Maintaining Your Arsenal in Once Human

In Once Human, your weapons and armor are essential tools for survival, but they gradually lose effectiveness through constant use. Understanding how to properly maintain your equipment is crucial for sustained combat performance and resource efficiency. This guide walks you through every aspect of keeping your arsenal in peak condition.

Understanding Equipment Degradation

Every weapon, piece of armor, and accessory in Once Human has a durability meter that decreases with use. As you engage in combat, traverse dangerous terrain, and face environmental hazards, your gear slowly deteriorates. The durability system encourages players to actively manage their inventory and plan maintenance schedules strategically.

Unlike some games where equipment breaks permanently, Once Human allows you to restore almost any item to full functionality. However, this restoration process requires resources, planning, and access to specific infrastructure within your base.

Establishing Your Maintenance Infrastructure

Before you can repair anything, you need the proper facilities. The foundation of equipment maintenance is the Gear Workbench, a craftable structure that serves as the central hub for all repair operations.

Setting Up Your First Gear Workbench

To build a Gear Workbench, you must first establish a base by pressing B and placing a base platform on flat terrain. Once your base exists, access the Build Menu through right-click and navigate to the Facilities section. The Gear Workbench requires you to unlock it from the Memetic menu before construction.

The resource requirements for crafting a Gear Workbench are:

• 30 Copper Ingots (smelted in a Furnace using Coal and Copper Ore, or looted from defeated enemies)
• 10 Metal Scraps (found as loot or obtained by disassembling items)
• 10 Shabby Fabric (collected as loot or sourced through disassembly)
• 5 Adhesive (acquired via similar methods)

Consider building a Disassembly Machine alongside your workbench to break down unwanted items and convert them into the exact materials you need. This machine streamlines resource acquisition and reduces the amount of inventory clutter from useless gear.

The Repair Process Step-by-Step

Once your Gear Workbench is constructed, the repair workflow becomes straightforward. Approach the workbench and press H to access the Repair menu. This interface displays tabs that let you switch between weapons, armor, and other equipment categories.

Selecting and Assessing Items

In the repair menu, browse through your available gear and identify which pieces have degraded durability. Each item displays a durability bar beneath its icon—items at full durability cannot be repaired. Select an item with depleted durability to view the exact resources required for restoration.

The cost varies significantly based on equipment tier and rarity. A basic weapon might require common materials like iron or wood, while advanced gear could demand rare components or exotic resources. Before committing to repairs, verify you possess sufficient materials.

Confirming and Executing Repairs

After confirming you can afford the repair cost, hold F to initiate the restoration process. Your selected item immediately returns to maximum durability, and the required materials are consumed from your inventory.

Important Limitations to Know

The repair system has notable restrictions that affect your maintenance strategy.

Looted Equipment Cannot Be Repaired

Any gear you find randomly throughout the world cannot be repaired at the Gear Workbench. This means items discovered in enemy camps, loot containers, or dropped by defeated opponents have a finite lifespan. Rather than investing resources into items you’ll eventually lose, use looted equipment until it breaks, then craft replacements at your base using your own recipes and materials.

Tools Require Complete Replacement

Pickaxes and other mining tools operate under different rules. These cannot be repaired through the standard repair system and instead must be completely replaced when their durability depletes. Plan your tool crafting accordingly and maintain a stockpile of essential mining equipment.

Alternative Repair Methods for On-the-Go Maintenance

While the Gear Workbench provides comprehensive repairs at your base, Once Human offers mobile solutions for emergency maintenance during extended expeditions.

The Artisan’s Touch Deviant

This unique NPC can be captured and housed in your base’s Securement Unit. The Artisan’s Touch generates special Multi-Tools which can be crafted into the All-Purpose Hand—a consumable that repairs items while you’re away from base. This tool specifically targets your lowest-durability gear and restores it to functional status instantly.

Crafting an All-Purpose Hand requires:

• 40 Multi-Toolkits
• 15 Acid
• 40 Stardust

The All-Purpose Hand becomes invaluable during challenging missions, silo runs, or monolith encounters where you cannot return home quickly. Keep a supply in your inventory for emergencies when combat severely damages multiple pieces of equipment.

Locating the Artisan’s Touch

This deviant spawns in specific regions including Hearst Industries (positioned between Deadsville and the Maze Market) and the Broken Delta Region in the eastern areas. Capturing this NPC requires defeating it and hoping it drops the item—persistence may be necessary to secure this valuable resource.

Optimizing Your Repair Strategy

Effective equipment maintenance balances resource conservation with practical necessity.

Prioritization Framework

Focus repairs on your primary combat weapons and essential armor pieces first. Secondary items and backup equipment can wait for batch repairs when you’ve accumulated spare materials. This approach maximizes your combat effectiveness during critical moments.

Material Farming Efficiency

Establish dedicated farming routes in high-level areas where rare materials appear more frequently. Tier III gear provides sufficient power for most material gathering operations, though some resources require Tier V equipment for optimal harvesting rates.

The Wish Machine Alternative

Rather than constantly repairing specific items, consider using the Wish Machine to acquire equipment with your preferred stats and properties. This reduces your reliance on individual repairs and provides fresh gear when current equipment becomes too degraded for practical use.

Resource Management for Sustained Repairs

Maintaining a healthy repair operation requires strategic resource accumulation and storage.

Copper Ingot Production

Establish efficient furnace operations to convert raw copper ore into ingots. These form the foundation of most repair costs and should be produced continuously. Prioritize copper ore acquisition during your exploration phases.

Adhesive Stockpiling

Adhesive appears in repair recipes frequently but can be difficult to acquire consistently. Focus your disassembly efforts on lower-tier items to generate adhesive supplies, ensuring you maintain a buffer of at least 50 units at any time.

Fabric and Metal Scrap Networks

Create a system for regularly breaking down unwanted items. Set aside damaged loot that isn’t useful and convert it into material components through your Disassembly Machine.

Advanced Repair Considerations

Beyond basic maintenance, several advanced concepts optimize your equipment management.

Calibration and Refunds

When optimizing gear configurations, calibration investments offer 80% refunds if you decide to switch equipment. This encourages experimentation without complete resource loss, though the refund system requires careful planning.

Tier-Specific Maintenance Costs

Higher-tier weapons and armor demand progressively more expensive repairs. Evaluate whether maintaining advanced gear aligns with your current resource production capacity or if dropping to slightly lower tiers improves overall efficiency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I repair all equipment I find in the world?

No, only gear you craft yourself can be repaired. Looted equipment cannot be restored and should be used until it breaks.

What happens when my pickaxe breaks?

Tools like pickaxes cannot be repaired and must be replaced entirely through crafting.

How do I repair items outside my base?

Craft and use the All-Purpose Hand consumable item, which repairs your lowest-durability equipment during expeditions.

Where do I find the Artisan’s Touch Deviant?

Search Hearst Industries or the Broken Delta Region’s eastern areas to locate and capture this valuable NPC.

Is it better to repair or replace equipment?

Evaluate repair costs against crafting costs for new equipment. Sometimes crafting fresh gear from abundant materials proves more efficient than expensive repairs.

Conclusion

Equipment maintenance in Once Human represents a core survival mechanic that directly impacts your combat effectiveness and progression speed. By establishing proper infrastructure, understanding resource costs, and leveraging alternative repair methods, you transform gear degradation from a frustrating limitation into a manageable system. Whether you’re maintaining a primary arsenal at your base or using emergency consumables during intense encounters, comprehensive knowledge of these repair systems ensures you’re always prepared for whatever Once Human throws your way. Invest time in optimization now, and you’ll benefit from superior equipment performance throughout your entire playthrough.