Once Human: Beastmaster Revamp and Gardener Combat Updates

The most substantial change in this update is the comprehensive revamp of the Beastmaster class. The new core ability, Beast Riding, allows players to summon animals directly from their backpack or hotbar and mount eligible ones. This system is built around summoning, riding, commanding, evolving, and trading. To keep the gameplay focused, each Beastmaster can now have only one animal summoned at a time. Summoning has a 10-second shared cooldown, and only adult animals with sufficient Energy (over 20%) can be called. Summoned animals default to an idle state, and players can issue commands to them using the Beast Whistle. Non-Beastmaster classes can also summon animals with saddles equipped in the wild for riding, but they cannot summon them inside dungeons or during combat.

Riding mechanics are divided into two categories: bareback and saddle riding. When encountering unoccupied wild animals or summoning animals without saddles, Beastmasters can mount them directly through interactions. Bareback riding consumes character Stamina, and animals without saddles will resist the rider, preventing the use of special abilities and attempting to break free. Equipping an animal with a saddle allows for stable riding. While riding with a saddle, players can fire weapons, perform melee attacks, gather resources, and use consumables without special animations. However, actions requiring special animations, such as opening weapon crates, teleporting, or switching worlds, will immediately dismount the player.

For Beastmasters, the animal’s special ability can be used while mounted with a saddle. On PC, this is triggered with the Ctrl key; on mobile, a dedicated button is used; and on console, the R1+X or RB+A button combination is required. Non-Beastmaster classes cannot use animal special abilities or benefit from their effects. The animals currently supported for mounting in this version are Deer, Boar, Bear, and Wild Buffalo. Each animal has unique active and passive skills. For example, the Deer enters a galloping state to increase movement speed, while the Boar charges forward, stacking damage reduction. The Bear releases a shockwave to deal damage, and the Wild Buffalo automatically searches for and consumes edible crops to recover Energy. Wild animals do not possess these abilities by default; only Beastmasters can utilize them when mounted with a saddle.

The class trait adjustments include updates to the Beast Partner, Breeding Expert, and Wilderness Master traits. The Beast Partner trait allows Beastmasters to approach animals without them fleeing or attacking, and to check their stats and traits. The original three types of Beast Whistles are merged into one, which is no longer bound to a specific animal. The Breeding Expert trait allows for targeted modifications on animal genes, granting unique traits. This update adds seven new attribute groups and adjusts two existing ones, such as Nimble, Swift, Thick Fur, Healing Pelt, Aftermath, Adaptive Fur, and Fertile Constitution. The Wilderness Master trait enables Beastmasters to craft and replace gear and saddles for animals, providing ability bonuses. Non-Beastmaster classes can view the gear and saddles worn by animals and enjoy the effects of existing saddles, but they cannot replace or change them.

Beastmasters will start with a new set of items, including a Starting Partner (choose one from Deer, Boar, or Bear), a Beast Whistle, and a Basic Saddle. They will also start with mastery of saddle, animal husbandry, animal breeding, and tranquilizer throwing needle-related tech formulas. To make it easier for players to ride animals in the wild, a manual feeding feature is added. After summoning an animal, players can interact with it to feed it manually. Animals with insufficient Energy cannot be summoned, and the system will automatically open the feeding interface if a player attempts to summon such an animal.

The animal ranching system also receives synchronized adjustments to reduce daily maintenance burden and make rules clearer. The core judgment for animal ranching will now focus on Energy. Animals will no longer have Tameness or Hydration stats. Rules for growth, breeding, byproduct production, and slaughter yields will all be governed by Energy. The “Docile” trait related to Tameness will lose its effect and be replaced with a new one that increases the growth speed of younglings. Trait attributes will be unlocked sequentially when animals reach levels 20, 30, 40, and 50. Feeding Mixed Meat Feed, Mixed Grain Feed, or Mixed Herb Feed will only increase Energy. Animal Energy is divided into three tiers, affecting byproduct production, slaughter yields, youngling growth, and breeding conditions. Maintaining a higher Energy level is more important for steady growth, production, and breeding.

To make farming status more intuitive, the animal list will now include icons for Energy status, Courtship status, and Breeding Cooldown status. Breeding-related statuses will also be more clearly displayed in animal info. The update optimizes offline feeding logic so that animal food consumption during offline periods behaves as expected. Offline feeding only consumes items from the animal trough, and Body Boost Feed will not be consumed during offline periods. In response to player demand, animal tracking is added to the World Map. All players can check the distribution of all animals in the current Scenario under the World Map’s Filter - Resource Tracking Tab.

The Gardener class also receives combat optimizations. The Portable Planter Box can now hold different types of biomechanical crops simultaneously, and the abilities of each biomechanical crop are strengthened. To balance this enhancement, a durability rule is introduced as a new usage cost. Portable Planter Boxes loaded with different types of biomechanical crops can be placed independently, with cooldowns calculated separately. The Portable Planter Box is adjusted to an item with durability, consuming a certain amount with each use. When durability is depleted, the box is consumed along with the biomechanical crops inside. The abilities of Balloon, Rainfall Reaper, Flare Bulbfly, Watcher, The Portal, and Agent biomechanical units are strengthened and will no longer be differentiated based on grafted crops. Grafting different crops will only affect the cosmetic appearance of the biomechanical units.

Additional usability optimizations include clearer distinctions on item pins for Portable Planter Boxes loaded with different biomechanical crops. All Biomechanical Parts and Facilities will have their functions and post-grafting ability effects detailed in their item descriptions. The development team will continue to monitor the actual experience of each class and the animal farming system, and keep optimizing related gameplay. Players are encouraged to share feedback and suggestions via the Feedback Platform.