Once Human: How To Manage Sanity

Once Human thrusts players into a wide-open world filled with crawling horrors known as Deviations, where they must build a base, upgrade their arsenal of weaponry, capture Deviants, and take on terrifying bosses. While many players may be caught up in building and moving their territory, along with establishing a supply of food and water, there are some deeper aspects that players should keep on top of.

Once Human features a range of survival mechanics that push players to juggle various status meters to stay alive. While Energy, Stamina, and Hydration are all pretty straightforward, the player’s Sanity can be a little difficult to grasp for new players. Here is everything players need to know about managing their Sanity in Once Human.

How Sanity Works In Once Human

Sanity is a status meter that players will naturally need to keep on top of during their Once Human playthrough. Though players may find very little change to their Sanity levels when working around their base or exploring, Sanity will often start to deplete when encountering monsters or venturing through Pollution Zones like Rift Anchor points.

Sanity can also be depleted by consuming raw meat, spoiled food, or dirty water. To avoid taking a loss in Sanity points, it is imperative that players avoid consuming such items, instead focusing on consuming cooked meat and boiled water.

• Cooked meat can be acquired by cooking raw meat in a Stove.
• Boiled water can also be acquired by boiling dirty water via the Stove, but it can also be crafted at a Camp by hand.

When the player’s Sanity falls too low, their max health will be reduced. This makes them much more susceptible to enemy attacks, making Sanity arguably one of the most important things for players to pay attention to. Aside from simply reducing the player’s max health, a low Sanity level can also give players a series of buffs and debuffs known as Whims.

Players can track their Sanity level via the
Sanity bar
just above their health bar.

Whims Explained

When the player’s Sanity drops below half of its base value, they will be given a Whim. Whims are essentially unique status effects, offering both buffs and debuffs. Players can have up to six Whims active at any given time, and while they can be acquired through delving into Insanity when the player’s Sanity level is too low, they can also be acquired through Elixirs. Here is a breakdown of all the Whims players can get in Once Human:

How To Replenish Sanity In Once Human

While some of the buffs experienced by Whims may sound pretty useful, their debuffs are just as important to take into consideration, on top of the player’s reduced max health. This is where managing your Sanity comes in. There are two main ways to replenish lost Sanity in Once Human.

The first is to simply take a rest. Sleeping is a surefire way to bring the player’s Sanity levels back to baseline, but it will require access to a Bed. Players can acquire a Bed once they unlock Basic Furniture I under the Building tab in the Memetics Menu. A Bed can then be crafted using 20 Logs and 3 Adhesives via the Build Menu.

The second way to replenish Sanity is through consuming Sanity Gummies. Sanity Gummies are perfect for using on the go when exploring Pollution Zones or after encountering hostile monsters. Players will acquire Sanity Gummies through the initial tutorial phase of the game but will have to craft more once their supply runs out.

Players can unlock the recipe for Sanity Gummies by spending their Meme Points on Electric Stoves under the Logistics tab in the Memetics Menu. A Sanity Gummy can then be crafted via a Stove or Electric Stove with 1 Boiled Water, 1 Sugar, and 4 Logs. Once consumed, a Sanity Gummy will restore 500 Sanity points.