Once Human: Best Burn Build

There are a number of build paths for players to take in Once Human, and for those who want to passively melt health bars with little to no downtime, then using the Burn effect is the way to go. It's the only DoT-based effect in the game thus far, and it's quite good at its job.

Burn builds aren't terribly complicated to use, and while they mostly lack upfront damage by default, these can become ridiculously strong with the right mods and some of the best weapons Once Human has to offer. This guide covers all the important things you need to make a Burn build work.

Updated August 17, 2024 by Marc Santos: The mid-August update for Once Human introduced several balance changes to multiple weapons, Cradle effects, Deviant bonuses, and more. This Burn build has remained mostly unchanged despite all of those buffs and nerfs, but some of its parts did get affected. We've updated this guide to account for those balance changes, and we've added a new section that explains the strengths and weaknesses of this build for those who are planning to use it.

Once Human Burn Build

KAM Crank on a crafting table in Once Human — Once Human KAM Crank on crafting table

Slot	Item	Mod
Primary Weapon	KVD Boom Boom	Blaze Blessing
Secondary Weapon	KAM Crank	Flame Resonance
Melee Weapon	Frozen Northern Pike	Frosty Blessing
Helmet	Heavy Duty	Deviation Expert
Mask	Heavy Duty	Blaze Amplifier
Chest	Heavy Duty	Any
Gloves	Grill Gloves	Elemental Overload
Pants	Scout	Status Amplification
Boots	Scout	Secluded Strike
Note	Prioritize building Status and Elemental DMG

Once Human's 1.1 patch nerfed the bonus crit rate provided by the Long Axe when it hits a target with a heavy strike. It's still a decent option, but players who want an alternative to this weapon can use the Frozen Northern Pike instead for its freeze utility and synergy with Frost Vortex mods.

This build focuses on quickly stacking Burn while improving the status effect's damage output, and it's best used for running Once Human's dungeons like Silo Alpha or any activity with high enemy density. The KVD is more suited for dealing with groups thanks to its high ammo capacity and passive effect that causes targets to explode and spread Burn. Meanwhile, the KAM is better for fighting bosses due to its consistent and non-RNG reliant Burn application.

Burn Build Strengths and Weaknesses
Pros	Cons
Good AOE damage with KVD Boom Boom Good single-target DPS with KAM Crank Great self-healing potential Excellent for chaining kills and beating most bosses	Very ammo hungry Low direct damage output Weak in PvP

To get the most out of the KAM Crank, equip a Rapid Shot Style calibration on it to increase its fire rate by 15% and reload speed by 40%. It also buffs the gun's Weakspot DMG when fully calibrated.

This build works perfectly fine even without KVD Boom Boom. KAM Crank is free from the mystical crate in Fort Eyrie in the Red Sands region. Use the HAMR Crumble sniper rifle as a substitute for KVD Boom Boom.

Armor

Grill Gloves on a crafting table in Once Human — Once Human Grill Gloves crafting table

The armor setup above will grant the following bonuses:

Armor Piece(s)	Effects
Grill Gloves	Increase Burn DMG frequency by up to 100% based on Burn stacks
Heavy Duty (3PC)	Max HP +10% Elemental DMG +8% After killing an enemy, increases Movement Speed by 20% for 2s and Elemental DMG by 40%, which decays over 8s.
Scout (2PC)	Max HP +10% Weapon DMG +8%

Players who manage to farm enough Starchrom in Once Human should aim to get the Shelterer set from the Wish Machine. It's a premium Status/Elemental DMG set that will greatly increase the damage of Burn ticks just by hitting enemies with your bullets. Get four pieces of the Shelterer set and keep the Grill Gloves for strong Burn ticks, or replace Grill Gloves with Hardy Gloves so you can trigger explosions upon reaching max Burn stacks.

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Mods

Purple Blaze Blessing mod in Once Human — Once Human Blaze Blessing mod

Mod Name	Mod Slot	Effect	Location
Blaze Blessing	Weapon	Killing enemies affected by Burn restores 5% HP.	Ravenous Hunter (Hard mode)
Flame Resonance	Weapon	Increase max Burn stacks by 2. Reduce Burn duration by 20%.	Ravenous Hunter (Hard mode)
Deviation Expert	Helmet	Range -25% Fire Rate +10 Status DMG +20%	Silo Alpha
Blaze Amplifier	Mask	Gain +3% Psi Intensity for every stack of Burn you inflict.	Silo EX1
Elemental Overload	Gloves	Elemental DMG +18%	Silo Sigma
Status Amplification	Pants	When the magazine is empty, gain +10% Status DMG for 12s (stacks up to three times).	Silo Psi
Secluded Strike	Boots	When no enemies are within 7m, gain +15% Weapon and Status DMG.	Silo Phi

Blaze Blessing will let you square up against big groups of enemies without much risk of dying. Unless there's something that's strong enough to one-shot you, you should be able to heal back any damage you take thanks to KVD Boom Boom's proficiency at fighting multiple enemies. Once a strong enemy appears, swap to your KAM Crank and keep shooting. Burn has a stack cap of 5, but with KAM Crank and Flame Resonance, this goes up to 8.

At max stacks, you'll be dealing 80% of your Psi Intensity with each Burn tick, and that's without all the other damage bonuses from this build.

Combat Deviant

Lonewolf's Whisper in a securement unit in Once Human — Once Human Lonewolf's Whisper securement unit

The best Deviant for this Burn build is Pyro Dino. It's the combat variant of Once Human's Chefosaurus, and it can buff your Blaze DMG significantly against targets that it hits. You can get this Deviant in the secret Seepage Zone in Silo Phi (the same location where you can get a Chefosaurus). However, Pyro Dino is very rare. If you can't find this Deviant, Lonewolf's Whisper or even Zeno-Purifier will do just fine. Psychic Kid is also a good choice for boosting your Status DMG.

Cradle (Season 1)

Cradle setup for a Once Human Burn build — Once Human Burn Build cradle setup

Automatic Weapon Enhancement
Deviation Master
Rapid Aid
Sprint
Status Enhancement
Tactical Combo
Sustained Suppression
Prairie Fire Inferno

These are the best available Cradle perks for a Once Human Burn build as of Season 1. Out of all these, the most important ones are Deviation Master and Status Enhancement. The former increases your damage against Deviants by 50% for as long as your Combat Deviant is active, while the latter increases your Status DMG by 25% for 3s after hitting a weakspot. However, Once Human uses a seasonal system, which means these perks may no longer be available once Season 1 ends.

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