, go into Build Mode using the B button. Here, you should see the option to Hide Wires and Pipes using the L button.
Keep in mind that this option will hide wires only for you. Your friends and visitors will still be able to see them.
Territory Terminal Tips
The Territory Terminal is the heart of your base, and dictates where your base lies. You can actually move around this Territory Terminal without it affecting your borders.
This feature can actually help increase your territory’s chances of survival in Once Human. This is because during Stardust Resonator Events, your Stardust Resonator will get attacked. During these attacks, your Territory Terminal can also get destroyed.
By keeping the Territory Terminal away from the Stardust Resonator, you can split your base into two areas. Enemies will then be focused on your Stardust Resonator, which will allow you to keep your Territory Terminal from harm’s way.
Of course, sometimes enemies might spawn near the Terminal. But moving it away will increase your base’s chances of survival in Once Human.
There is also a Deviant that can help you keep your Stardust Resonator Filters safe with increased Durability. Check out our How To Get Paper Figure Deviant Guide, so you can get it for yourself too!
Energy Links and Teleporting
When you’re building your base, you’ll want it to be close to other areas on the map. This is an aspect that will become more important towards the end game in Once Human.
The closer your base is to an area, the less energy links it costs to teleport there. So, be sure to keep the distance of other areas in mind when you are placing your base.
Building your base in the middle of nowhere is certainly possible, but it will cost a lot when Teleporting. You can check how many energy links Teleporting costs by hovering your cursor above the area you want to teleport to.
Mobile Base Building
Another useful base type you can build in Once Human is a mobile base. You can build this base on top of vehicles and be able to move to other areas.
Many players even build vending machines on these, which allows their mobile bases to act as shops.
To build a mobile base for yourself, you’ll need to unlock a Medium or Large Garage. You can do this by going into the Memetics menu and unlocking the Medium or Large Garage option. These upgrades are in the Building tab.
You can find the Medium Garage in the 04 Tier and Large Garage in the 05 Tier. This allows you to build a mobile base on a modified pick up truck or trailer. These vehicles will also be unlocked as part of the upgrade.
Keep in mind that these mobile bases act as Camps in the game instead of actual bases. So, you will not be able to teleport to them in Once Human.
Base Expansion and Power Upgrades
Lastly, we’ll be looking at how you can further expand your base and power capabilities in Once Human. As you progress through base building, eventually you’ll start running out of room and power.
So, you’ll want to ensure you can keep expanding these aspects. Start by going into the Building tab of your Memetics menu.
Starting off, you want to type ‘expansion’ in the search bar at the bottom left. This will show you all the upgrades that will help you Expand your Territory and the number of Isolated Securement Units for your captured Deviants.
After that, type ‘power’ into the search bar. This will show you upgrades that allow you to increase the number of generators you can build. As a result, you’ll be able to further boost your base’s power capabilities.
That’s everything you need to know about building the best base in Once Human. By utilizing these tips and tricks, you should be able to get a functional and aesthetic base. We encourage you to let your creativity shine so you can make a truly unique base.
Once Human does have a lot of puzzles, many of which can take a lot of time. Our Securement Silo Theta Statue Puzzle Solution Guide will help you deal with some of them!
