Summary

  • Assault rifles in Once Human are essential for ranged combat, with options like the KAM providing good damage and range.
  • The KAM - Pioneer offers shrapnel damage bonuses, making it a useful early to mid-game weapon for players in Once Human.
  • The KAM - Crank may not be the most popular assault rifle, but it can serve as a decent stopgap until better options are unlocked in Once Human.

Once Human is a game that merges several genres into one. It has an intriguing horror theme, backed up by solid survival game mechanics, and a story arc more akin to a single-player RPG. The game is free to play, and it is entirely possible for free players to enjoy the entire game without spending a penny in the cash store.

Once Human Best Territory Deviants, Ranked
Once Human: Best Territory Deviants, Ranked

Territory deviants act within a player's territory to grant bonuses, benefits, and abilities. Here are the best ones in Once Human.

By 

Assault Rifles are a staple of most survival shooters, and Once Human is no different in this respect. Offering good damage at a decent range, they are the Swiss Army Knife of ranged weapons in Once Human. However, some are still better than others.

6 KAM

The Basic Assault Rifle

KAM Is A Good Assault Rifle In Once Human
  • How To Get: Blueprint unlocked via a memetic.
  • Specials:
    • None

  • Suggested Weapon Mods:
    • None

The KAM assault rifle is the basic version of this line of assault rifles in Once Human, obviously inspired by a certain real-world assault rifle manufactured by Kalashnikov. Every player can unlock the blueprint for the KAM by opening up the corresponding memetic.

Once Human All Securement Silos, Ranked
Once Human: All Securement Silos, Ranked

Securement Silos are short, instanced dungeon adventures in Once Human that can be farmed for loot and currency. Not all of them are equally good.

By 

With no special, baked-in bonuses, and no weapon mods that suit this weapon, most beginners to Once Human will choose to skip it entirely, and rely on a melee weapon for the first 10 to 15 levels in the game until they can unlock a better ranged weapon.

5 KAM - Pioneer

The First Useful Assault Rifle

KAM - Pioneer Is A Good Assault Rifle In Once Human
  • How To Get: Blueprint can be won from the Wish Machine, or looted from crates on the open-world map.
  • Specials:
    • 30% chance to trigger shrapnel on hit.
    • Shrapnel damage +60%

  • Suggested Weapon Mods:
    • Shield Breaker
    • Shrapnel Smash
    • Shrapnel Carnage
    • Long-range Laceration

Every player in Once Human will unlock the KAM - Pioneer blueprint early in the game. The blueprint fragments are a scripted drop that forms part of the blueprint acquisition tutorial. However, this is actually a decent weapon up until the mid-game.

The shrapnel combat mechanic is easy to understand. When a bullet hits an enemy, it has a chance of breaking apart, and each fragment causes more damage. Overall, this is a workable weapon, especially if the player uses further blueprint fragments to upgrade its star level. However, it is overshadowed by later options on this list.

4 KAM - Crank

The Only Burn Assault Rifle

KAM - Crank Is A Good Assault Rifle In Once Human
  • How To Get: Blueprint can be looted from mystical crates in the Red Sands region.
  • Specials:
    • Hitting enemies 7 times triggers burn.
    • Killing an enemy that is on fire grants +20% reload speed and +15% burn damage for 5 seconds.
    • Maximum burn attacks +1.

  • Suggested Weapon Mods:
    • Flame Resonance

The KAM - Crank is probably the least used of all assault rifles in Once Human. The burn combat mechanic is seen as being a little weak compared to others, such as unstable bomber and power surge.

That being said, not every player will be lucky enough to unlock an assault rifle with better special bonuses early in the game, and in this situation, the KAM - Crank can act as a decent stopgap. If they choose to run with it, the player shouldn't waste resources calibrating the weapon.

3 SOCR - Outsider

An Epic Power Surge Assault Rifle

SOCR - Outsider Is A Good Assault Rifle In Once Human
  • How To Get: Blueprint can be won from the Wish Machine.
  • Specials:
    • 35% chance to trigger power surge when hitting an enemy.
    • Critical hits increase the chance of triggering a power surge by 30% for 3 seconds.

  • Suggested Weapon Mods:
    • Static Shock

Even though the SOCR - Outside is only available from the Wish Machine, it is an epic assault rifle that many Once Human players will unlock. This is because it is one of the blueprints that can be won in the Wish Machine tutorial.

Once Human Best Pistols, Ranked
Once Human: Best Pistols, Ranked

Although most players use a pistol as a sidearm in Once Human, the best ones can be used as a primary weapon.

1
By 

This is a solid weapon that can take a player all the way to the end-game, once it has been fully calibrated and the player has built a suit of armor that focuses on a power surge build. Overall, this is a weapon that many people will use at some stage, even if they decide to specialize in something else later on.

2 SOCR - The Last Valor

A Legendary Shrapnel Assault Rifle

SOCR - The Last Valor Is A Good Assault Rifle In Once Human
  • How To Get: Blueprint can be won from the Wish Machine.
  • Specials:
    • 4% chance of triggering shrapnel with a hit (crit hits count double).
    • Critical hit gives shrapnel trigger chance +1 for 1 second.
    • Shrapnel critical damage +30%

  • Suggested Weapon Mods:
    • Shrapnel Smash

The SOCR - The Last Valor is an upgraded option that replaces the KAM - Pioneer for players who are focusing on a shrapnel build. For these Once Human players, it could be worth spending the Starchrom required to purchase this blueprint outright from the Wish Machine, rather than relying on RNG.

A high-level shrapnel build can be devastating once a player has fully calibrated this weapon and equipped their armor with complementary armor mods. However, this weapon really needs to be taken to calibration level 10 to get the most out of it, which is going to be resource-intensive to achieve.

1 KAM - Abyss Glance

A Legendary Frost Vortex Assault Rifle

KAM - Abyss Glance Is A Good Assault Rifle In Once Human
  • How To Get: Blueprint can be won from the Wish Machine.
  • Specials:
    • Hitting enemies 20 times triggers frost vortex.
    • Weak spot hits count as 2 hits.
    • The closer an enemy is to the center of the frost vortex, the higher the damage, up to 200%.
    • Frost damage +30%.

  • Suggested Weapon Mods:
    • Cryo Blast

Frost vortex builds are one of the least common builds in Once Human, simply because it is hard to see the benefits of the vortex damage, as it is entirely positional. However, where frost vortex really shines is when a player has modded their armor to grant additional frost vortex bonuses, such as automatic reloads.

Once Human Best Shotguns, Ranked
Once Human: Best Shotguns, Ranked

There are a number of shotguns in Once Human that stand head and shoulders above other options. Here's how the best rank up.

By 

The KAM - Abyss Glance can form the basis of a sold frost vortex build, although some players prefer the SMG equivalent weapon, due to the higher rate of fire, but at the cost of reduced damage at range. Either way, a good frost vortex build can be devastating when used properly in this survival game.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Once Human Tag Page Cover Art
Once Human
Display card tags widget Display card system widget
Display card community and brand rating widget
Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget
Released
July 9, 2024
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Developer(s)
Starry Studio
Platform(s)
PC, Android, iOS
Genre(s)
Survival, Shooter, Open-World