If the days when you had all the time in the world to set up shop in front of your PC and play online to your heart's content are behind you, Starry Studios has finally acknowledged your struggles and is doing something about it today.
launched last year, courtesy of Starry Studio and NetEase – with the connection to the Chinese company around its release. With that incident now firmly in the rearview, complaints about the game have been largely focussed on there not being enough content from the hungry little gremlins that caters to.
These six-week cycles introduce new content, challenges, missions and storylines to players, and at the end of each seasonal 'Scenario', your exploration progress and character level get reset; although there are items that can be carried over, so you won't lose everything.
At launch, Starry Studio said that the reason for seasonal wipes was to create a "fair, balanced and stress-free gaming experience" that lets you "enjoy the content of your choice and dive into the game at your own pace." I don't know that it's quite wrapped its head around the passage of time, but only having six weeks to power through an entire season before everything is reset is not playing 'at your own pace' for most people.
That's probably why the developer hedged its bets by teasing Scenarios of different durations (both longer or shorter) as well as contemplating Once Human permanent servers. And now we're getting them!
The news was first announced as well as a , confirming that all servers (with the exception of private ones) will be converted to permanent ones, with the data on all active characters being retained. So after the two hour conversion period, you can drop in and carry on as if nothing happened.
One thing to bear in mind is that if you've not logged in with a character for 30 days, it'll be turfed out and enter the server settlement and sign-up process by default, to make sure inactive characters aren't hogging up server resources. Starry Studios says this time limit will actually be extended to 180 days in Q2 2025 () which is a lot more lenient.
Here's when Once Human permanent servers go live, as well as what you can expect in update v1.4.3 which ushers them in alongside the Wish Machine grand prize selection, the new Spectral Hunt event, the new Lightforge Loot Crate, Journey System tweaks and more.
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Once Human permanent servers release timeOnce Human permanent servers are coming at 6pm PDT / 9pm EDT on Wednesday, March 12, which is 1am GMT on Thursday, March 13. This is based on the two-hour maintenance window for the update that will introduce Once Human permanent servers, which begins at 4pm PDT / 7pm EDT / 11pm GMT.
The update was initially planned for a few hours later, meaning that Once Human permanent servers would go live on Thursday, March 13 (US Pacific Time) but the
Maintenance may run long, the developer notes, so bear that in mind. Once it's done, you'll be able to hop into the game where Once Human permanent servers will be live.
Once Human update v1.4.3 patch notesThe for the Once Human permanent servers update are pretty lengthy, delving into a lot of fine detail, so we've just included the highlights here.
Non-Shutdown Servers- After the Wednesday, March 12 (PST) update, open servers will be converted into non-shutdown servers after their settlement phases. The conversion process takes approximately 2 hours, during which the server cannot be accessed.
- Active character data will be retained after the conversion to a non-shutdown server. Players can continue using their characters on the non-shutdown server, exit to Eternaland, or sign up for a new scenario.
- Note that inactive characters will not be retained on the non-shutdown server but will be sent to Eternaland. Currently, this applies to characters that have been inactive for at least 30 days. However, we plan to significantly ease this restriction in the next quarter to accommodate returning players.
- Event Period: Wednesday, March 12 (after update) – Wednesday, May 7
- During Lunar Oracles, Morphic Deviants that resemble players will appear in settlements across the wilderness. These Deviants, known as Lunarspawn, will assume the appearance and absorb the abilities of any player they kill.
- Lunarspawn grow stronger with each player they kill. Players must work together to hunt Lunarspawn and fill the progress bar, unlocking Lunar Whispers, themed cosmetics like namecards and eyewear, and many other rewards!
- To make trading more convenient, we are introducing Harvesters' Markets to the Manibus, Evolution's Call, and The Way of Winter scenarios.
- Additionally, the new Solar Power Vending Machine formula will be added to the Vending Machine Memetic. Solar Power Vending Machines can only be built in designated areas of the Harvesters' Market, with each player limited to one.
- Vending Machines now also have the refrigeration function of Fridges, so they can keep food fresh for longer periods.
After the Wednesday, March 12 (PST) update, grand prize selection will be enabled for the Echoes from the Rift prize pool at the Wish Machine.
- How: Go to the Echoes from the Rift prize pool, and select Wishlist. You can then spend Wishstones to select a weapon blueprint. The next Legendary blueprint you draw will be guaranteed to match your chosen blueprint.
- Once you draw your chosen blueprint, the Echoes from the Rift prize pool will be reset.
- You can redeem Wishstones using Mitsuko's Marks at the Challenge Shop, or acquire them through events.
After the update on Wednesday, March 12, the following new Wish Machine prize pools will be available for 2 weeks.
- Searing Burn: Includes the Legendary weapon blueprint 'Pyroclasm Starter'.
- Doom Hunter: Includes the Legendary weapon blueprint 'Doombringer'.
- Rune Burn: Includes the Legendary gear blueprints 'Fire Rune Boots', 'Blackstone Hood', 'Blackstone Jacket', and 'Blackstone Shoes'.
As well as the above features, players can also look forward to the New Memetic Formula: Solar Power Vending Machine, new Shop arrivals, and various optimisations.
