You’re staring at the crafting bench in Once Human, and you realize you're short. Again. It is always the Once Human refined parts that vanish the second you decide to upgrade your gear or build a decent Tier 4 weapon. Honestly, it’s the biggest bottleneck in the mid-to-late game transition. You think you have enough because you spent an hour looting a random town, but then you hit the "Craft" button and—poof—your inventory is bone dry.
It’s frustrating.
Most players make the mistake of just "playing the game" and hoping they stumble across enough materials. That doesn’t work here. If you want to stop scavenging like a desperate survivor and start building a base that actually looks like a fortress, you need a system. Refined parts aren't just random junk; they are the literal backbone of your progression through the Iron River and Chalk Peak regions.
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Where the Hell Are All the Refined Parts?
Basically, you need to understand how the game's "trash" tiering works. If you are still looting the Dayton Wetlands, stop. You are wasting your time. You'll only find Rusted Parts there, which are useless for anything high-level. To get Once Human refined parts, you have to push into the Level 20 to 35 zones.
Specifically, look at the Iron River region. This is the sweet spot.
When you enter a Point of Interest (POI) like the Greywater Industrial Zone or Richelieu Coast, you aren't just looking for chests. You are looking for specific scrap. The game hides these parts inside mundane objects. Look for "Mechanical Parts" or "Electronic Junk" descriptions when you hover over items in your inventory before dismantling.
The most reliable source? Scrapping high-level junk at the Disassembly Bench. Items like:
- Old Power Drills
- Broken Engines
- Complex Circuit Boards
- Heavy-duty Fans
If the item looks like it belonged to a machine that actually did something useful before the Stardust hit, it probably contains refined parts. If it looks like a plastic toy or a spoon, it doesn't. Simple as that.
The Greywater Run Strategy
If you want to be efficient, you need a loop. I personally recommend starting at the Greywater Camp and heading north. There is a cluster of warehouses that most people overlook because they're busy fighting the Rift Anchor bosses.
Don't do that. Just loot.
Every single desk, crate, and locker in those industrial buildings has a high probability of dropping the scrap needed for Once Human refined parts. You can clear the whole area in about ten minutes, fast travel out, wait for the world reset, or just hop to a different world instance and do it again. It is boring, yeah, but it's the fastest way to get your Tier 3 and Tier 4 gear online.
Why Your Current Looting Method is Probably Failing
You're probably picking up everything. Stop. Your inventory space is a resource. If you fill it with wood and stone, you have to leave behind the heavy machinery scrap that actually breaks down into refined parts.
Focus on the "Blue" and "Purple" labeled junk.
Also, let's talk about the Disassembly Bench. A lot of players forget that the yield isn't always 1:1. There is a specific Memetic specialization that can actually increase your output when dismantling. If you don't have it, ask a friend who does. You can literally drop your junk on the ground, have them pick it up, dismantle it, and give you back the refined parts. It sounds like a hassle, but when you're trying to build a full set of Falcon gear, that 20% bonus matters.
The Role of Refined Parts in Mid-Game Scaling
Why do you even need these so badly? Because the jump from Tier 2 to Tier 3 is where Once Human stops holding your hand.
Suddenly, your weapons need 15, 20, or 30 refined parts per upgrade. If you’re running a Calibration build, you’re going to burn through hundreds of them just trying to get the right RNG on your stats. It’s a sink. The game is designed to make you stay in the Iron River and Chalk Peak areas for a significant amount of time.
The Chalk Peak Alternative
Once you hit Level 30+, move your operations to Chalk Peak. The Believers Colony and the Holt Town areas are gold mines. The scrap here is even better. You’ll find "High-Tech Scrap" which doesn't just give you refined parts, but sometimes gives you specialized parts too.
Just watch out for the Rosetta soldiers. They aren't the brainless zombies you find in the starting zone. They will actually flank you, and if you’re distracted by a loot crate, they’ll send you back to a teleportation tower faster than you can say "Stardust."
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Breaking Down the Math (Sorta)
There isn't a perfect formula because the drop rates are slightly randomized, but generally, one "Large Engine Part" breaks down into roughly 3 to 5 Once Human refined parts.
Compare that to a "Small Gear" which might only give you one.
When you are out in the field, prioritize the heavy stuff. If it takes up more slots or looks "heavy" in the icon, it’s usually better. You want to maximize the "Parts per Slot" ratio of your backpack. Honestly, once you start thinking about your inventory like a spreadsheet, the grind becomes way less painful. You stop wandering and start targeting.
Real Talk: The Specialized Parts Trap
A lot of people confuse Refined Parts with Specialized Parts. Don't be that guy.
Refined parts are for your base armor and weapons. Specialized parts are for the really high-end stuff, like solar generators and advanced turrets. You get Specialized parts from even higher-level zones (Red Sands). If you are struggling to find refined parts in Red Sands, it's because you've gone too far. The "trash" there is too high-level and starts giving you the next tier of materials instead.
Keep your farming to the 20-35 zones if you specifically need refined materials. It’s a weird quirk of the game's progression, but it’s true.
Actionable Next Steps for Efficient Farming
If you are logged in right now and staring at an empty crafting requirement, do this:
- Empty your inventory. Leave everything except your primary weapon and some food/water at your base. You need every gram of carry weight.
- Teleport to Greywater Camp. Run the industrial loop to the north. Focus exclusively on lockers and crates inside buildings. Ignore the enemies unless they are blocking a door.
- Check your Memetics. See if you have the "Disassembly Technician" specialization. If not, check if it's available in your next cipher unlock.
- Hop Worlds. Once you've cleared a POI, use a Teleportation Tower to switch to a different world instance. This resets the loot crates instantly without you having to wait the real-world timer.
- Dismantle immediately. Don't let the junk sit in your chests. Turn it into parts so you know exactly how much more you need.
Stop treats every POI like a combat challenge and start treating it like a grocery store. You aren't there to save the world; you're there for the scrap. Once you adopt that mindset, you'll never run out of Once Human refined parts again.
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Go get your gear upgraded. Those Level 40 Silos aren't going to clear themselves.