You’re staring at your workbench in Once Human, ready to craft that Tier 5 weapon, and then you see it. You are short on energy links. Again. It’s the universal experience in Starry Studio’s post-apocalyptic open world. One minute you feel like a literal god of the Stardust wasteland, and the next, you’re scrounging for change like a Deviant looking for scrap metal. Honestly, energy links are the lifeblood of your progression, acting as the primary currency for everything from gear calibration to buying rare blueprints from wandering traders. If you don't have them, you aren't playing the game; you're just existing in it.
Energy links aren't just some arbitrary number in your inventory. They represent the friction between you and the endgame. Most players make the mistake of thinking they can just "play naturally" and the currency will flow. It won't. Not enough of it, anyway. To thrive in the harsh seasonal resets of Nalcott, you have to understand the economy of the game.
What Most People Get Wrong About Once Human Energy Links
The biggest misconception is that grinding Silos is the only way to get paid. It's a trap. While Securement Silos like Alpha or Psi give you a decent chunk of change, the time-to-reward ratio is often abysmal if you're just looking for cash. You spend ten minutes fighting a boss, burning through ammo and durability, only to walk away with a handful of links that barely cover your repair costs.
Efficiency is everything. You've probably seen players sitting on millions of links while you struggle to afford a single memetic upgrade. They aren't cheating. They're just leveraging the game's specific systems—like the vending machine economy and specialized "money-making" memetic specializations—that the tutorial barely mentions.
The Salt Mining Meta
Let's talk about salt. It sounds boring. It is boring. But in the early to mid-game, salt is basically white gold. You can gather seawater using buckets, boil it down at a stove, and sell the resulting salt to vendors in settlements like Deadsville or Meyer's Market. Each vendor has a weekly limit on how many energy links they can give you (usually 50,000 links per vendor), and salt is the easiest way to drain those reserves with almost zero resource investment.
High-Tier Farming: Beyond the Basics
Once you hit the level 40+ bracket, your demand for once human energy links spikes hard. Calibrating a legendary weapon to +10 or +15 costs a fortune. This is where you have to stop thinking like a scavenger and start thinking like an industrialist.
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The true secret to wealth in the endgame lies in Memetic Specializations. Every five levels, you get a choice of four random buffs. If you are lucky enough to roll the "Silver/Gold Smelting" specialization, you've hit the jackpot. This allows you to turn Silver and Gold ore into ingots that sell for massive amounts of energy links to NPC traders. A single stack of Gold Ingots can cap out a vendor's weekly budget in seconds.
But what if you didn't get that roll?
You trade. The player-to-player economy is where the real millions are made. Setting up a vending machine at your territory—ideally near a high-traffic teleportation tower—is essential. Sell things people actually need. Acid is the universal secondary currency, but people will pay straight energy links for high-tier fuel, specialized foods like Whisk-up, or even basic materials like Rubber and Electronics if they're too lazy to farm them.
Refining High-Level Chaos Cortices
Don't sleep on the Stardust Resonators. When you defend your base during a purification process using Level 3 or Level 4 Chaos Cortices, the game rewards you with a significant amount of energy links. It’s a combat-heavy way to earn, sure, but it serves a dual purpose: you get Stardust Source (which you need anyway) and a fat stack of currency. Just make sure your base defenses aren't made of wood, or you'll spend more on repairs than you earn in profit.
The Secret "Combo" for Infinite Cash
There is a specific loop that veteran players use. It involves the "Combo Chipsets" memetic specialization. If you or a friend have this, you can craft Combo Chipsets using basic electronic parts and metal scraps. These items have zero use in crafting gear; their only purpose is to be sold to vendors.
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Basically, you go out and loot crates in high-level zones like Red Sands or Blackheart Region. You dismantle the junk, turn it into Chipsets, and sell them. It’s a closed loop.
- Step 1: Clear a town like Blackfell.
- Step 2: Loot every trash can and crate.
- Step 3: Use the specialized memetic to craft Chipsets.
- Step 4: Profit.
Honestly, the difference between a player who uses Chipsets and one who doesn't is staggering. One is counting pennies; the other is buying out every blueprint fragment they find.
Why Silo Grinding Actually Matters (Sometimes)
I know I said Silos are a trap for pure money, but there’s a nuance here. If you are farming for specific Mods, the energy links are a byproduct. You shouldn't "farm Silos for links," but you should "farm Silos for Mods and enjoy the links."
The "Pro" difficulty Silos and Bosses (like the Forsaken Giant) drop a respectable amount. If you can clear these in under five minutes with a coordinated group, the links start to pile up. It’s about the "speed-clearing" meta. If your build isn't optimized, stay away from this as a primary income source. You'll just frustrate yourself.
Managing the Weekly Vendor Reset
Every week, the NPCs in the world refresh their bank accounts. There are several major hubs you need to visit:
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- Deadsville (Low level, but easy to reach)
- Meyer's Market
- Tall Grass Inn
- Greywater Camp
- Blackfell (The big one)
Each of these vendors has a pool of 50,000 links. If you hit all of them, that’s 250,000 energy links a week just from selling "vendor trash" or specialized items like Gold Ingots and Chipsets. If you aren't doing this, you're leaving money on the table. It’s like forgetting to pick up your paycheck.
How to Save Links (A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned)
Spending is just as important as earning. One of the biggest drains on your once human energy links is gear repair. Stop repairing your "filler" gear. If you’re just out farming iron or wood, wear low-tier armor that you can just scrap and replace. Save your high-durability legendary suits for the actual boss fights.
Also, be smart with teleportation. It costs links to fast travel. If you're constantly jumping across the map, you're burning thousands of links an hour. Use your motorcycle. Use your car. Or better yet, join a Hive and use your teammates' bases as free teleport anchors. It sounds cheap, but in the long run, those 200-link jumps add up to a full weapon calibration.
Actionable Next Steps for Wealth
If you are broke right now, do this:
- Check your Memetics: See if you have the "Combo Chipset" or "Gold/Silver Smelting" specializations available to unlock. If not, consider using a specialization reset memory fragment to hunt for them.
- The Blackfell Run: Head to the Blackfell Oil Fields or the city itself. Loot everything. Every single crate. This area has the highest density of high-value scrap in the game.
- Salt the Earth: If you are really desperate and low level, grab a bucket and head to the coast. Spend thirty minutes boiling water. It's not glamorous, but it works.
- Vending Machine Strategy: Move your base near a popular farming spot (like the Ore veins in Iron River). Put up a vending machine and sell Acid for 80-100 energy links each. It will sell faster than you can farm it.
- The Weekly Sweep: Set a reminder for the weekly reset. Visit every major hub and drain those NPC vendors of their 50k link limit using your crafted "trade goods."
Wealth in Nalcott isn't about luck. It's about knowing which systems to exploit before the season ends. Build your bankroll now so when the next phase of the scenario drops, you can instantly buy the best gear and stay ahead of the curve.