You're grinding through the early game of Once Human, trying to figure out why your inventory is constantly empty of ore, and then you see it. A floating, red-capped mushroom-looking kid with a pickaxe. That's the Digby Boy Once Human players obsessed over during the betas, and honestly, the hype hasn't died down for a reason.
He’s small. He’s a bit weird. But he’s basically the backbone of your passive resource economy.
Getting Your Hands on a Digby Boy
Most people stumble upon their first Digby Boy by accident while hitting a Copper or Tin vein. It’s a random drop. You’re swinging your pickaxe, minding your own business, and suddenly a "strange phenomenon" pops up.
But if you’re unlucky? You’ll be swinging that pickaxe until your character's arms fall off.
There’s a trick to it, though. You aren't limited to just one. In fact, seasoned players usually run a fleet of these guys. To find them consistently, you need to be hitting ores in the Starting Area or the Broken Delta. Don't bother looking for them in high-level Silver or Gold veins early on; they seem to have a higher affinity for the basics.
The Lowdown on Securement Silo Phi
If RNG is being a total pain, head to Securement Silo Phi. It's located in the Southeast of the Dayton Wetlands. While it’s not a guaranteed "every single time" drop, the chests inside have a significantly higher loot table weight for the Digby Boy Once Human players need to automate their base.
Run it on normal. Don't stress about hard mode for this specific grind. It's a quick 5-minute dash if you know the layout.
How to Keep Your Digby Happy (and Working)
So you’ve got the little guy in an Isolated Securement Unit. Great. Now comes the part where most people mess up: they just leave him there.
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Deviations in Once Human have "Mood" and "Deviant Power." If the mood is low, he sits there looking depressed. If the power is low, he won't leave the box to go mine.
To maximize a Digby Boy Once Human efficiency, you have to treat his unit like a tiny apartment. He’s a simple creature. He likes three things:
- Green Light: Slap a wall lamp near the unit and change the color to green. He finds it soothing.
- Music: Put a radio nearby. He doesn't care if it's lo-fi or heavy metal, he just wants the noise.
- Electricity: Hook the unit up to your grid. High power levels recharge his energy faster.
When those three conditions are met, his recovery rate skyrockets. Instead of mining for ten minutes and sleeping for twenty, he’ll be out in the field almost constantly. It’s the difference between coming home to 50 Tin Ore or 500.
Why Quality Rating Actually Matters
Not all Digby Boys are created equal. You’ll notice two stats: Selection Level and Activity Level.
A Level 1/1 Digby is basically a starter pokemon. He's fine, but he's slow. If you manage to pull a Level 4 or 5 through sheer luck or endgame grinding, hold onto it. Higher Selection Levels allow the Digby to find rarer ores. While a basic one mostly brings back Copper and Tin, a high-tier Digby Boy Once Human unit can occasionally snag Iron or even Aluminum if you’re lucky, though they mostly stick to the tier of the zone you're built in.
Activity Level determines how long they stay out. A high activity rating means less downtime.
Where to Place Your Base for Max Profit
This is the "secret sauce" most guides skip.
The Digby Boy doesn't just spawn ore out of thin air; he "scans" the radius around your base. If you build your base in the middle of a sandy beach with zero rocks, your Digby is going to stand around doing nothing.
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You want to find a spot with "Natural Ore Deposits" inside your territory circle.
- Copper/Tin spots: Stay in the Wetlands.
- Iron spots: Move to the Iron River.
- Aluminum/Tungsten: Head to the Red Sands.
Even if you can't see the ore right this second, check the map for the resource overlay. If the Digby Boy has nothing to hit, he becomes a very expensive paperweight.
The Synergy Strategy
Don't just rely on one.
You can have multiple Securement Units. I’ve seen bases with six or seven Digby Boy Once Human units lined up like a factory floor. Why mine for 30 minutes when you can just go explore a dungeon, come back, and find 2,000 ore waiting in the boxes?
Combine them with a "Chefosaurus Rex" in your kitchen to keep your food buffs up, and you’ve basically automated the most boring parts of the survival loop.
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One thing to watch out for: they can get stuck. The pathfinding in Once Human is... well, it's a work in progress. If you see your Digby running into a wall or a closed door, you might need to redesign your base layout. Open floor plans are your friend. Avoid stairs near the Securement Units if you can help it.
Common Misconceptions and Bugs
Let's get honest for a second. Sometimes the Digby Boy just stops working.
If your boxes are empty but his energy is full, check your "Securement Unit" settings. There’s a slider that dictates when he should start working (e.g., "Start at 30% Power"). If that slider is set to 100%, he will never leave the box because as soon as he spends one point of energy, he's no longer at 100%. Set that slider to 10 or 20.
Also, he won't mine through walls. If you have a massive perimeter wall around your base with no gates, he might not be able to "see" the ore outside.
Another tip: The "Mining Drill" you craft later is faster for manual mining, but it costs fuel and durability. The Digby Boy Once Human uses neither. He is 100% free labor. In the long run, the passive gain beats the burst gain every single time.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
If you want to optimize your resource game right now, follow this sequence:
- Check your current Digby's stats. if he's a 1/1, go back to Silo Phi and run it three times. You’ll likely get a 2/2 or a 3/2. Replace the old one immediately.
- Fix the lighting. Most players leave the default white light. Craft a wall lamp, use the "B" menu to change the color to Green. You’ll see the "Mood" buff icon appear on the unit.
- Place a Radio. It doesn't need to be loud. Just on.
- Relocate if necessary. Look at your base. Are there at least 3-4 ore nodes within your territory? If not, move. The "Move Territory" function is cheap and will save you hours of manual mining.
- Adjust the threshold. Set his "Auto-work" threshold to 20% and his "Emergency Return" to 5%. This ensures he stays out in the field for the maximum possible duration before coming back to nap.
The Digby Boy Once Human is the ultimate "set it and forget it" tool. Once you stop treating him like a decoration and start treating him like a specialized mining drone, the mid-game gear grind becomes infinitely more manageable.