You’re staring at that Tier V blueprint and wondering why your damage feels like you're throwing wet noodles at a Great One. It’s frustrating. You’ve spent dozens of hours grinding for Acid, scavenging for Chrome, and surviving the weirdness of Nalcott, yet your gear still feels "mid." The truth is, Once Human how to level blueprints isn't just about clicking a button in your inventory; it’s a high-stakes gamble with one of the rarest resources in the game: Blueprint Fragments. If you mess this up early, you are going to feel it when the harder Prime Wars start kicking off.
The Brutal Reality of Blueprint Fragments
Fragments are the lifeblood of your progression. Period. Unlike copper or iron, you can't just go out and mine them. You get them from the Wish Machine, specific crates in Mystical settlements, or by completing certain seasonal goals. Because they are finite—especially if you aren't dumping real money into the game—how you use them defines your entire build.
Basically, you have two paths. You can unlock a bunch of different weapons to "try them out," or you can dump everything into one or two specific Blueprints to increase their Star Rating. If you want to actually survive the endgame, you need to choose the latter. A 1-star legendary weapon is often worse than a 3-star epic weapon because the base stat scaling is so massive.
How Star Rating Actually Works
When people search for Once Human how to level blueprints, they’re usually looking for the "Enhance" tab in the Blueprint menu. This is where the magic happens. Every time you "star up" a blueprint, you increase its base attack or defense stats. It’s not a flat bonus; it’s a multiplier that carries through every time you craft a new version of that item.
Imagine you have the SOCR - The Last Valor. At 1-star, it’s a beast. At 3-stars? It’s a literal god-slayer. To get there, you need to feed it other fragments. But here is the kicker: you can't just use any fragments.
The Feeding Frenzy: Which Fragments to Sacrifice
This is where most players lose their minds. You open the enhancement screen and see a list of fragments you can use to "XP up" your main blueprint.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a mess.
The game uses a "tag" system. For example, if you are leveling a "Huntsman" style weapon, using other "Huntsman" fragments gives you a massive XP bonus. If you try to use a "Juggernaut" fragment to level a "Huntsman" weapon, you lose a huge chunk of the potential XP value. It’s inefficient. It’s wasteful. Don't do it unless you are absolutely certain you will never, ever use that other gear set.
- Matching Tags: Always prioritize fragments with the same icon/style as your target.
- Rarity Matters: Legendary (gold) fragments give the most XP, but they are also the hardest to replace.
- The Blueprint Vault: Treat your fragments like a retirement fund.
You’ve got to be cold-blooded here. If you know you’re a Sniper main, those Shotgun fragments are just fuel. Don't hoard them "just in case." The power spike you get from a 2-star or 3-star upgrade is worth more than the versatility of having ten different 1-star weapons you never use.
The Wish Machine Gamble
We need to talk about the Gacha. The Wish Machine is where most of your fragments come from. You spend Starchrom—which is arguably the most valuable currency in Once Human—to play these mini-games.
Some people prefer the "Echoes from the Past" or specific banner games. These are great because they guarantee fragments for specific sets. If you are trying to figure out Once Human how to level blueprints for a specific build like the Shrapnel build or the Power Surge build, you must target the banners that drop those specific fragments. Buying the random crates is a sucker's bet. It’s fun for a minute, but when you end up with 10 fragments for five different guns and can't level any of them, you'll regret it.
The Blueprint Leveling Process Step-by-Step
First, open your Blueprint menu (usually 'G' on PC).
Select the weapon or armor piece you want to improve.
Look for the "Enhance" button.
You’ll see a progress bar. You need to fill this bar to reach the next "Star" level. You select the fragments you want to burn, and the bar fills up.
Wait.
Before you click confirm, look at the XP gain. If you see a "Bonus" tag, that's the game telling you that you’re being smart. If you don't see it, you’re likely wasting fragments that could be better used elsewhere.
Also, remember that gear has "Tiers" (I through V) and "Stars" (1 through 5). Tiering up happens at the workbench when you craft the item using higher-level materials like Tungsten or Aluminum. Starring up happens in the menu using fragments. You need to do both to stay relevant. A 5-star Tier I pistol is still a Tier I pistol. It’s going to suck against a level 50 boss.
Common Misconceptions About Upgrading
I see this a lot in world chat: "Does leveling my blueprint destroy my current gun?"
No.
Your blueprint is the "recipe." If you upgrade the recipe, the gun you are currently holding doesn't magically get better. You have to go back to your Gear Workbench and craft a new one using the upgraded blueprint. This is why you should always keep a stock of high-end materials. There is nothing worse than hitting a 3-star blueprint upgrade and realizing you’re out of Acid and can't actually craft the new version.
Armor vs. Weapons: Where to Focus?
If you're tight on fragments, prioritize your weapon. In Once Human, the best defense is a soul-crushing offense. If you can kill the Rosetta soldiers or the Deviants before they touch you, your armor stats matter a whole lot less.
That said, don't ignore armor blueprints entirely. Armor sets have "Set Bonuses" that scale. While leveling the blueprint increases the base defense, the real power comes from the 2-piece, 3-piece, and 4-piece bonuses. If you're running a Berry set or a Falcon set, getting those blueprints to 2-stars can give you a much-needed health or stamina boost that keeps you alive in the Silos.
Advanced Tactics: Fragment Farming
Since you need so many fragments to hit those 4-star and 5-star tiers, you have to be efficient.
- Mystical Crates: Every major Point of Interest (POI) on the map has a Mystical Crate. These are one-time grabs. Use an interactive map. Don't guess. These crates often contain specific fragments that can help you bypass the Wish Machine grind.
- Seasonal Goals: Check your Journey and Seasonal tasks. Some of these rewards are literally "Selection Chests" where you can pick the fragments you need. Do not open these until you know exactly what build you are committing to.
- The Purifications: Running Territory Purifications gives you Starchrom. Starchrom buys Wish Machine pulls. Wish Machine pulls give fragments. It’s a circle of life, but with more eldritch horrors.
The "Endgame" Blueprint State
Once you hit the later phases of a season, you’ll start seeing players with 4-star and 5-star legendary weapons. This isn't just luck. It's the result of aggressive "cleaning" of their blueprint inventory. They have sacrificed every single fragment that didn't fit their build to juice up their primary weapon.
Is it risky? Kinda. If the developers nerf your favorite weapon, you’re stuck with a bunch of high-level fragments for a gun that isn't great anymore. But in the current state of Once Human, specialization is rewarded far more than being a jack-of-all-trades.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Build
Stop spending your Starchrom on random gambles immediately. Look at your current gear and decide on a "Main." Once you've picked your weapon, go to the Wish Machine and find the banner that supports its tag (Huntsman, Juggernaut, etc.).
Next, go through your Blueprint inventory and identify the "junk" fragments. These are the ones for weapon types you hate or armor sets that don't fit your playstyle. Use those to Enhance your main blueprint.
Finally, head to your Gear Workbench. Check the "Crafting" menu to see if your newly upgraded Star Rating is available. If it is, scrap your old weapon to get some materials back and craft the new, higher-star version. You'll see the damage numbers jump immediately. That’s the feeling of actually understanding Once Human how to level blueprints—it's not about the grind; it's about the math.
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Keep an eye on your gear's durability too. Higher-star gear costs more to repair, so make sure your resource generation (like your mining platform or specialized Deviants) can keep up with your new, expensive tastes in weaponry. Only then will you be ready to face the Forsaken Giant or the Prime War's toughest challenges without breaking a sweat.