Once Human GuideUnofficial fan guide
EN ▾

Scenarios › Isles of Abyss › Beginner guide

Once Human Isles of Abyss Beginner Guide & Tips

LiveUpdated 2026-10-23 · Game v3.1.1Starts in Fragrant Cape

By the Once Human Guide crew — a small fan team led by Yao · from patch notes + videos

Short answer: you start at max level, but your real progress is Tech, not XP. Follow the main quest first (it teaches shipbuilding), recycle the intact facilities you find in POIs to earn Tech points and recipes, repair Stones of the World as you pass them, and get a basic ship with a helm, propulsion and an anchor before you sail for the colder seas.

Hazards on the way:Giant Squid · grabs hullMist of Deceit · coldSwimming without a suitin Fragrant Cape · Reefshadow Bay
On this page
  1. What’s different here
  2. How Tech unlocks work
  3. Your first day, in order
  4. How the main quest loop runs
  5. Beginner tips
  6. Fix: where new players get stuck
  7. FAQ
  8. What changed

What’s different here

If you know the land scenarios, three things change your first day. Dates, servers and how to sign up are on the Isles of Abyss hub.

Level
You enter at max level, and there is no Cradle. XP isn’t what moves you forward.
Tech
Progress is Tech, earned by exploring, gathering and clearing key challenges. Tech sets the gear rarity you can craft, how many mod attributes are active, and which ship parts and facilities you can build.
Gear tiers
Crafting tiers 1, 2 and 3 are tied to main-story progress rather than level, so skipping the story stalls your gear. creator reports
The sea
Your ship is also a mobile territory, and much of the upgrade material comes from the ocean, not from looting towns.

src: dev blog (2026-10-16) · EUTOPIA 4wWg8l_mkwc @01:00 · Heartcarver TXO2KfhKwro @04:20

How Tech unlocks work

  • Recycle intact facilities. POIs contain complete territory facilities, workbenches and supply benches. Pick them up with a recycling tool and break them down at a recycling bench: that permanently unlocks the recipe and gives Tech points. Even cheap loot is worth recycling.
  • Higher Tech, bigger base. Raising Tech also grows your territory size and generator slots, and your ship’s piece limit appears to grow with it. test-server footage; exact numbers not published
  • Some top items need reverse engineering. The high-tier cannons and some support facilities at the bottom of the archipelago Tech tree can’t be bought with Tech points alone; check before you save materials for them.
  • Use the map filters. The world map has resource filters for finding the ore or animals a recipe needs.

src: Gotcha Beast KJvFq__cWp8 @02:20 (test server) · Grizl o5-Cq9fuLF0 @02:01

Your first day, in order

  1. Account storage in Eternaland is shared between your characters, so a foundation plus one storage box there lets you carry items across. Creators suggest a chainsaw, an electric drill, a few advanced recycling tools and the combat and territory Deviations you like. Skip high-tier weapons (you can’t use them yet) and solar panels (creators say they won’t move with you). pre-launch creator advice

    src: Heartcarver TXO2KfhKwro @01:40, @03:20

  2. Log in before 8 Nov, 2 PM PT to collect the celebration supply by mail: the Legendary SOCR - Cosmic Visitor and Snowline Elite Vest blueprints, 10,000 Starchrom and a 30-day Meta Pass Trial Card. Like any blueprint, they stay capped by your Tech until you reach that tier.

    src: patch notes (2026-10-21)

  3. It walks you through building your first ship and shows which parts you need. Along the route, repair every Stone of the World you pass, recycle facilities for Tech points and collect scrap metal.

    src: Grizl o5-Cq9fuLF0 @00:40

  4. On the test server, one creator found a shop vendor selling blueprints you don’t own yet for old world currency, so keep that currency instead of dismantling it. The local fisherman gives a chain of side quests: fish into acid, fish into mixed fuel in a furnace, then Fish Paste for extra heat and cold resistance. test-server footage; may differ on live servers

    src: Gotcha Beast KJvFq__cWp8 @08:20, @08:40

  5. A ship needs steering and propulsion, plus an anchor so it doesn’t drift. A common opening setup is a helm, a Fuel Propeller and one sail. Step by step: How to build a ship.

  6. Unlock fish transformation in the production Tech tab and smelt fish into mixed fuel. A Trawl Net on the ship pulls in fish and sea resources while you sail. test-server footage

    src: Gotcha Beast KJvFq__cWp8 @03:41 · dev blog (2026-10-16)

  7. Reefshadow Bay’s Mist of Deceit chills you and cuts your view. Warm food and cold-resistant armor help; the Blaze Core Lantern clears the fog. See Reefshadow Bay and Haywire zones.

    src: dev blog (2026-10-16) · Gotcha Beast KJvFq__cWp8 @06:01

How the main quest loop runs

Official notes say Calamity Towers come in three versions (a solo story fight, a team fight, and the Phase II Abyss challenge), and that a first kill pushes the server’s purification progress. A test-server guide sums up each sea as one loop: test-server footage

  1. Do that sea’s story quests.
  2. Fight Voyagers for weapon and armor part crates. Bring their HP down to the blue mark on the bar, board and loot the hold first, then sink them for extra rewards.
  3. Craft that sea’s gear tier.
  4. Mount cannons on your ship.
  5. Take down the sea’s Calamity Tower, which opens the next sea.

How the story is split into chapters after that is not confirmed yet; a Steam thread asking exactly this has no answer so far. Tower tactics: Calamity Tower & Calamity Nest. Cannon choice: Ship cannons. Where each sea sits: Isles of Abyss map. The final boss: The Sunken Lord.

src: patch notes (2026-10-21) · final-test recruitment post (2026-08-28) · Gotcha Beast KJvFq__cWp8 @05:21, @14:01 · Steam “Isles main quest”

Beginner tips

  • Don’t swim without a diving suit. You lose HP in the sea without one. The suit speeds you up in water but slows you on land, so take it off on deck. Oxygen and pollution: Diving guide.
  • Haywire weather has calm spells. Switch off counter items like the lantern when it’s calm to save durability.
  • Ship and base storage are separate unless the ship is inside your land territory. Details in the ship guide.
  • Plan a land base too. The ship has a strict piece limit, so heavier setups are easier on land.
  • Bind a cannon to the helm. Press G on a cannon at the helm, then hold right-click while steering to fire.

src: Open World Games 1_YBnzhRRZ8 @11:00 · MaleOreo d6qDYAK-qkQ @00:21, @07:41 · Heartcarver TXO2KfhKwro @05:00 · Steam “Ship and Base doesnt share inventory ??”

Fix: where new players get stuck

  1. Build menu still locked after the tutorial. Keep following the main quest to the next step; a Steam thread reports the menu locked after the tutorial with no answer yet. More in How to build a ship.
  2. Ship won’t move. Raise the anchor, check the wind for sails, and check fuel. The full checklist: Fix: ship won’t move.
  3. Only 60 ship pieces. The ship piece limit is much lower than a land base and appears to rise with Tech. See the ship guide FAQ.
  4. Can’t switch cannons. Bind them at the helm, then use the selection wheel. See Ship cannons.
  5. Can’t see in the fog. That’s Mist of Deceit; use a Blaze Core Lantern or Mist Core Clarity Soup. See Haywire zones.
  6. Your character stutters or snaps back on a moving ship. This is a known issue the developer is still fixing as of 22 Oct, not something you set up wrong.
  7. Trees vanish as you walk up, or won’t chop on the beginner island. Already-felled trees still showing from far away was fixed on 22 Oct; some beginner-island trees that can’t be chopped are still being fixed.

src: Steam “Returning Player with some questions” · 3.1.1 Bug Fixes (2026-10-22) · dev blog (2026-10-16)

FAQ

Why is everyone already max level?
Every character enters Isles of Abyss at max level and there is no Cradle. Progress comes from Tech instead: it limits the gear rarity you can craft and how many mod attributes are active.
Do my blueprints and mods carry over?
Yes, but Tech caps them. You can bring them in, yet gear quality and active mod attributes unlock step by step. Bringing a high-tier weapon early doesn’t help, because you can’t use it until you reach that tier.
Will I lose my Eternaland buildings if I make a new character?
According to a Steam discussion, your houses stay as blueprints; what you lose are things tied to the old scenario. Not in the official notes.
How do I get a fishing rod?
Not confirmed yet. The official notes mention the Abyssal Sea Fishing Rod for deep-sea fishing but don’t say how you unlock it.
How do I bring my Deviations into the scenario?
Not confirmed yet. Creators suggest moving them through Eternaland storage, but no official source spells out the steps.

What changed

  • v3.1.1 · 2026-10-23Page created.

Sources

Once Human Guide is a fan site. Not affiliated with Starry Studio / NetEase. Once Human and related names are trademarks of their owners.