Once Human puts a lot of focus on crafting, much of which involves farming and cooking. This is because you’ll need to gather seeds to make plants that you can use to cook food. Additionally, you can also farm some really useful Deviants.
However, farming and cooking can feel really daunting as there are so many aspects to it. So, in this guide, we’ll be showing you everything you need to know related to them. Without further delay, let’s get into it!
Complete Farming & Cooking Guide
It’s important to note that you do not have to build a farm like the one we suggest here in Once Human. We encourage you to get creative with the tips and tricks that we provide for farming and cooking! Feel free to use the Table of Contents if you’re only interested in a specific aspect of this guide!
Farming Memetics
To get started with farming in Once Human, you’ll need to get some essential memetics. You can find this farming memetics in the Logistics tree of the Memetics menu.
Starting off, you want to make sure that you get everything on the right side of the tree. This includes getting Planters and Fertilizers that are crucial if you want to build the most efficient farm.
Be sure to get Fertilizer too so that you can increase your yield when you’re farming. Ideally, you want to get the entire tree here if possible.
After that, you also want to get the Water related tree on the left side. This is because you’ll need to water your plants on the farm in Once Human.
We strongly suggest you get the Water Pumps, Reverse Osmosis Purifiers and Irrigation System in particular.
This is because the water pumps will route all your water pipes, the purifier will clean the water and the Irrigation System will actually water the plants.
How Farming Works
Now that you have all the memetics, it’s time to build a farm. There are various ways to make a farm but the most efficient method is as follows.
Starting off, you’ll want to put down Planters from your Build Menu. You should be able to find them in the Production Processing tab of this menu.
You should place down Planters in sections of 5×5 with the middle spot empty. This is because you’ll be placing down the irrigation system in the middle.
Amazingly enough, this irrigation sprinkler will be able to water all the planters around it! This makes the 5×5 Planter set up the most efficient in the game!
Of course, you’ll need to set up the water system for the irrigation system. But we’ll look at that a bit later.
After that, you want to plant any Seeds that you have. You can get seeds randomly in the world or from certain Vendors in the game.
When you’re planting them, you should try to add fertilizer as well to help boost their growth and yield. This can also help you get Deviated crops that can be used for legendary Cooking recipes in Once Human. You can even grow certain Deviants in this way!
Once the seed has been planted, take a look at the Details. Here, you should be able to see two meters: Irrigation and Lighting. You want to make sure that both of these factors are in the green zone.
You can control the Irrigation Level by interacting with the irrigation sprinkler that you set up. Here, you can modify the Target Irrigation to the number that aligns with the Crop you are growing.
Keep in mind that the Irrigation Level will rise up slowly as you water the planter. It can take about 30-40 minutes for the Planter’s water level to reach the Target Irrigation.
Similarly, to provide Lighting, you’ll need to put Grow Lights. You can get these from the Farming Memetics we talked about earlier in Once Human.
Make sure to set these Grow Lights at a height that are about two wall heights above. For this purpose, arched roofs work really well although this isn’t a necessity.
This is because Once Human utilizes a physics system for the lighting. As a result, the greater the height, the more the light will be able to spread and reach all the plants in the 5×5 planter.
After that, interact with the Grow Light and you can change the Target Lightning here too. Unlike the Irrigation Level, this change will be instant!
Try to keep plants with similar Irrigation and Lighting Levels in the same 5×5. For example, Onions and Cabbages have similar Irrigation and Lightning needs. So, you can grow them together.
But if a potato has different needs (indicated by the green zone), try to grow it in a different section.
Organizing Pipes
To be able to water the plants in your farm, you’ll need to use pipes to supply water to the sprinklers. For this purpose, we recommend that you use simple Water Pumps.
Water Pumps work similar to how Pylons work for wires, where they help distribute wires everywhere. They allow you to distribute water pipes. And one water pump only uses 1W of electricity.
So one Water Pump can manage multiple pipes using just 1W of power.
Additionally, we recommend that you put water pipes on the walls of your farm alongside the water pumps. In this way, you won’t have water pipes everywhere making your farm look like a mess.
Keep in mind that water also has a physics system like lightning. In Once Human, gravity impacts how water flows. So, if you place your second water pump below the first one, you can get the water to flow without power.
So, try to use gravity as much as you can so that your farm can operate without water.
For more details on how the entire water system of a base works, check out our Best Base Building Guide!
Farming Deviants
There are a variety of Deviants in Once Human that you can actually use for farming. Here is a list of all the Deviants that you should try and get:
- Buzzy Bee Deviant
- Increases the chances of crops to become Deviated
- Growshroom Deviant
- Automatically plants seed and harvest plants. Also boosts crop growth
- Rain Man Deviant
- Creates a cloud of rainfall that automatically waters plants without sprinklers.
- Fetch-A-Lot Bunny Deviant
- Automatically gathers seeds from nearby Shrubs.
If you’re wondering where you can find all these Deviants, our How To Get All Deviant Locations Guide has you covered!
Cooking Memetics
Now that we know how to farm and gather all the plants we need, it’s time to turn them into delicious meals. To get started with Cooking, you’ll first need to get the necessary Memetics in Once Human.
You can find all the Memetics you need in the Logistics tab of the Memetics menu. Specifically, you want to get all the upgrades in the central tree.
This will allow you to get Stoves and Electric Stoves that you need for cooking. Additionally, you will also be able to learn higher rarity dishes as you unlock different Tiers of Dishes.
So, your end goal is to unlock Dishes IV which will allow you to unlock Legendary Recipes. These will provide you with the best stat boosts in Once Human!
Of course, you’ll need to find recipes, which you can find all over the world of Once Human. We suggest you use an interactive map if you’re struggling to find certain recipes or ingredients.
Our How To Get Beet Farming Locations Guide can help you out with finding beets that you need for sugar!
Secondary Food Stats
Last, but not least, we’ll briefly touch on secondary food stats for cooking. By this point you should have the Stove you need for Cooking recipes in Once Human.
Interact with it, and you’ll be able to see all the recipes that you have unlocked by playing the game. Each recipe will give a default stat buff.
However, there are certain ingredients that you can change for each recipe. For example, if you’re cooking Securement Soup, you can modify the type of flower that you use.
You can change this by clicking the Self Selection option. Each type of flower will give you a different secondary buff, so you can choose the one that suits your goals.
Similarly, you can change the type of meat that goes in other recipes. In this way, you can cook up different types of foods in Once Human!
That’s everything you need to know for the Complete Farming and Cooking Guide for Once Human. By utilizing these tips, you should be able to get all the food and recipes you need. Be sure to get as many recipes as you can so that you have some great options.
