Once Human: Which Should You Choose Between PVP or PVE Servers?

Once Human offers players an open world experience where they must survive in a dangerous post apocalyptic world. As an online experience, you can participate in both PvE and PvP gameplay. Each of these modes offers players a unique experience.

So which one should you actually choose between PvP and PvE servers? In this guide, we’ll help answer that question by going through the unique features and experience offered by each of the servers. In this way, you’ll be able to decide which one suits you. Let’s dive in!

Which Should You Choose Between PVP or PVE Servers?

The answer to this question is that it really depends on what kind of experience and gameplay you are looking for. When you log in on day one into Once Human, you’ll have to choose a server to join.

This menu will show a variety of servers, all of which will have either the PvP or PvE server label. Both of them offer unique features. These unique features can drastically affect what kind of experience you’re looking for.

We’ll go through the details for each of these servers for Once Human. If you are not familiar, PvP servers allow you to fight against other players while PvE servers involve you fighting together against AI enemies.

There is a way in which you can play PvE servers with some PvP features sprinkled in. We’ll look at this towards the end of the guide once you understand the main features of both servers.

Here’s a small graphic which will help you understand the main unique features of each of the servers in Once Human:

Once Human PvP Server Features

Starting off, the first main feature that makes PvP servers in Once Human different is the presence of Echo Stones. These are PvP exclusive items that are dropped periodically in the server from the sky by Sky Whales.

These drops generally revolve around the seasonal progression of the server, as you go through different phases. They work similarly to Cortexes, except the area around the Echo Stone will get flagged for PvP fighting.

Echo Stones are valuable as you can purify them at Stardust Resonant Filter. If you successfully purify them after the defend period, you get a Starchrom Reward. You can’t get these rewards from Cortexes.

However, this leads to the other main feature of PvP servers in Once Human, which is Workshop Defenses. When you’re purifying the Echo Stone, your entire base gets flagged for PvP. This means they can attack your base and destroy it.

So, if you do not like the idea of losing so much progress by big clans, then PvP servers are not for you. It can also get hyper competitive, especially if you end up facing larger Clans that can easily take you on.

But as you progress through PvP servers, you will get the opportunity to obtain a lot of valuable and rare resources. In later phases especially, you will start seeing many large scale battles where you can get these items.

These are known as Warband Battles or Combat, and are the final features that stand out in PvP servers. In these battles, Guilds will be able to take on Guilds to take over Frontier Territories. You can get items like Premium Barrel Fuel and other rare resources.

However, again, you’ll need to have a large group of coordinated people with you. Otherwise, it’s going to be very difficult to take advantage of these Once Human seasonal events since large guilds and clans will control most territories.

So, if you’re up for the challenge and want an experience that will test you, then you should go for PvP servers. 

If you’re just starting out, you might be having trouble figuring out how to change worlds in Once Human. We’ve got you covered with our How To Change Worlds Guide!

Once Human PvE Server Features

Now, let’s turn our attention to PvE Servers in Once Human. PvE Servers lack all the features that we discussed above for PvP servers. So, you’ll be potentially missing out on a lot of experiences.

However, PvE servers do have a unique feature that PvP players lose out on. These are the Warband boss fights where world bosses and large hives start spawning in. So, you’ll need to work with other players to take out these AI enemies in epic large scale battles.

You also get to fight the Manibus at the end of a PvE season, which is a giant tentacle boss that comes down from the sky. It’s an epic battle that you’ll not want to miss out on in Once Human.

So, if you like the idea of working together with other people, you’ll enjoy PvE servers a lot more. Additionally, PvE servers also provide a more relaxed experience compared to PvP servers.

There is a way in which you can actually play PvE servers withs some PvP features, which we’ll look at next.

PvE Servers with Some PvP Features

Finally, we’ll briefly take a look at how you can enjoy some PvP features in PvE servers of Once Human. You can do this by manually joining into the Chaos Madness State in PvE servers.

By opting into the Chaos Madness State, you can temporarily flag yourself and fight against other players who have opted in. This feature will be available with the full release of Once Human.

There is also a public event added with recent updates to PvE servers known as Cargo Shuffle. It is a random event spawn where a truck carrying a Jellyfish Variant will move around. You’ll be able to follow it by the truck icon above it.

As soon as the truck is destroyed, you’ll be put into a PvP state with other players who interacted with the activity. This happens because the jellyfish attaches itself to players as part of the lore of the event.

So, you can start fighting and killing each other in a controlled environment. Within the vicinity, you’ll have access to unlimited respawns. So, it’s a fun little minigame in PvE servers that gives you a taste of PvP fighting.

That’s everything you need to know about choosing between PvP and PvE servers in Once Human. You should make your decision based on which features will suit your preferences. Both servers offer their unique experiences and there’s something there for everybody!

Did you know you can actually get a motorcycle in Once Human? It’ll help you travel across the game’s world much more efficiently. Our How To Get A Motorcycle Guide will be able to help you out with that!