Once Human: September update adds storage search and Portable Crafting

The September update for Once Human makes it easier to find your supplies, expands outfit dyeing and lets you craft selected items straight from your backpack in RaidZone. It also changes the Meta Pass rules and the combat effects of Soul Summoner and Whalepup. Below you’ll find the maintenance schedule, the rewards and an overview of all announced changes. If you don’t have the game yet, this link takes you to the Once Human page on Steam.

When maintenance takes place and how much you’ll download

Maintenance is scheduled for 2 September 2026 at 16:00 PT, which is 01:00 CEST on 3 September. It should take roughly two hours, but the actual server launch may vary.

After maintenance, all players will receive the following rewards:

• Starchrom ×1,000.
• Mitsuko’s Mark ×100.
• Stardust Secret Crate: S14 (Epic) ×1.
• Colorful Badge ×30.

Update size

• PS5: approximately 13.65 GB via the launcher and 84 MB in-game.
• Xbox: approximately 17.6 GB via the launcher and 89 MB in-game.
• PC: approximately 11.50 GB via the launcher and 190 MB in-game.
• Android: approximately 1.7 GB.
• iOS: approximately 1.7 GB.

The actual size may vary. The developers recommend updating over Wi-Fi and warn that if the update is delivered late on Steam, you may end up downloading it again.

The larger packages are mainly related to gradually preloading map assets for the upcoming Isles of Abyss scenario and to adding custom dye support for some Fashion Sets. So this is not an announcement that Isles of Abyss starts with this patch.

The next update is scheduled for 16 September 2026 at 16:00 PT, which is 01:00 CEST on 17 September.

Storage Search: find your supplies by keyword

Storage crates and storage Terminals are getting a Search function. You enter a keyword in the interface and quickly track down the items you need, stored across different crates. When managing your supplies, you no longer have to go through everything by hand.

Building and managing your base is also covered in our Once Human Territory guide.

Fashion Dye: clearer dyeing and support for more outfits

The Fashion Dye system is getting several tweaks that make custom color support and saved presets easier to manage.

• Cosmetic items that support custom dyeing will show a special indicator in the top left corner of their icon.
• The cosmetics and outfit interface now shows when you’re using a saved color preset.
• The Fashion Sets tab gets quick access to bulk management of color presets for individual parts, making it easier to match an entire outfit.
• Dyeing a whole Fashion Set now includes a Simple Mode. You activate it by turning off Expert Mode, and you can then quickly dye the currently selected part as a whole.
• The Tideborn Dream, Stellar Elite, Midnight Kiss, Gilded Summer and Stardust Mayfly sets now split the glove part into separate areas.

Which Fashion Sets now support custom dyeing

• Tradewind Ace Set, Winter Serenade Set, Ember Reaver Set, Furutaka Demeanor Set.
• Dino Strike Set, Combat Medic Set, Blazing Speed Set, Heat Storm Set.
• White Reaper Set, Human Barricade Academy Set, Scarlet Dragon Set, Teddy Warrior Set.
• Crimson Fantasy Set, Wasteland Sheriff Set, Artiste Set, Punk Puppy Set.
• Radiant Abyss Set, Brave Gladiator Set, Aerial Set, Nightmyth Graffiti Set.
• Swiftwing Ranger Set, Golden Years Set, Steel Claw Raid Set, Black Rhinoceros Set.

Custom dye support is set to gradually expand to more cosmetic items as well.

RaidZone adds Portable Crafting

The new Portable Crafting feature lets you craft items that previously required a trip to a campsite straight from your backpack in RaidZone. You open your backpack, select the relevant menu and continue just as you would when crafting at a workbench.

• The change applies to items that originally had to be crafted at a campsite, not automatically to all recipes.
• Campsites remain in the game as temporary respawn points and places to cook.
• Portable Crafting is set to come to other modes later as well. No specific date has been announced.

Custom Servers: a new level for server hosts and two events

Server Host Level Excellent

Server hosts with an average daily Engagement Score over the month in the 200–599 range will get the new Excellent level. It grants a free 30-day server extension while keeping the server at its current size.

The Server Host Incentive Event returns

The event for Custom Server hosts runs from 2 to 29 September PT. It’s longer than previous cycles. The follow-up Revenue Carnival will refresh and reset the reward pool data on the first day of every month until the end of 2026.

You’ll find the details and how to take part in-game under Custom Server > Community Creation Program > Event. Alongside the standard revenue share, there’s a separate incentive pool. Hosts split bonuses from the total net revenue of Custom Servers based on their Engagement Score. The pool has no set upper limit; the bonus amount depends on the results of the whole ecosystem and the host’s score.

Challenge Event and Avatar: Prayer

From 3 to 16 September server time, you can earn Avatar: Prayer by visiting a total of three Custom Servers. You’ll find the task progress and the reward claim on the main Custom Server page under Event Center > Event.

Hosts can use custom cover images, game mode tags and server descriptions to showcase their server. If you’re looking for more reading on multiplayer, we also have a guide to servers and playing with friends in Once Human.

What’s new in the Shop

Lightforge Loot Crate: Duskfire Breaker

After maintenance on 2 September PT, a Duskfire Breaker-themed Lightforge Loot Crate will be available for a limited time. It contains the following cosmetic rewards:

• Legendary Vehicle Skin: Shadow Trace.
• Legendary Fashion Set: Sigh of Ember.
• Legendary Group Action: Thug Overture.
• Legendary Backpack Cosmetic: Crimson Thorn.
• Epic Hype Melee Weapon Skin: Molten Heart.

Under Shop > Super Value Deal > Lightforge Deals, you’ll also find bundles with Lightforge Ingots and other discounted items. Prices start at 60 Crystgin.

Renegade Era and Pure White Courtyard Collection

After the same maintenance, the time-limited Rare Fashion Set Renegade Era arrives. The announcement lists a discount starting at 17% during the first week.

At the same time, the Rare Facility Cosmetic Pure White Courtyard Collection is added, along with the individual items Fence: Pure White Courtyard, Half Fence: Pure White Courtyard and Gate: Pure White Courtyard. A discount of up to 20% has been announced for this offer during the first week.

Combo Crate: Mirror Knight arrives on 9 September

The Mirror Knight Combo Crate is scheduled for 9 September PT. Its rewards include the Epic Hype set Prism Mirror, the Epic Deviation cosmetic Before the Frost and the Epic Duo Action Cipher.

• Each draw costs a fixed amount and grants a random reward. The patch notes don’t state the exact price.
• Duplicate cosmetic items are automatically converted into special fragments that you can exchange for rewards across events.
• Prism Mirror is guaranteed within a fixed number of draws. The exact number isn’t given in the announcement.

You’ll find the details on the Combo Crate page in the Shop. The exact availability period follows the in-game announcements.

Meta Pass keeps your progress even after it expires

The rules for renewing the Meta Pass are changing. When it expires, the progress you’ve built up toward claiming Lightforge Ingot is kept. After you reactivate it, you continue from your previous value instead of losing that progress.

Changes to scenarios and everyday play

Shorter registration lock for Scenario Servers

The registration lock period is being shortened to four hours. According to the developers, this gives you more room to sign up for your preferred Scenario Server.

Scenario Honor scoring changes

• The Way of Winter: the point cap for turning in Chaosium Hearts is raised to 200.
• Prismverse’s Clash: in Faction War, you earn an extra 25 rating points for every 50 Prism Energy.
• Prismverse’s Clash: the point cap for defeating players is raised to 150.

We cover the differences between scenarios in our overview of The Way of Winter and other Once Human scenarios.

Other improvements

• First Person Mode: improved shadow rendering for characters holding a weapon.
• Wilderness: parking lots now have a higher chance of spawning large garage-related objects when they refresh.
• Vending Machine: now supports trading Facility-type items.
• Console controls: the Territory Hub interface gets a Y shortcut for quickly upgrading your Territory.
• Pillow interaction: the prompt no longer disappears too quickly and stays visible until you leave the interaction.

Deviation: Soul Summoner triggers more often, Whalepup changes its vulnerability

Soul Summoner and Phantom Radiance Sparrow

An incorrect cooldown calculation for Soul Summoner’s Phantom Radiance Sparrow ability has been fixed. The cooldown for releasing it is now 0.5 seconds, which according to the announcement significantly increases how often it triggers.

Whalepup no longer adds Weapon Vulnerability

The developers explain that each Deviation is normally meant to provide only one of three vulnerability types: Weapon Vulnerability, Status Vulnerability or Melee Vulnerability. Whalepup was focused on Status DMG, but it also included a Weapon Vulnerability effect. The update removes this overlap.

• The effect that applied 15% Weapon Vulnerability to Metas and enemies is removed.
• The Status Vulnerability value is slightly increased.
• The new resulting rule: all damage dealt by Whalepup applies 40% Status Vulnerability to the target for five seconds.

If you used Whalepup for its Weapon Vulnerability, don’t count on that effect after maintenance. You’ll find more reading on the topic in our overview of Deviations and their tier list.

Bug fixes

• Cosmetics: fixed non-working light effects of strip lighting on custom-built furniture in Territory.
• Territory building: animals moving around the base should no longer pass through certain doors and door frames.
• Vending Machine: fixed attribute tooltips not showing when selecting Deviations from the harvest interface.
• Survival Manual: fixed incorrectly displayed key icons.
• Mobile devices: fixed crashes during loading on certain models.
• Mobile devices: fixed occasional crashes on certain models caused by weapon vibration data.
• Interface: fixed yellow notification dots displaying incorrectly in some situations.

FAQ