Once Human beginner guide: what to do in your first hours in Nalcott

Once Human drops you into Nalcott with a gun, a tutorial, and approximately forty things happening at the same time. Crafting, base building, Deviants, Memetics, sanity, a main quest, side quests, and other players driving motorcycles past you while you are still figuring out how to boil water. The game does not explain its priority order very well, and most new players spend their first few hours doing things in the wrong sequence and paying for it later. This Once Human beginner guide covers what actually matters first so you can get stable before you start exploring.

Available free on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Choose your server type before you do anything else

This is the first decision the game asks you to make and it is also the most consequential one. Most new players miss how different these two options actually are.

If you are new to Once Human, start on a PvE server. The core survival mechanics, the Deviants system, the Memetics tree, and the main questline are all fully accessible there. PvP servers are not a harder version of PvE. They are a different game mode where other players can attack your base and steal your resources. That added pressure on top of learning everything else is not a good combination for a first session.

There is also the question of seasonal versus Non-Shutdown Servers. Seasonal servers reset every six weeks or so, which means your progress starts fresh each season. Non-Shutdown Servers do not reset. For beginners, Non-Shutdown Servers remove the pressure of a countdown and let you learn the game at your own pace.

Follow the main quest for the first two hours

The game has a journey system that functions as a guided checklist and a main quest that introduces the mechanics in a reasonable order. Most new players ignore these and start doing things randomly. That is a mistake.

Following the main quest for the first two hours also gets you your first Combat Deviant, teaches you how Isolated Securement Units work, introduces the Memetics system, and unlocks your first crafting stations. All of that happens naturaly through the quest flow. Players who skip ahead and try to figure it out independently tend to miss two or three of these introductions and wonder why things feel harder than they should.

Set up your base in the right location

Once the tutorial area opens up, you need to place your territory. The game does not explain this very well, but your territory location affects almost everything: which resources your Deviants can farm automatically, how close you are to the enemies you need to fight, and how quickly you can restock materials between sessions.

1. 1
   Look for resource densityPlace near copper ore, wood, and stone. Open the map and look for resource icons clustered together near your starting zone.
2. 2
   Check for flat groundUneven terrain limits building options. A flat area lets you build more efficently without fighting the terrain editor on every wall.
3. 3
   Stay near water earlyDirty water from rivers can be boiled and is required for many early crafting recipes. Being close saves a lot of running back and forth.
4. 4
   Build in one corner of your zoneYour territory expands as you progress. Starting in one corner means expansion goes outward instead of requiring you to rebuild around a central structure.

You can relocate later. Press B to enter Build Mode, then Z to begin the relocation process. Moving is cheap in the early game and perfectly valid if your first location turns out to be poorly placed.

Prioritize these Memetics first

The Memetics system is Once Human’s technology tree. You spend Meme Points to unlock crafting recipes, base structures, and passive abilities. The game gives you a lot of options immediately and most of them are not what you should unlock first.

• Smelting Essentials: unlocks the Furnace for processing every metal ore in the game
• Essential Tools: unlocks the Supplies Workbench for crafting bandages and early gear
• Stoves: unlocks cooking, which turns raw food into meals with meaningful stat buffs
• Disassembly Techniques: lets you break down junk into components instead of discarding it
• Basic Furniture: unlocks the bed, which restores health and sanity passively while you rest

After those five, branch into whatever suits your playstyle. Combat-focused players can move toward weapon crafting. Base-builders invest in structural and decorative options. Deviant-focused players benefit from Incubation Chamber unlocks early.

How to handle Deviants in the early game

As part of the tutorial you receive your first Combat Deviant: Butterfly’s Emissary. It fights alongside you and is usable immediately. Do not overthink it at this stage. Sync it to your Cradle and use it. The deeper Deviant system with Territory and Crafting assignments opens up once you have Isolated Securement Units built, which the main quest introduces naturally.

The one Deviant worth going slightly out of your way for early on is the Extradimensional Cat, found in Deadsville. Place it in your base and it accelerates sanity and health recovery while you rest. Combined with a bed, it makes your downtime between sessions meaningfully faster. Most new players miss it entirely because it is in a building that looks like a dead end.

Managing sanity from the start

Sanity is Once Human’s mechanic for exposure to Stardust corruption. It depletes in corrupted zones, during boss fights, and when you push into higher-threat areas without preparation. When sanity drops too low, your screen distorts and your accuracy degrades and combat becomes much harder.

The recovery methods are simple and worth setting up early. A bed restores sanity slowly when you rest. Ice Cubes, made by connecting a fridge to power and adding purified water, restore sanity and hydration simultaneously. Cooked food provides sanity buffs on top of hunger management. For your first boss fight, the Ravenous Hunter in the Monolith of Greed, bring cooked food and make sure your base is close enough to rest between attempts.

Once you have these basics in place, the rest of Nalcott opens up in a way that makes sense. Our main article has a full overview of the game’s systems and scenarios if you want more context before jumping in, and our system requirements guide is worth checking beforehand if you are unsure whether your PC meets the minimum spec.

Free on PC via Steam. Console versions coming in 2026.